Duke Athlete Admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>From the Duke Chronicle - the article speaks for itself. </p>

<p>"For the Class of 2007, 768 male non-athletes were admitted to Duke with an average SAT score of 1,438, while 42 recruited athletes averaged 1,172. For females, 786 non-athletes averaged 1,403, versus 37 athletes' 1,258. </p>

<p>That's a 266-point gap for males and a 145-point gap for females.</p>

<p>And in case you're interested in a team-by-team breakdown, the eight men's baseball team recruits averaged 1,206 that year, while 22 football players averaged 1,063 and the five men's basketball players came in last at 997. All 14 other recruited male athletes averaged 1,258. </p>

<p>Considering the national average for the 2002 SAT was 1,026, it's a safe bet that few (if any) non-athletes could even get their foot in the door with stats like the ones above. </p>

<p>Yet the most elite recruits (read: prospective basketball players) can be tentatively admitted before they've finished their junior year of high school; all that's needed is a PSAT score and freshman and sophomore grades. </p>

<p>This must have been how our beloved Sean Dockery got admitted with a 2.3 GPA and an ACT score of 15; at the time, his credentials didn't even meet NCAA minimums of a 2.5 GPA and 17 on the ACT. </p>

<p>Which brings me to my point: Although I, too, will never forget the night Sean Dockery beat VT, this snapshot of our admissions process is a University-wide disgrace. </p>

<p>Indeed, is it really too much to ask for these student-athletes' scores to come within shouting distance of their classmates? </p>

<p>And can we really be an "academic" University when our lofty standards are so clearly subject to the athletic department's needs? </p>

<p>But most of all, why should non-athletes like myself accept the argument that sporting ability should outweigh inferior academic credentials?"</p>

<p>You can read the rest at <a href="http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/20/Columns/Fight.Blue.Devils.Fight-2379823.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/20/Columns/Fight.Blue.Devils.Fight-2379823.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

2

<p>Not sure what language you are getting from that article. What it says to me is the author has a very limited perception of what a college student should be and how that might be established. And that the "snapshot" she chose selectively ignores the majority of athletes, focusing instead on a few people. It also ignored athletes not on scholarship, if I am correct in the wording?</p>

3

<p>Free speech is a wonderful thing. So now we know why Nifong couldn't find the broomstick from the lacrosse party -- it's stuck up this writer's butt. Guess she didn't bother researching the type of high school experience that a kid like Dockery might have had ... or that he graduated on time ... or that Duke would truly bite if each year the admissions office just took the top 3,000 SAT scorers ... or that the value of her Duke degree is probably more dependent upon the national reputation built by the basketball program's success than the profs that she must suck up to on a regular basis.</p>

<p>So do you think that she hates all blacks on campus who may have benefited in the admissions process or only the ones that can dunk?</p>

4

<p>So what did Brian Zoubek score on the SAT?</p>

5

<p>Zoubek scored 1360 (two subject total)</p>

6

<p>senatorblutarsky: YESSSSS. you nailed it. hahahahahaha i cant stop laughing. so its fine for lower qualified urms to be admitted over other more qualified white students, but its a disgrace for someone who has an actual skill (athletics), and not just a different skin color, to be admitted based largely on that skill? hmmmm…stop hating on sports, if you dont like it, theres a plethora of universities with no sports prestige whatsoever that would (maybe) be happy to have you attend. there seems to be a large amount of people who are under the illusion that college is only about academics. for anyone who went through college with that mindset - i feel deeply and truly sorry that you ruined the best years of your life, they are never coming back.</p>

7

<p>Another thing to consider, when this article mentions “recruiting” it is strictly talking about athletes that received scholarships, which isn’t the only form of recruitment that happens at Duke.</p>

<p>Many sports have limited scholarships, but still “recruit”. A coach has a list of about 10-12 people that he can recommend for admissions. This list is not as airtight as a scholarship, but it is about 99% sure that you’ll get in (unless you have some serious faults in your application). These student-athletes usually have higher scores because they need to clear the admissions “bar”.</p>