I recently attended the North American College Admission Counselor's conference in St. Louis. In one of the workshops I attended, the presenter suggested that "two is enough" when it comes to extracurricular activities. Although I'm not sure I entirely agree with that limitation for every student, I do think that many students make the mistake of overcommitment and try to get involved in too many activities.
Many gifted and/or high-achieving students are multitalented and interested in many different things. It's hard to make a choice between "likes", so they don't choose- they try to do them all. Many of these students are also perfectionists who must put 110% into anything they attempt. The result is that they are usually chronically sleep deprived and unbelievably stressed. It's no surprise that, by continuously burning the candle at both ends, some of them burn out, sometimes even before graduation.
If this describes you, I would urge you to select those activities that are the most meaningful for you personally, and to "just say no" to overcommitment. Some of you will have to make hard choices, because you may like many different activities equally, and you hate to limit the possibilities. Look at it this way: choosing among "likes" is practice in decision making skills you'll use for the rest of your life. Most of you will choose one college to attend; it's generally a bad idea to spend one year at Grand Old Ivy, followed by one year at State U, followed by....you get the picture. You'll have to pick a major at some point, assuming you want to graduate, and after graduation you will (hopefully) find a job on your career path. Parents, please encourage your kids as they make these hard decisions. I know you're proud of them and all they can be and do, but they can't do and be everything at the same time.
Here's another trap: Because students have heard that colleges are looking for well-rounded students, they erroneously believe that this means they must have a long resume that resembles a Chinese takeout menu...a little from Column A, a little from Column B...with something from every possible extracurricular category included. For some students, this practice exacerbates their already high stress levels; for others it leads to shallow involvements that won't impress any admission committee, much less give any degree of personal satisfaction.
If this describes your main concern, relax! Colleges aren't looking for "well rounded students" as much as they are looking for "well rounded classes". They want an interesting and diverse group of students who will add to the campus community. That means some soccer stars, but also some tuba players. Some student government presidents, but also some newspaper editors. You do not have to be the star football player who also sings the National Anthem before the game and marches in the band during halftime. (I actually once had a student who did this once...he said it was pretty stressful!) What do you enjoy the most? Follow your passion, and it will shine through on your college applications. It is better to have consistent, deep involvement in a few activities than sporadic or cursory involvement in many.
There's another group of students I haven't mentioned- those who don't participate in anything, either because they spend all their time studying, or because they are "slackers". Those are not good choices either. You don't have to do everything, but do something! Pick a couple of activities (two is enough) and participate in high school life outside the classroom. It goes without saying that colleges are not impressed by slackers, but I've also seen 4.0 National Merit Scholars lose out in the admissions game because they did nothing but study in high school.
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