<p>I would say otherwise. Why would a “good” sports team want to risk losing? That’s completely asinine, and the entire point of that we more academic members are trying to make is that there are athletes out there who are fantastic and are extremely competitive with scores, grades, rigor, community service, they basically have the whole package, while a student who is perhaps only slightly better at a sport, but less competitive academically will get accepted over total package kid.
Not to say that I don’t understand where you’re coming from. I’m a varsity cross country and track and field runner and I work my ass off, but it fails in comparison to staying up all night to finish the homework you have for 5 AP classes on top of other extra-curricular activities or having so much to do that you only get about 8 hours of sleep each week (which pretty much sums me up). I know how exhausted you are after practice or a big game, but you don’t account for how exhausted most more academically focused people as well.</p>
<p>:(
life is just unfair.</p>
<p>@ nescio67. true, there are balanced kids. but you gotta admit, there are people out there who can kick our ass running crosscountry/track blind-folded. I recently worked out w/ an 8th grader who ran a 4:35 mile. he isn’t great academically, but he’s still a beast. Physical endurance and psychological endurance is different. In my opinion, physical toughness is a heck lot harder. Your brainpower is limitless, but your body has a limit and its tough as heck to break that limit. I took 8 AP classes last year, w/ xc, track, football, mathletes, quizbowl, and volunteer. I made 5’s on 7 of those exams. I had a lot of sleep each night, at least 6. I don’t see why you would have only 8 hours of sleep each week.</p>
<p>and plus, stobizzle is right, play UNC vs. Harvard right now. Who will win? Tyler Hansborough, Ty Lawson, and Danny Green would destroy Harvard. also, its true that coaches pull the better players out a lot earlier vs. low ranked teams, or sometimes don’t play them at all to give them a rest. I sometimes get to start vs. low ranked teams in football (i’m not very high on the wide-receiver rotation list).</p>
<p>but that doesn’t mean i don’t love the Harvard Basketball Team. After all, they got, i think, the only Asian starter!!!</p>
<p>in my opinion physical endurance is not harder than intelligence because one can train a ton and gain endurance. On the other hand, one cannot gain intelligence (although he/she can gain knowledge). Brainpower is not limitless. A brain can only hold about 10^17 bits of memory, so the RAM of the brain is much smaller than that, as is the processing speed of the brain. I’m not criticizing you, Obiwan, because obviously you are smart with all of your ECs and the multiple AP exams. But it’s the people that do three sports, have a 3.5 weighted GPA, and a 1200 SAT that get into Harvard that ****es me off. Example: Tim Tebow got into UF with a 970 SAT. There are kids who get rejected every year with scores above 1400 and way more ECs than Tebow the Savior. Just making a point.</p>
<p>I understand what you’re saying, but I still feel as though acceptance to a very rigorous academically inclined school because of athletics is a bit…unmerited? or even diluted.
Now that 8th grader who can run a 4:35 is very impressive, but you can’t honestly believe that he should go to a school like Harvard. Even though he excels at running, and could beast me at the drop of a hat, if a student isn’t necessarily prepared academically they won’t do well at a school like Harvard. & for schools of this caliber to accept on the physical endurance of a student while another who is also a great athlete and is much more academically prepared seems wrong.
It’s impressive that you were able to take 8 AP classes, if I had that opportunity I would have done the same. Sadly my school only has 13 AP classes. 
& to address why I only get 8 hours of sleep a week is that I do A LOT more than just academics and athletics. As the Event Chair of an all youth Relay for Life that encompasses the entire city’s involvement, it consumes about 30 hours of work on average. Not to mention being NHS vp, JCL president, NVJCL president, varsity quiz captain, key club officer & divisional board officer, on top of being a youth legislator-working with the state senators to create legislation that better represents the youth of my state. I did all of that this year and last on top of 5 & 7 AP’s respectively, maintaining a 4.0.</p>
<p>most likely that kid won’t even apply to harvard. why, when he’s that good, to settle for harvard athletics? he would probably go to University of Arkansas or someplace w/ a great running program. my point is, harvard can’t even compete w/ programs like Florida, USC, etc. plus how many do harvard recruit a year. maybe 20 or 30 tops. out of like 1400 accepted. Mosty people Harvard recruits are well-rounded. Even if Harvard tries, they can’t get someone like Tebow. Because most great athletes w/ bad grades that you guys are complaining about are aiming for the NBA, NFL, etc. Playing at Harvard’s not going to get them there.
ok, i’m not here to compare stats. on this subject my point is you can’t be sleeping “8 hours a week” throughout most of a school year, biologically impossible. you would develop induced narcolepsy.</p>
<p>as an athlete with decent scores who’s applied to Harvard I make absolutely no apologies for milking my sport for all its worth in my application. If any of you can seriously say that you dont look for every last little shred of co-curricular and academic accolades, or anything else for that matter, to dredge up to give yourself that extra sparkle…then you can criticise the athletes. When you twist the truth just a little in your essay, come up with a mildly fake reply to a question in your interview, pick a teacher who will write a slightly sensationalised review of your performance…you are doing so much worse. Every person who applies to an Ivy League has one thought foremost in their mind, how can I squeeze the most out of my life experience to get me into the best possible college, to give myself the best possible shot at the best possible future.</p>
<p>I agree with your last point obiwan. That is insane… and wilsa you completely missed the point of the argument, although you did bring up great points in a rather harsh manner, and I thank you for the points.</p>
<p>apologies Millerl1te. I only came upon this thread recently but still felt I needed to address some points mentioned earlier. I just find it unbelievable that some primarily academically inclined students can criticise sportsmen and women for making the most of their effort and ability in respect to gaining admission to a good college…just seems a little hypocritical to me - however harsh it sounds</p>
<p>Amplfiar 842 and No2Eula,</p>
<p>All athletes that apply to Ivys do so under very strict application criteria. There is what is called the Ivy Academic Index that is calculated for each individual athlete applicant. The standards are extremely high for GPA, test scores etc, and there are no exceptions. Even in the regular applicant pool there will be those that are accepted because of famous relatives, renowned legacy, profound wealth, etc. These are by far the exception, not the rule. Please understand that the committment required to maintain academic excellence while competing at an extremely high level creates qualities in an individual that make a real contribution to the " personal fiber " of an institution. I wish you good luck in your endeavours.</p>
<p>Why am I not surprised that someone with the username “Millerl1te” is maaaaaad at athletic recruiting?</p>
<p>There are thousands of “amazing” applicants who study 24/7 and get 2200+ on their SATs. There is only one 6’6 black guy doing 360 windmills in the street hoops. It’s simple. They are more rare. Supply and Demand anyone?</p>
<p>6’6 is tiny
too many of those for harvard…
;]</p>
<p>My son was accepted off the waiting list at Harvard earlier this week. He attends an international school in London, England. One of his classmates was also accepted yesterday, and another got an offer last week. That makes three!</p>
<p>From talking to his school counselor, she said that the had students accepted off the waiting list at Princeton, Yale, Penn. Amherst and Williams. The school is very pro-active however.</p>
<p>Obiwan has a good point.</p>
<p>The story that Duke accepts an applicant with 900 or 1000 SAT is simply not true. Any story that Harvard accepts a “C” average student no matter how gifted athlet he/she may be is not true. The standard for athlets may be lower, but not as low as you make it out to be.</p>