My son finishing 8th grade. They do not have GPA yet. He does not have straight A’s but he is awesome hockey player, DBLE AA tier . Would like to play in NEW ENGLAND college area but we live in Virginia. He has been noticed by 1 recruiter for 1 prep school at AAA level tier 1 . Not sure if right fit. If we were to apply for other prep schools, do they all require 3.5-4.0 HIGH GPA??
They don’t “require” 3.5-4.0 GPA, it all depends on the whole package. Although grades can definitely be very important (depends on the school), there are other factors to your application like interview, ECs, essays, SSATs, etc.
Some schools do tend to look more favorably on athletes, though, and it would help your son a lot, depending on his skill and experience with hockey.
Start calling and speak to the coaches. They might be able to give you more info. However a lot will depend on how well he does on the SSATs.
Yes, definitely start dialogue with coaches. It is also very common for hockey players to do 9th grade at current school then they come in and repeat 9th grade. I think most hockey recruits come in as “repeats”
I agree with the info above. If his grades aren’t top notch but he has good SSAT scores, they’ll probably feel better about his potential for academic success, so that’s probably an important data point. If it’s clear that he’ll be recruited, you and they may both be more comfortable with the idea that he’ll be a middling student (-- note, not failing or flailing) because he’ll still have good options for college. You’re probably already doing this, but I’d make sure my search included several schools with good hockey programs, not just the one you’ve talked with. Hearing the pitch at each of the schools may help you think through issues that you’re not considering now that could ultimately determine the best fit for your child.
I think the answer to your question lies in the answers to these questions:
- How good is your son at hockey (starter as freshman? Game-changer?)?
- How important is hockey to the school(s) he is applying to?
- How deep is the team at your son's position?
Thanks SevenDad as I have learned a lot from your posts when I went through the process for my own children with prep school admissions. May I add that while the best prep school is a goal–there are other prep schools that may also provide more academic support for a student who may not have the grades and/or struggle with the rigor.
I can tell you from personal experience, if you are good at sports they help A LOT. As a freshman at my public high school (which was ranked top 750 in the country) I was starting on JV and rotating in on Varsity. That at the time was unheard of and the only players who did that went on to go play at big time D1 colleges. I wanted to switch to boarding because I did not like the atmosphere/environment that the school created. I applied to 4 schools, Salisbury, Choate, Suffield, and Loomis Chaffee. When I was applying to all of these schools, I had a 3.0 GPA, but I was very involved in my community and a hard worker. If your son doesn’t have the best of grades, but is very good at hockey, this is what me and my parents did to give me a better chance:
- Look at schools that are both good at the sport and academics
- Which one is most likely to need me the most?
- Where will I be happy?
- Play up your strengths, if you are bilingual, talk about that, if you are good at science, talk about that
- If the school is hosting an event that you can make, go to it, it shows that you are very interested in the school
P.S. I got accepted into all 4 schools, I am going to be at Choate this fall and getting looked at by colleges