Ah, junior year. The year of multiple APs, SAT, ACT tests, and people asking “So where are you looking at for college?” eagerly and relentlessly. Freshman and sophomore year, you can avoid the question by telling people you’re too young to worry about it, but by 11th grade, everything becomes real. The race to the top of the class, the search for the best teachers for recommendations, and, of course, the competition of extracurriculars.

I have fallen in the trap and have joined five additional clubs this year, in addition, to my already extensive list of after-school activities. As a result, I typically get home around 9:00 or 10:00 at night. Most of my family has already gone to bed before I even eat a few mouthfuls of dinner and begin my homework. But of course by then I’m already falling asleep, and any work I do is half-hearted and typically not complete. Both of my first periods are fairly relaxed, so I finish the majority of my homework either then or during lunch. Because of this, my work tends not to be the best I am capable of, but rather just what I need to do to pass.

Of course, I could just skip the extracurriculars and maybe do some homework once in a while, but what fun is that? I know I’ll get a fine grade in the class, and I made a commitment to those extracurriculars—so I can’t just skip them, right?

Unfortunately, I’m not the only one coming to this conclusion. While most people get home before 10:00, the majority of students I’ve talked to have mentioned at some point or another how much work they have, only to be followed by listing off all the activities they’re attending first. Or I’ve been told by people scrambling to complete last night’s homework in hurried voices that they didn’t have time after cross country, or robotics or debate to finish their work.

So, my question is this: should we really be prioritizing extracurriculars over academic work?

Yes. We should.

We’ve all heard the old wives’ tale: yes, grades matter, but what colleges really look at is an impressive résumé filled with after-school activities galore. And thus begins the racking up of extracurriculars.

This myth stems from the Ivy League and other prestigious schools. Since they receive an influx of students with high grades, they have to turn to extracurriculars to determine who’s essentially the most interesting and dedicated person they can have at their school.

Still, most larger colleges and universities look mainly at grades and test scores, but of course, they do glance at extracurriculars, specifically if you have leadership positions in them.

Therefore, while after-school activities are important, especially if you’re planning on applying to a small, elite school, it’s still crucial to have a sturdy base of good grades—as good as you can get them. So, if you know you have a lot of work to do in a night, maybe take a day off with those extracurriculars and spend some quality time with your textbooks.