Does not participating in sports in high school essentially put you at 75% maximum in the Harvard admissions system, given that they use four categories, academic, personal, athletics, and extracurricular?
While there is a rating scale for these categories, this is not an exam where if you get a certain score you get admitted. File it under “it is what it is.”
Arcidiacono’s regression coefficients from the lawsuit are below. Being a recruited athlete was associated with a huge boost in chance of admissions… by far the most powerful hook analyzed in the lawsuit. Getting a 2 in athletic also was associated with a noteworthy boost in chance of admission. However, only a small portion of varsity HS athletes receive a 2. It requires far more than just playing a varsity sport. The majority of HS athletes instead receive a 3, which was associated with little admissions benefit, perhaps not even statistically significant. The vast majority of Harvard applicants and Harvard admits are in a similar position to you – without a 1 or 2 in athletic.
Athletic = 1 (recruited athlete): +7.85 (0.15)
Athletic = 2 (top non-recruited athletes that might walk on a team): +1.36 (0.12)
Athletic = 3 (athletic participation): default reference
Athletic = 4 (no athletic participation): -0.041 (0.04)
Athletic = 5 (cannot do athletics due to physical, financial, family, or other limitations): +0.694 (0.09)