This discussion was created from comments split from: Academic Index & SAT 2 scores.
My son just took his SAT subject tests and with these his AI comes out to be 212. His GPA is relatively low when translate to an unweighted 4.0 scale, but he goes to an extremely competitive boarding school, not sure if this matters. Is this AI competitive for track and field recruitment if he meets team standards? Or is it below average as indicated in some of the websites I have seen.
@heartburner – I think a 212 puts your son in pretty solid territory assuming he gets offered a slot/likely by the coach. You might find that certain event groups have more latitude, too. For example, several coaches said there are lots of distance runners with high AIs compared to other events.
My sense is that the GPA portion of the AI calc. is very simplistic. Fair or not, I don’t think the high school profile or the rigor of the course load matter for AI purposes (but the admissions folks will care).
My son does Shot Put and Discus Throw - Are these positions that are historically sought after by Ivies? Should he contact coaches now or after July 1?
@heartburner each Ivy has slightly different mandated AI. Also within the individual team, depending on how good of an athlete a particular recruit maybe, there will be some leeway. Only the coach will be able to let you know that. If your son is a superstar athlete that the coach really wants to recruit, then with a AI of 212 may not be a problem. Harvard this year had a mandated AI of 221, so if your son is a stellar athlete, he might be offered a recruitment slot and the coach may try to recruit another athlete not so stellar but with a much better AI to offset your son’s lower AI. Again, only the coach will be able to let you know.
Thank you you @downallunder – Do other Ivies have a mandated AI? He meets the published team standards but I don’t think that he would be considered as a star recruit. He would have older teammates that are throwing farther.
They all have a mandated AI, Harvard probably is the highest. But that is University wide, so the requirements per sport and within that the requirements per athlete will vary. This isn’t 100% accurate, but generally speaking if a team is more competitive on the field they are usually a little looser with their AI. If a team isn’t very good, the university quite possibly has chosen to make that team have an AI that is higher to make room for other sports to have lower AI athletes.
As always, the best advice is just to ask a coach. Some will tell you the AI they want, others won’t. But most well say what ACT score they need with that GPA for your son to be competitive for a spot on the team.
“My son does Shot Put and Discus Throw - Are these positions that are historically sought after by Ivies? Should he contact coaches now or after July 1?”
I would start emailing coaches and filling out the recruiting questionnaires now.That’ll be the best way to get feedback on the 212 AI.
As for the recruitment of shot put and discus in the Ivy’s - absolutely these are recruited event groups. Some men’s teams, like Princeton, Cornell, and Penn seem more oriented toward winning the Ivy League team championship (HEPS) and therefore make sure they roster athletes to cover all the events. Other teams seem more distance focused, like Columbia, and might only recruit rock stars for other event groups.
The most prized recruits are athletes with high school PR’s that would score at typical Ivy Championship meets (score=top 6 in event finals). I believe college uses different size/weighted implements than high school for shot and discus which might make that comparison more difficult for you….I assume there is a conversion method but I don’t know what it is.