<p>gadad wrote:</p>
<p>//Parents sometimes make the assumption that ECs are a zero-sum proposition - that any effort invested into them is effort that’s pulled away from academics. That’s not the case; academic motivation is its own phenomenon. Effort in schoolwork will be determined by that motivation and not by having extra unscripted hours in the day. On the other hand, having those extra hours scripted requires students to develop time management and planning skills that ultimately are great academic assets. I wouldn’t do anything to cool off a passion that’s already worthwhile and productive.//</p>
<p>I’m going to post a qualified dissent to this. Our son’s EC passion is music, and counting practice time, afterschool ensembles, and the intensive program he is enrolled in at a local community music center, he probably averages more than 4 hours a day on music. Since daily homework loads at his rigorous, competitive high school also routinely pass the 4-hour mark, something’s gotta give, and that something too often is sleep. </p>
<p>Yes, time management and planning skills may “ultimately” be “great academic assets,” but they don’t come overnight, and there is a cost involved in acquiring them. If we had slashed our son’s music ECs in half a couple of years ago, I am certain his GPA would be higher now–though of course it’s impossible to be sure just how much higher–because most of his academic difficulties have been obviously traceable to time issues and lack of sleep. No amount of motivation can add hours to the day or make exhausted synapses fire as efficiently as fresh ones.</p>
<p>I’m not necessarily saying that we should have cut the ECs. Music is his passion and his joy (even though he insists he’s not going to major in it!), and I am proud of the amount of energy he has poured into it and what he has achieved. Even with his less-than-stellar GPA, our son will still be admitted to some very good colleges, at one of which he will get an excellent education. But the assertion that there is never a tradeoff between heavy EC commitments and academic success does not ring true in light of our experience.</p>