Ranked around 35 of 380 in my class, have decent SATs (1440), absolutely no other ECs, go to a regular public high school, but I am good at a second tier sport. Not all state, and I’d say in the second tier in terms of talent (first tier have D1 opportunities). So I’m doing 2 over night visits to top LACs over next two weeks, and then will make my choice. Blows my mind as my dad is like you would have zero chance at these two schools without sports. But my dad says diversity hiring is a real (and published) initiative at his nyc bank, and tells me life really is a large part about reading the tea leaves and taking advantage of opportunities. My guidance counselor told me she’s never heard of my top choice, which is arguably the best lac in the country lol. So I will commit, watch the class valedictorian get rejected at every ivy (happened last year), and not look back. Actually feels good…
Happy for you and agree that sports give a lot legs up.
Until you have that acceptance letter in hand, don’t take the application process less seriously, as the AOs at top schools might reject full-supported athletes, not often but do happen.
I know - parents already had a talk with me about zero social media posts. I see so many commitments online for both the schools I’m looking at, and scratch my head. I guess they are committing to the process, but it’s rarely worded that way. More about “look at me and be impressed”. Lot of bragging in my generation, and the theme of my essay (still in draft stage) actually touches on this and staying grounded and humble (not a sports related essay lol). Waaaay too many cocky kids out there, especially weird to me when it’s a D3 commitment.
It is true that a very small college with a full set of sports teams will consume a much larger percentage of its admissions class with recruited athletes than a large college with a similar set of sports teams.
But that is mainly of interest to those who are not recruited athletes at the colleges they apply to.
I would sit in on class and make sure you’re comfortable there. I’m sure the school and professors support athletes but you don’t want to be out of your comfort zone academically.
Good luck on the OVs, have you had positive pre-reads from both schools already? I am not clear if you already have offers or are hoping to receive them during OVs.
Not all student-athletes that go on OVs receive offers of full support in the admissions process from the coach. Make sure you understand what the coaches are offering, and the likelihood of acceptance at that level of support. At many schools even full support is not a guarantee of an acceptance, especially at some of the highly selective DIII schools. Good luck.
I’m glad your sport gives you your pick between 2 top LACs, but I don’t understand why it feels good to know your classmate is likely to get rejected from all their top choices. Why not hope that they get their pick of schools too?
@austinmshauri I agree! If the college knew about that comment they may think twice about this student. At least at the top LACs I know, modesty would be a plus.
You do realize that this quote runs totally counter to the hubris you display in your original post, right?
Idk, it seems like he’s just commenting on the absurdity of the whole situation. He has good stats but not tops, and will get in to an elite school over more qualified students because for some reason it’s important to field a squash team or whatever. He’s not wrong.
But that just it. Some schools have decided that students with athletic talent and/or other hooks are important when building a multi-dimensional class. In holistic admissions, an applicant with ‘top stats’ is not per se ‘more qualified’ than an applicant that has strength in other desirable areas.
Sure. I’m just not sure WHY it’s so important. Especially when some of the athletes are…good, not great, and nearly half the class are athletes (Haverford comes to mind.) But ofc it’s up to the colleges to decide what’s important to them. If 42% of the student body playing a varsity sport is what they want, it’s what they want.
OP - Congratulations on your success to date. It’s kind of ridiculous we’ve reached a point where top 10% of class and 1440 SAT feels just OK. Those are really good numbers (maybe not tippy top, but outstanding nonetheless). Couple that with very strong athletic prowess and that’s very impressive, especially when you understand what time commitment is involved in being a recruit worthy athlete.
Sounds like your folks are giving you good advice. As others have stated, don’t count your chickens though. Nothing is over until it’s over, meaning you are enrolled at the school.
Someone mentioned sitting in on a class, getting a feel for the academic rigor. Actually pretty important to make sure you feel you can compete academically. I’m sure you can as your stats suggest very high level of competence and athletes tend to be quite resilient.
Best of luck!
Lots of reasons why athletes are desirable as students, same as why they are desirable as employees (some companies have a history of favoring athletes in immediate post college hiring)…leadership qualities, being able to function as a member as a team, etc.
Some (many ?) of Haverford’s athletes probably did not have an admissions hook as generally those are limited…for example NESCAC schools are limited to around 70 full coach support slots per year (still a not insignificant proportion of the student body tho). It looks to me like there are 423 unduplicated Haverford athletes, so about 32% of the student body. https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/institution/details
OP should absolutely target his applications to where his overall profile is strongest and his specific strengths are most valued…and remember to dial back attitude especially on the OVs. Many coaches place significant importance on how the current team gets along with the recruits.
It’s 42% varsity, according to Haverford.
http://haverfordclerk.com/the-athlete-non-athlete-relationship-at-haverford-college/
@Mwfan1921 wow. I didn’t know about that 70 number. That must mean that more kids walk on than are recruited. i just read that 36% of Bowdoin’s students are athletes. If that stat is the same for each class then that’s 180 of the 500 freshman. I wonder how many of the went ED but weren’t officially recruited. S19 has met a LOT of kids who say they were recruited in ED.
OP, good luck to you but as the others say - don’t count your chickens before they hatch. And maybe have a little empathy for the valedictorian who didn’t get into her/his first choice.
A student I know very well has just been offered a team spot at an Ivy League school. He is a good student, has taken a few hard classes, and has good test scores, though not above 1400 on SAT. He’s also a very nice person who understands that the opportunity he’s just been given. This student, however, is humble and would never laugh at better students who don’t get into their top choices.
@Lindagaf yep. Even juniors getting recruited this week. D21’s swimming friend just committed to Penn. He’s already taken standardized tests. He’s near the top of his class with lots of rigor and high grades. Athletes with super high scores have lots of choices!
Yes, going on OVs does not mean you will get the full supports or that you will get in. A lot more kids go to OVs than the schools have spots for. But getting OVs are good signs.
Good luck.