How many extracurriculars are too many for college?
- Extracurriculars are important to help students get into college
- But admissions benefits may be limited to doing just two extracurriculars
- There may still be other benefits to doing more
A student takes graduation photo on the Baylor University campus in Waco, Texas on December 8, 2022 where Brittney Griner was a former student and basketball player. – WNBA player Griner, 32, who was arrested in Russia in February on drug charges, was expected to be transferred to a nearby military facility for medical checks, US media reported. (Photo by Andy JACOBSOHN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY JACOBSOHN/AFP via Getty Images)
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(NewsNation) — Colleges and universities look for well-rounded students that can balance classroom expectations and participate in extracurriculars. But as pressure mounts on students to stand out among their peers, adding additional activities beyond a certain point may not actually give them a competitive edge.
Schools don’t just look at grade point averages or standardized test scores when making their admissions decisions; they also consider a student’s non-academic activities playing a sport or volunteering in their community.
In an effort to stand out among a competitive field of applicants, families may decide to schedule their kids’ days from morning to night with a range of activities designed to demonstrate their versatility.
But new research shows evidence that it’s not necessary to maximize the number of extracurriculars kids do — and that enrolling in a few may be enough to help win admission to a student’s college of choice.
Ohio State University researchers James Tompsett and Chris Knoester found that students who participated in two specific activities had better odds of getting admitted.
“We controlled for a lot of different factors that we know lead to college attendance, and even controlling for a lot of different factors — in terms of like grades or what type of school that you went to — we found that participating in a sport and participating in a single non-sport extracurricular activity increases your odds of attending college and attending a more selective college,” he said.
But that didn’t mean loading up on extracurriculars beyond that helped.
“We did not find however that once you stack up beyond the one of each that you’re getting any type of return on that time and resource investment — that the benefits do not continue adding as you get more and more involved,” Tompsett said.
Knoester said that doesn’t mean having more than these two types of extracurricular activities provides no benefits to students. He suggested that activities can help build a student’s character or provide entertainment, even if they may not necessarily help a student get into a college of their choice.
