<p>“How is that even close to fair?” Iveyeic: you’re presupposing that any private university is supposed to be completely meritocritous to outsiders. You’re mistaken. The institutions set goals to meet institutional needs. Sometimes it’s having a solid athletic department, sometimes it’s to balance gender inequalities, sometimes it’s to focus on recruiting more scientists/musicians/rural kids/internationals/insert your favorite sub group here.</p>
<p>That’s how it goes – but it’s not like anyone is crying for the MIT kids either, you know. I’m glad for the Columbia footballer. I hope he’s making the best of Columbia’s opportunities.</p>
<p>Again, you’re supposing that Columbia has a duty to give that slot to a higher performing scholar. They don’t. They can give it to whomever they choose. Who are you to judge if he’s squandering it or not? </p>
<p>The hardest working classmates of mine were footballers and rowers. They had been long conditioned to know that hard work equates to success. They did it in athletics, they did it in the labs and classrooms.</p>
<p>Perhaps the jocks at your school aren’t much to admire. The jocks at Yale, for the most part, were a sight to behold frankly. I’m 100% proud to call them fellow Yalies.</p>
<p>Top level athletes – especially in team sports – bring very valuable qualities to whatever organizations they join. Different that a 4.0 MIT student, surely – but valuable nonetheless. And Columbia and Yale share this same ethos.</p>
<p>Don’t want “unworthy” athletes next to you in the classroom "squandering’ their educations and taking away the spot of a 4.0 scholar? Go to UChicago, MIT or Caltech. Don’t go to Yale or Columbia or Stanford a host of other schools.</p>
<p>AA: you mean affirmative Action? Who does more? Who knows. I know that Yale is more successful in attracting African Americans to matriculate. Does this mean they have a lower threshold or are does Yale market itself to a wider base of top black applicants? I think the latter</p>
<p>Stanford by far. They’re in the freaking Pac-10. They are comparable to a UMichigan.</p>
<p>Yale athletes in Mens BBall and FB know that they’re in the Ivy league – and the expectations therein. Someone being recruited by Stanford for FB is probably being recruited by many other FBS teams too.</p>
<p>Now if you’re talking about Squash or rowers or hockey – then Ivy isn’t a bad place to look…</p>
<p>As for URM acceptance rates, I’d say Yale attracts more than Stanford – this is my anecdotal understanding. When I was there, about 8% of Yalies were black. My GF was a black student at Stanford – with only 3% black overall. Dunno latino or NA stats</p>
<p>Numaria, I believe you are severely understating the significance of athletic leadership by non-recruited athletes. I believe my Columbia son’s application was notably enhanced by his role as varsity football captain.</p>
<p>Yale looks at the whole package–playing a sport well can be part of the package, even if you’re not recruited. The same is true for debating, bassoon playing, cheerleading, community service, and any number of other things. Whatever it is you do, the better you do it, the more it will help you (assuming you can show that you do it well). And if you do multiple things well, that will help you, too.</p>
<p>IMO, an athlete deserves credit where credit is due. If you think about it, almost every high school across the country (of which there are thousands upon thousands) has a football team and a track team, etc. If a student-athlete is talented enough academically to meet an Ivy’s requirements AND have managed to distinguish themselves in their given sport, they deserve a place in that class. Plus, when you eventually get to Yale or Columbia on your academic merit, do you really want to watch a bunch of nerds attempting to play football? That’s what life would be like without recruited athletes.</p>
<p>At Stanford, you have to be an athlete (as in 3 sports, 4 years, 12 letters). It’s how they roll. Have to. Virtually no, no, no exceptions. They will take the occasional non-athlete, but you better have cured cancer first.</p>