Does anyone have any insight into whether the Ivies will still utilize the AI now that they have all gone test optional for 2021s? Thanks.
If you mean using the AI for athletic recruiting, yes the AI is still in use because the NCAA requires D1 recruits to have at least one test score, as does the Ivy League conference.
The coaches are going to have the best info on this. I know Princeton has indicated that they’ll still require test scores from recruits, but also that they’ll be flexible for those who can’t test. I don’t know what that means in practice.
Even in a normal year I’m not sure recruits need to get down in the weeds with AI calculations. The coaches are working the math within their team and athletic departments. Recruits don’t need to know all that’s going on in the back office. If a coach tells you that you’ll need a 33 ACT, for example, that’s what matters (and this might be a moving target based on the recruit and the coach’s recruiting board).
Fair enough, re: the athletes not needing to get into the weeds, and likely true that each school / coach will handle it differently. I was thinking less from a “is my AI high enough?” but rather from a “my AI is super high” and if that could be a “bump” in the recruiting process. So if it’s less important this year because schools are test optional, it’s still another useful data point.
Re: NCAA requirement – my understanding is that the NCAA requires a test score for eligibility, and that score could come even in the spring of high school graduation. I see that as different than a specific school requiring a minimum test score for admissions. But perhaps I’m reading too much into it.
@PBAMom I see what you’re asking, thanks for explaining. Yes, I do think Ivy coaches will still care about good academic stats from recruits. There are probably going to be cases where recruits don’t have and can’t get scores. I don’t know how they’ll handle that. But for those who have good scores in hand, I think it can only be a positive.
While I do see the possibility of Ivy League workarounds if testing can’t happen, I also don’t think they’re going to abandon the concept of an AI in some form. Having good scores in hand also is likely to be easier and more familiar for the coaches in working with admissions rather than waiting on the uncertainty of workarounds.
Yes, you’re correct that initial eligibility is the main issue with testing from an NCAA perspective.
NCAA waived the test requirement for 2020-21, but really the NCAA only cares about the minimum score, not the AI.
In my sons sport (small individual played sport with a team of 10-14 players), the Ivy’s recruit the best players pretty much regardless of their academics. In this sport, its the mantra 'whoever’s got the best team wins ’ is more important than anything else. One coach said: if we can recruit a very high academic scoring athlete we may do so to bring up the academic team average.
PBAMom-those academic standards seem to be quite low
So far, in our visits to colleges, these are the schools with highest academic criteria for student athletes: MIT, Hopkins, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon (not in that order). But, I’m sure there are others as well. I just find it remarkable that the Ivies are not necessarily as selective.
@RallyTen My understanding was that MIT ( and I think Caltech too) doesn’t waive, change or weigh athletic ability in terms of acceptance. Maybe that’s what you meant. Personally, I think it’s a huge distinction since the student isn’t going to get a boost from their sport.
Although my kids are athletes, I’d prefer the MIT approach. The track team has a 100% acceptance rate to med school that was listed on their site. I guess if you can run 20 hours per week and do well at MIT, you can succeed in med school.