I am an incoming sophomore. When I go back to school I want to be a straight A+ student, be a part of Quiz Bowl, Newspaper, Yearbook, Student Council, Key Club, DECA, Speech and Debate, Track and Field and the fall play. I am willing to drop some stuff but I won’t drop Newspaper and Yearbook because they are part of my intended major(journalism). I also won’t drop Student Council since it takes up so little time. I just want to know how to balance it all.
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The answer will be different for each student - every person has different strengths etc.
Take the most rigorous schedule that is manageable for you. Prioritize academics over ECs if necessary. Organize your time wisely.
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I totally agree: academics should be your priority.
As for ECs, my view is that you need to enjoy/love what you are doing. Honestly, it does seems like you’re trying to do a lot, and you need to answer to yourself whether you enjoy all these activities or whether you’re just simply going through the motions to pad your resume/ECs.
I am not saying you are, but you need to be the judge of that.
Colleges can see through quantity over quality.
Most of all, you need to enjoy being a teenager. Work hard, but have fun going it. Time is a very precious commodity.
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Prioritize by doing what you love most. And remember it’s OK if you can’t do it all. There are only 24 in the day, and you want to sleep for 7 or 8 hours of them, and need time to eat, relax, see friends, etc. Try making a calendar for yourself and map out what your week looks like, including classes and top priority activities. Make sure you don’t overpack it. Prioritize good grades and learning and don’t try to do so much that you sacrifice sleep or burn yourself out. It’s not worth it.
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Buy the book linked below. Read it and follow the focused studying and calendar method.
My son was captain of the soccer team, a high level competitive skier, conservatory level musician and he was also a regular kid. He finished HS with all As and was never up studying later than 10:30 after he read it.
More importantly he finished his BS/MS in ME magma cum laude at a school that graduated a 4.0 once a decade while working 12-20 hours a week on campus.
It’s all about efficiency and organization.
How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less https://a.co/d/fbu2L0K
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As others have said this will vary from one student to the next. If you only consider academically excellent students, there will still be a wide range in terms of how much each of them is comfortable doing.
My main piece of advice is to not try to compete with other students, and do not try to guess what a top university is expecting. Instead, figure out what is right for you. Do you want to participate in so many activities? Do you need some time off to relax and “decompress”? In our family, what is right for one daughter is not the same as what is right for the other daughter. What is right for you might be different again.
Also I agree with other answers that academics comes first, or perhaps that your sanity and academics come first and second.
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I am not sure I agree with prioritizing academics. All of my kids probably did well enough to meet benchmarks at their eventual schools but I would guess it is what they did outside of school that helped with admissions. That said, conflicts do arise between activities, even just based on time slots, as high school progresses and choices do need to be made. You are wise to make EC’s related to writing your top priority. If you write, have you thought about applying to a Scholastics Award? Home | Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
Also agree with above poster that well-being, sleep and even down time are important too!
Why do you need to get all A + grades?
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To make my mother proud
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Not telling you to drop these but pick the ECs you enjoy.
You don’t need to do these to be a journalist. If you’d rather have a part time job, walk dogs, be in the band - whatever - then fine.
One person can only do so much and a journalism program won’t give you points for those two things.
They’ll give you points for any two things including those and if you love them, then great.
But going to j school isn’t the reason for those.
Good luck.
You need all A+ grades to make your mother proud? I think you need to do the things you enjoy as well.
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Two of my kids got straight A’s after freshman year (got a B in honors English) and were very busy with 2/3 season varsity sports (captains), clubs, choir, church (peer leadership), one did the plays (plus babysat and tutored), the other worked all 4 years. They took all honors, AP’s. Oh and one danced 5 nights a week, competitive Irish dance on a worlds level. What made it work was that they loved it all. They loved their sports, they loved their EC’s, they even loved their classes. They are very social people who dislike free unscheduled time (unlike their parents). If you are having fun, go for it. If not, it’s not worth doing. My other kids needed/wanted downtime, they participated in sports/arts/worked, but to a much lesser extent, and had more free time. I don’t think anyone needs A+’s to make parents proud, we are proud of all of our kids, not based on grades.
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My kids never got straight A plusses and I am incredibly proud of both. There are many more important attributes a parent would want in a child.
Unsolicited advice – do not set up goals for yourself that require perfection – it is a recipe for stress and (likely) failure. Be a good person, do your best academically, make meaningful contributions to ECs you care about, and things will be fine.
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How to balance extracurriculars and sports while getting straight A+’s
Tell me your school has out-of-control grade inflation without telling me your school has out-of-control grade inflation.
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You don’t need newspaper AND yearbook to get into a journalism program. They are both quite time-consuming, and I suspect that heavy involvement in both might prevent you from getting a leadership position in either. Also – in your school, are you required to take the class in order to be involved in the activity (in my kids’ school, this is the case, but I realize it might not be everywhere)? If that’s true, then you’re limiting what other classes you could take or depriving yourself of an off period that might be helpful for staying on top of your other courses. So unless you are absolutely passionate about both, then pick one. If you’re an aspiring journalist, pick newspaper and go for leadership positions. You’ll do a lot more journalism on newspaper than on yearbook. Also – you might develop other interests. And you don’t need an undergrad journalism major to be a journalist.
Also, I certainly hope you don’t need to make all A+ grades to make your mother proud. High school will throw you some curve balls, and some of those might be in the form of Bs.
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@Personhuman
Here is the thing, how are you academically now? If you are killing it with little to no effort then sure, try to do everything. My suggestion is to prioritize academics and select no more than 1-2 activities that you really like and 1 sport. If you have time left then find outside of school things to do. Impactful out of school activities matter a lot more in college admissions. Get a job and show you can hold it down and get promoted. Most of all, enjoy your HS years. Some of my best memories!
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My kids were never A+ students (but they were diligent and worked hard). They were kind and helpful to family members- that made me proud. They were good citizens and volunteered for things without being asked-- not just the “good for college application” things. That made me proud. They had paying jobs and proved that they knew the value of a dollar; showed up on time, did their best even when service type jobs means that you see people at their worst (yelling at a server that something costs too much- as if a person wearing a fast food uniform sets prices!) That made me proud.
Perhaps you should have an actual and explicit conversation with your parent- you may be assuming that only A+ grades is the ticket when in fact, your parent may be proud of you when you demonstrate kindness, responsibility, gratitude and giving back, a strong moral code, etc.
Try it before you tie yourself up in knots!
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Are you already in Track and Field? The students who I worked with who were in Track and Field spent hours, year-round, in training. To stay on their teams, their GPA had to stay strong. Your studies come first.
If you spend your time on EC’s without rest, study time, and enjoyment, you’ll burn-out fast. All of your activities will take some investment in time. As you go through sophomore, junior and senior years, your study hours will need to increase.
Study well, first and foremost. Enjoy high school. Do what’s important for you. Mom will be proud regardless of any perfect grades.
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I don’t think I ever got an A+ after 5th grade. I’m still here and doing quite well.
Slow down. Occasional spontaneity may do wonders for you if you’re actually as overscheduled as it appears.
I’ll leave you with the immortal words of Ferris Bueller(Google him, and check it out).
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I second this!
But in reality don’t put the pressure to get all As. Sometimes you end up with a lower grade but learned a lot also.
Do things you love and have an interest in. Doing a “few” things for a few years is more interesting to a college then trying to do everything.
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