<p>I'm just wondering. How much do sports really help your acceptance into these colleges? Do they put the same weight to working as they do to sports? I've been thinking of conditioning for next year's XC season, but I'm also getting a part-time job next year during the same period. If i dont have to do the sport, I might just skip it. </p>
<p>Also, how many of you guys who applied/got accepted by the HYPS played some type of sport during the school year, whether for the school or rec?</p>
<p>Athletics are the golden ticket to the Ivy League. If you are a top recruited athlete for any given sport, you are very likely to get admitted (even without top notch grades).</p>
<p>That said, you have to be good enough to be recruited.</p>
<p>yeah but if youre not good enough to be recruited (and most ppl arent..). esp. at an ivy league you have to be ridiculous at something to be able to be recruited.</p>
<p>i recently decided to quit lacrosse (which is a major major commitment here and the coach is genuinely insane) and focus on stuff i really love and that is more significant to me, like community service (ie. habitat for humanity in NC). it was a really tough decision but im glad i made it; i didnt love playing enough to make it worth it and it took up way too much time. plus im also the swimteam captain so i have that. sorry to keep babbling: my point is that you should only play cuz you love it, or for the same reasons you would do another EC, otherwise you should find something else youre passionate about to spend time on.</p>
<p>From what coaches have told me is that if all is equal, which for most applicants it is. Knowing that they would be useful as a member of the freshman class doing a sport pushes them over the bubble. EA however has much more pushing power than a RD recruit does.</p>
<p>Laurenemma-- The reason EA recruits have more pull is probably because almost all recruited athletes apply/are recruited early somewhere. Thus, the coaches at other schools where an athlete is applying RD have much less hope of getting an RD applicant (since the athlete's probably applied EA somewhere), plus the coach has probably prioritized the list of athletes he wants in terms of whom he's most likely to get (EA athletes).</p>
<p>More than you ever wanted to know, right? This is the kind of random knowledge I have after my OCD-worrying about admissions the week before EA decisions came, which resulted in running out to get a book on Ivy League recruiting. ;)</p>