I am a high school senior and am leaning towards committing to Holy Cross. I like the small school atmosphere and the campus, and the academics are really appealing to me. However, I’m not big into participating in athletics, not even casually. Is this something that will be viewed as out of the ordinary at Holy Cross, and possibly interfere with my social life there? I like going to games but I am really not a fan of playing any sort of sport for fun.
Holy Cross is quite proud of the fact that 25% of their students participate in D-1 athletics, a very large D-1 participation rate by any standard. The athletic facilities are enormous (including -but not limited to - a brand new indoor varsity practice facility) and in many cases would be something an athlete would ordinarily find at a much larger school.
Clearly, as measured by teams, athletic scholarships, and athletic facilities, the school is very heavily invested in D-1 sports. (Relative to its size.)
I don’t think the remainder of the student body is particularly sports-focused (although there are some club sports and intramurals as well) and student attendance at the more popular sports (football, basketball, and hockey) is pretty sparse. So, you’ll have no problems fitting in and focusing on academic success.
Majority of students at HC aren’t D1 athletes. Going to games as a spectator/fan is what most do and that’s fine. Beside that, find something to do in your down time that you enjoy! There are lots of clubs and extracurricular activities that aren’t sport related where you meet new people. College choir, acapella, Spire student newspaper, theatre, student government, prebusiness clubs, SPUD, etc etc