<p>These two are my top choice schools. I'm applying with a strong background in math/science. I kinda want to do track and field in college, but I don't know if I should contact the track coach. Would doing so and having a chance of getting recruited as a D3 athlete improve my chances, as compared to if I simply applied normally (asian, low-income, strong in math/science) ? Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t go to MIT/Caltech for Undergrad…</p>
<p>I know a professor there pretty well and he says the students there are considerably too focused in on science and are pretty miserable (in some ways)…</p>
<p>There are better choices for undergrad… but if you really think MIT/Caltech is your thing… then by all means do it…</p>
<p>There’s no downside to contacting the coach.</p>
<p>The upside is not huge at MIT, because being a “recruited athlete” is not a huge tip. It helps, in the sense that being good at any of your extracurriculars helps, but it’s not more helpful than other kinds of extracurriculars.</p>
<p>…and for the record, I spent four wonderful years at MIT as an undergrad, though I wouldn’t fight the characterization of being focused on science.</p>
<p>Oh alright, very good info, thank you. I think I won’t try to become recruited then, but I might do Intramural sports if I get in.</p>
<p>Actually, MIT recruits heavily for its Crew team.</p>
<p>That’s pretty much how two of our graduates got in this year =P</p>
<p>Crew is division 1, so that’s probably why.</p>
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<p>Even if the crew coach thinks that you are the best thing ever, you still have to make the grade academically. It is a very good EC, I would even be willing to say unusually good, but it won’t get you in by itself. Also, I did MIT crew as a frosh, and most of the team were walk-ons, many of whom had never even seen a crew shell before when they started out. If MIT really wanted to fill the crew team (which is in fact Div I) with recruited athletes, it probably could, but it does not.</p>
<p>To the OP, it certainly won’t hurt you to get recruited. It’s a good EC. It will help you, the way that other strong ECs will help you. And MIT will like the dedication that it shows. But it won’t get you in on its own.</p>
<p>(Before everyone tries to contradict Mollie and me based on what they heard from their friend or whatever, keep in mind that we are both MIT alums and we both interned in the Admissions Office as undergrads, so we got to hear the adcoms talk about policy and such a lot. We are not just making this stuff up out of thin air.)</p>
<p>Jessie and molly, so if an applicant is academically qualified (average or above average numbers in various metrics) but EC mainly consists of excelling in a given sport (nationally rated), would that be considered a reasonable application?</p>
<p>So if I were to try to get on the MIT track team, would I email the coach?</p>
<p>The MIT recruiting form can be found here: [MIT</a> - DAPER - Welcome](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/varsity.html]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/varsity.html)</p>
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I don’t think that’s unreasonable, but nobody gets into MIT solely on the strength of one aspect of an application. My husband, for example, was a nationally-ranked athlete in his sport when he applied to college, with a shot at the Olympics, but he was also valedictorian, had enthusiastic letters of recommendation, and built rockets in his spare time. He was a great MIT applicant in more ways than just being really good at skiing.</p>
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<p>Oh, snapdragons. I didn’t know that. I really really want to start doing crew in college (I even have a college spread sheet and one of the columns is if they have crew Y/N). I doubt I could get on a D1 Team. Grr.</p>
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It’s helpful in the sense that if said applicant has a 2200 SAT + good grades then he’s pretty much a sure-fire admit. When schools say that they cannot lower the bar, they mean that they cannot let in unqualified students but they will let in qualified but unremarkable students (remember, MIT is a school that will unhesitatingly reject more than half of perfect scorers).</p>
<p>And yes, this pertains to D3 sports as well. MIT’s baseball/basketball/football teams are filled with lots of 2100-2200 SAT scorers.</p>
<p>Well I am applying on a strong academic, math/science basis (coauthor of research report, went to prestigious summer science programs, several college classes, Rank 1, 2290, 34, National AP Scholar, etc.), I just wanted to see if the athletic coach supporting my admission would help my chances even slightly.</p>
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If you’re recruited, barring any academic/criminal disasters, you will make it in.</p>
<p>How does D3 recruiting work anyways? I filled out MIT’s athletic questionnaire thingy…what now? Anything special to do? I emailed the coach and got a response that basically said if I improved a little bit over this year, then I could have a chance at the team. Nothing else, really.</p>
<p>^ Yes; what you need to do now is improve. :)</p>
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But you’re wrong in the sense that almost all colleges have athletic quotas for each sport that they must fulfill. If you’re an academically-qualified recruited athlete, there’s little doubt that you would be admitted.</p>
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MIT as a whole is filled with lots of 2100-2200 SAT scorers. I have not seen evidence that varsity athletes at MIT have lower SAT scores than non-athletes – at any rate, 20% of the school plays a varsity sport, so it would be very surprising if 20% of the class were getting in because of their hand-eye coordination.</p>
<p>I strongly disagree with the idea that athletic recruitment is a big tip at MIT. It helps, for sure, just like everything helps when you’re applying in a very competitive pool, but it is absolutely not a “surefire admit”. For heaven’s sake, medaling at international math/science competitions doesn’t constitute a “surefire admit” to MIT.</p>
<p>As jessiehl mentioned in post #7, she and I worked for the admissions office as undergraduates, and have participated in many conversations with the admissions officers about MIT’s admissions philosophies. Academic superstars are recruited at MIT much more strongly than athletic superstars, let alone people who are merely good at a sport.</p>
<p>EDIT:
This is not true at MIT.</p>
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They must still be qualified for MIT for sure, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t help more than the average strong club. If you want to consider a tip something that gets in qualified athletes only, then so be it. The bottom line is that an academically qualified recruited athlete will most likely make it in. </p>
<p><a href=“http://mitathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/mit-m-basebl-sched.html[/url]”>http://mitathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/sched/mit-m-basebl-sched.html</a></p>
<p>25-14. That’s a .600 winning percentage in a reasonably strong D3 league. If MIT didn’t have an athletic quota, their athletics would look like Caltech’s; in other words their athletics would be a practical joke. MIT has multiple respectable athletic teams (including their baseball team, which I just might play for in 2 years 
and yes, they do recruit; their recruiting coach is a pretty active guy at showcases and is really doing a good job at creating a very competitive MIT Engineers baseball team).</p>
<p>Hey, don’t you be insulting Caltech sports. The main reason they are so pathetic is because their entire college enrollment is smaller than MIT’s freshmen class :)</p>