<p>I’m confused. If Student A or Student B is the #1 soccer player in the state, the discussion will end there. Assuming they have good grades and test scores, they’ll get into top colleges through the side door as recruited athletes and nobody gives will care about their other ECs.</p>
<p>Case in point: I know of a student who was HS valedictorian, National AP Scholar, nationally recognized for a self started community service project, as well as an accomplished musician. But nobody cared about any of those things; as an academically qualified recruited athlete nothing else was needed.</p>