Next year, my schedule will be: 3 IB hls, 1 IB sl, honors precalc (supposedly extremely difficult) and school newspaper. I feel I will not have more than about 2-3 hours per night to do extracurriculars. Will colleges be more understanding of my more limited extracurriculars given my courseload?
What schools are you considering?
Tippy top schools are going to want it all. Few students can get away with the either/or trade-off you are proposing. Beyond that, it depends on the college.
What colleges?
What extracurricular activities?
Which HLs and SLs?
I am thinking of colleges ranging from Emory and Cornell to Boston U, Muhlenberg, and Franklin and Marshall. My Hls are history, bio, and english.
2-3 hours per night of extracurriculars is plenty. What are your extracurriculars?
My son didn’t have a million extra curriculars and will be attending Emory in the fall. What he did have was a couple of things that he did for several years. A proven interest in an activity is what they look for rather than just a bunch of activities to put on an app. The kids I know at Cornell didn’t have tons either. I would stick with one or 2 things that actually mean something to you and demonstrate leadership.
What the ECs are matters more than a ton of hours. How you show commitment, some stretch, etc.
Based on a few posts, OP needs an idea of what colleges look for, what sorts of peer engagement and the good one does.