<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>Is there such a thing as athletic recruiting at MIT? If yes, how do MIT adcom see MIT's athletic recruits when compared to other adcom of their own athletic recruits? And, what sport (Division 3) at MIT that you can join without having any experience in it at all?</p>
<p>It is called athletic recruiting at MIT, but anyone can sign up to be recruited, and it does not carry much weight in the admissions process. Excellence in a sport is considered the same as excellence in anything else -- being a talented athlete will not get you further in the MIT admissions process than being a talented musician. In other words, being an athletic recruit at MIT is not much of a tip (if it's a tip at all), and an athlete won't get into MIT unless he or she is highly qualified academically first.</p>
<p>You can join many sports at MIT without high school experience, though some have rather rigorous tryouts. If you really want to join a sport without experience, you may consider joining a club</a> sport, many of which are explicitly instructional for new members.</p>
<p>@ molliebatmit: Please forgive me since I am new here (MIT boards) but can you tell me who you are? I guess you work at admissions (MIT), right?</p>
<p>No, I'm an alum (class of '06), and I'm currently a biology PhD student at Harvard. When I was at MIT I was an admissions blogger, but beyond that I'm not affiliated with the admissions office.</p>
<p>@molliebatmit: Thanks for the reply! I am a little confused here...You said "being an athletic recruit at MIT is not much of a tip" and "Excellence in a sport is considered the same as excellence in anything else -- being a talented athlete will not get you further in the MIT admissions process than being a talented musician."
Then, what can you consider as a tip if "Excellence in a sport is considered the same as EXCELLENCE IN ANYTHING ELSE" (Emphasis added)?</p>
<p>Well, I'm not saying it's not a nice thing to have in an application, just like anything else, but it's only going to make a difference at all if an applicant is already strongly in contention because of academics.</p>
<p>Excellence in sports is almost certainly not as helpful to an application as excellence in science is.</p>
<p>Do you know how competitive it is to be recruited in basketball?</p>
<p>There are athletic recruitment forms on the web sites. You can get coaches' contact information from the web sites also and ask to schedule an appointment with a coach when you visit. They may ask for game tapes, coach's references, etc. </p>
<p>If you did not play at the HS level, you should look into how competitive it is to be a member of the sports team of interest. Ask the coach about it. I believe all the basketball players played varsity in HS, and were also the best players on their HS teams. The basketball commitment can be daunting, esp if you have no experience with things like double sessions (practice at 7AM and 5PM), practice drills, game travel schedules during 2 terms, etc.</p>
<p>Currently the Womens basketball team has about half the roster of the Men due to coaching changes and players deciding not to continue for whatever reasons, so the odds are better. ;)</p>
<p>how competitive is the baseball team in terms of recruiting?</p>
<p>how hard is it to get a spot in the mens soccer team? do a lot of the players have previous HS experience and how good were they?</p>
<p>@WS17: How do you know "I believe all the basketball players played varsity in HS, and were also the best players on their HS teams."?</p>
<p>
[quote]
how hard is it to get a spot in the mens soccer team? do a lot of the players have previous HS experience and how good were they?
[/quote]
Men's soccer has somewhat stringent tryouts, as far as I know. I knew a guy who played varsity in high school (and who was pretty good, to my understanding) who was cut after trying out his freshman year.</p>
<p>The Visionary: I recommend you contact the coaching staff, as their answers are more reliable. There is a saying "you recruit yourself at D3 schools". Some of the MIT team web sites include biographical information about the players, so you can get some insight about their HS accomplishments.</p>
<p>If you are accomplished at a sport and want to potentially participate in competitive athletics at MIT, is it necessary to contact the coach before you are admitted to the college? Or is it just helpful in admissions?</p>
<p>Thanks : )!</p>
<p>It is just helpful in admissions. Though if you are serious about playing a sport, it never hurts to contact the coach after you are admitted and chat about what is involved.</p>
<p>IMO, having just gone through this, you definitely should talk to the coaching staff early. If you are a fit academically, and athletically, they can give you good advice as well as a write a form of recommendation for you to the admissions folks. Admissions has total control over the admissions process and your athleticism is just one small part of your application. Afterall THIS IS MIT (and DIII). But why wouldn't you want to have whatever additional support you can get? Just do it!!!</p>
<p>Thank you for all your input, it is much appreciated. I am ecstatic about applying to MIT come November! I would love to play for MIT. My college counselor made it seem that my athletic accomplishments would show through in tournament wins, and that in itself would indicate my collegiate athletic aspirations. He warned me that contacting the coach at DIII schools is a waste of time for the coach, since he/she is unsure of an applicants future admission decision. Your advice definitely gibbs me a reason to contact the coach. At the very least, I could establish a good relationship. Hopefully I will not be wasting the coach's time!</p>
<p>Ohh and sorry for the wincing pun.</p>
<p>It's true what Mikalye said. You shouldn't do something because you want to raise your chances. You should do so because you love it, not because it is required or anything.</p>
<p>tofergo: IMO your guidance counselor is not up to date on this issue. For starters if you want to be recruited to play a varsity sport at mit, here is a link for that purpose</p>
<p>MIT</a> - DAPER - Welcome</p>
<p>Also, many high school athletic departments help students through the recruiting process including DIII. They will help you with films and will also contact the MIT coaching staff on your behalf. As opposed to carrying your own water, I would suggest you have your coach do it. And, of course, there is no real substitute for a campus visit. Good luck.</p>