Extracur­ric­u­lars impact students in a substan­tially posi­tive way, even with time constraints like team activ­i­ties. In partic­u­lar, many students at Justice High School are involved in the Inter­na­tional Baccalau­re­ate Program. Commit­ment to this course requires extended hours complet­ing class­work at a college level. This is a chal­lenge that can be multi­plied when partic­i­pat­ing in extracur­ric­u­lar activ­i­ties. Balanc­ing college level courses along with extracur­ric­u­lars can be a diffi­cult thing to manage. 

“Students that partic­i­pate in extracur­ric­u­lars even if [they’re] school related or non school related like they have a job, It always impacts them because it takes away from their abil­ity to do extra study time or home­work.” says coun­selor Kimberly Figueroa.

Figueroa also goes on to say that time manage­ment plays a key factor in how students manage their time. As a school coun­selor, Figueroa has hands-on expe­ri­ence with students strug­gling with balance. She believes that time manage­ment plays a key factor in how students manage their time. Senior Colin Thomp­son also agrees that student’s handle orga­ni­za­tion in differ­ent ways, and the students that are able to main­tain a balanced sched­ule are not as nega­tively impacted by extracur­ric­u­lars as one’s who cannot. 

“I think students are extremely impacted by their extracur­ric­u­lars, whether that be in a nega­tive or a posi­tive way. It just depends on how they are able to balance their schedules.”

Thomp­son notes that he thinks that most students go on to have strug­gles with their time manage­ment, stat­ing “I’ve strug­gled at times between my personal life, school, and in my case sports.”

Even with limited time, students still believe that they are posi­tively impacted. Senior Peter Kashyn­ski agrees that although the students are greatly impacted, the posi­tive outweighs the nega­tive. He explains that “other clubs and extracur­ric­u­lars really help define your­self as a person.” 

Many students have the main goal of doing the best they can on college appli­ca­tions. With this goal in mind, students are moti­vated to join activ­i­ties that could better the chances of college admissions. 

Accord­ing to honor​so​ci​ety​.org, “There is a proven corre­la­tion between partic­i­pa­tion in extracur­ric­u­lar activ­i­ties and college enroll­ment rates. The skills, expe­ri­ences, and rela­tion­ships gained through these activ­i­ties can enhance students’ appli­ca­tions and increase their chances of secur­ing admis­sion to higher educa­tion institutions.”