So I heard that Caltech doesn’t make admission decisions based on athletic ability, but would it give someone an advantage if the were academically “worthy” for Caltech? For example, a dumb jock with amazing foot ball titles wouldn’t get into Caltech, but if that jock were academically competitive with other Caltech applicants (like 34 ACT’s), would the football titles help in the admissions process at all? I’m just wondering because I contacted the soccer coach and he said he was very interested and forwarded my name to the admissions office as a “recruit”. Are my chances of getting in any better?
Caltech does not have a football team. Caltech’s soccer team made the news for their academic honors, but their record last season looks like it was zero wins and 18 losses.
I think your chances of getting in are higher if the soccer coach sends a note to admissions. It is another way you can contribute to student life.
Agree with the above post. My child was contacted by the coach of her sport. She ended up not applying, but her classmate, with identical test scores and gpa and course rigor, was admitted early decision after communicating with the coach and taking an official visit in the fall. There may be very few top athletes who have the academic chops to attend Caltech. They would likely prefer Stanford or MIT. So I don’t think Caltech’s win/loss record tells the story of whether they give weight to athletic ability. They are drawing from an extremely limited pool of athletes – those with stats to enter Caltech. You have to be admissible first; then the coach can give you a leg up.
Caltech - one of the greatest science / engineering colleges in the US. Also, one of the most dismal athletic departments in existence. Combined records of basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball last year was something like 8 wins and 100 losses. The track team school records are mid-range for a varsity HS team.
Acemom has a good point that they are drawing from a very, very small pool. How many strong athletes are out there with 750+ SAT math scores? Out of those, how many will choose Caltech over HYP, Stanford and MIT?
So, to the OP’s question - I believe Caltech admissions realizes the importance of being able to put enough bodies on the field to constitute a team and will assist the coach in that regard. But if it’s a choice between an all-state player with a 2000 SAT and a JV HS player with a 2300 - I think they’ll take the latter.
Not trying to disrespect Caltech at all - they are standing by their mission. But to the OP, there my be some benefit to being an athlete, but that academic hurdle isn’t going to bend one bit.
great post @varska. Makes perfect sense
Anecdotally, I’ve known of supported athletes whose academic stats were in range but were rejected
Why are people looking at academic heavy schools, thinking that an athletic edge will help in recruiting? What I find is many of these school really aren’t very good in sports, nor do they care to be it doesn’t matter to them.
Athletics provide an edge, even at MIT, Harvey Mudd. I know for a fact.