<p>Do recruited athletes get preferential treatment in admissions? How about athletes who are not necessarily being recruited but are intending on playing their sport at the college they are applying to? </p>
<p>If you are being recruited does that mean you get in automatically, does it help your chances of getting in, or does it do neither? </p>
<p>Thanks. </p>
<p>Yes. Maybe. “Being recruited” is a process – what you want is a commitment from the coach. He/She can only commit to a certain number of athletes (and after the athlete’s other factors (academics) have been vetted). Those who receive that commitment, they’re in (barring something crazy).</p>
<p>A friend of mine who was recruited for rowing at Northeastern was essentially “guaranteed” admission when it was academically a reach school for her. She in fact was accepted and attended.</p>
<p>OP the answer to your question generally is yes but not in all instances. At D1 schools the coach usully can get you in, but at the better academic institutions there are numerous examples of recruited athletes not getting in (i.e at schools like the Ivys, Northwestern and Notre Dame). Also at many D3 schools a coach can let the admissions commitee know he wants you and that will have some sway with the admissions committee, but it does not guarantee admission. My son had a friend who got rejected by admissions at a D3 school even though he was the number one recruit of the coach.</p>
<p>As another example, many years ago when I was being recruited I had a Stanford coach tell a teammate and me that he would offer us a scholarship if we were able to get a 1200 on the SAT (this was prior to the score change). My teammate really wanted to go there but he never could obtain the score. I had the score but chose to go elsewhere. </p>
<p>A good friend of mine’s daughter was a track recruit. She was told by the coach at a top LAC that if she wanted to go there, she had two choices…either increase her SAT score or run faster.</p>
<p>But yes, if you are on a coach’s list of preferred applicants, there is a lower than normal academic bar.</p>
<p>I believe there is an entire subforum on athletic recruits.</p>