Let the total number of students be \( x \). According to the problem, 234 students represent 78% of the total number of students. We can express this relationship with the equation:
\[ 0.78x = 234 \]
To find \( x \), we can solve for it by dividing both sides of the equation by 0.78:
\[ x = \frac{234}{0.78} \]
Now, we perform the division:
\[ x = 300 \]
Therefore, the total number of students is \( \boxed{300} \).