<p>What weight does participating in sports hold in determining acceptance?</p>
<p>Is it viewed on the same level as club membership? Band? </p>
<p>I am talking varsity btw</p>
<p>obviously^^^^</p>
<p>I believe that colleges which use a holistic approach to admissions will look favorably on athletic participation. It is on par with any other EC that involves “membership,” and works as a hook if you are good enough to play in college.</p>
<p>So are you saying that sports are viewed as equal to club membership?</p>
<p>Because I am a member of clubs and I also play sports and playing sports is not only a much greater time commitment but it also far more selective with the possibility of “getting cut” increasing exponentially each year all the way up to the varsity level. During the season most major sports (football, basketball, baseball) require at least 2-3 hours of your time EVERY day and demand that you give up one class period every semester for practice in addition to after school practice. </p>
<p>On game days, athletics often monopolize 5-8 hours for prepping, watching film, practice, commuting and the game, leaving little or no time to maintain grades. This great time and energy commitment has made it so that no student has ever made varsity football or basketball as a sophomore with above a 4.0 GPA at my school since I have been there. </p>
<p>Your grades suffer and your ability to participate in other extracurriculars is greatly inhibited; we had one bright student come into the basketball program who was a decent player, but he found he could not balance the academics, clubs, internships, and still put in the practice required to make the team and he was eventually cut from the team.</p>
<p>I am worried that colleges do not fully realize the commitment necessary to compete in top level high school sports and do not weigh it heavily enough regarding admissions. If someone is really serious about getting into a good school, barring the college athletics hook, I believe the major sports (baseball track football etc.) that dominate so much of a students time actually hinder admissions chances rather than benefit them.</p>
<p>My personal opinion (that the value of athletics participation far outweighs any other type of EC) notwithstanding, it is impossible to make a blanket statement about how all colleges will view such participation when it comes to admission. (I agree with your post #4, btw).</p>
<p>For colleges that admit based solely on GPA and test scores, your athletic participation will be irrelevant, and yes, can hinder your admission if practice time compromises your ability to get good grades.</p>
<p>For colleges with holistic admissions, it seems logical that they might prefer a student who maintains a healthy, balanced lifestyle (for example, a 3.8 student who is the top varsity swimmer) over a more one-dimensional applicant (4.0, Computer club member).</p>
<p>It will differ with each college and with every combination of academic and athletic success level, however.</p>
<p>Thanks Bay, I hope you are right</p>
<p>does being a captain help? i was captain of my freshman team and sophomore volleyball team. now im on varsity as a junior and they only pick seniors for captain. next year im sure ill get it though. technically its the same time commitment as all the other players, you just have more leadership responsibility. does that matter to colleges?</p>
<p>captain is awesome for admissions, definitely do it</p>
<p>If you are recruitable it is a big deal in helping (and of course varies by sports) acceptance. D was recruited and got in basically everywhere she applied (however was also an outstanding student, test scores).</p>
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<p>I don’t think there’s anything wrong with academic clubs. In fact, if you are able to get leadership, they’re preferred.</p>
<p>Colleges aren’t looking for well-rounded students, they are looking for well-rounded classes. That includes both chess players and star soccer players. That means whatever you do you should be the best at it, but don’t worry too much about what that is.</p>
<p>In terms of athletics, it can often be a detriment for many students who can’t keep up with the work. You should look at the cost vs. benefit. How much cost will it cause to your grades? What other clubs could be doing instead, which would possibly be more impressive? Will you be a recruited student athlete? Will you make captain?</p>
<p>Overall, must students <em>aren’t</em> good enough to be recruited. For those students, athletics often isn’t worth the time commitment in terms of grades and lack of other activities.</p>