<p>I have played two sports (3 if you count cross country and track separately, soccer being the 3rd) at varsity level in a large public high school, and I was wondering how much a top-tier school like UPenn or UChicago values athletics as part of an application. Will I have a significantly better chance than the non-athlete with equivalent grades, test scores, etc.?</p>
<p>“Will I have a significantly better chance than…” </p>
<p>Sports are great. But so is being a devoted musician or actor or science researcher or dedicated bagger at the grocery store (I’m not kidding).</p>
<p>You are at an advantage over bookworms w/no outside life and pitiful ECs. But many other pursuits are as worthy as varsity sports to schools like Penn or UChicago.</p>
<p>Unless you are a recruited athlete, meaning a coach is talking to you and the admissions office, there really isn’t any advantage. It’s just another EC.</p>
<p>No advantage at all - like sadilly and T26E4 said, sports is just another EC. I therefore hope that you are doing them because you enjoy them. It would be a shame if you have given up other things you’d rather be doing because you thought sports conferred some non-existent advantage.</p>
<p>Candidacy to the service academies greatly favor students w/extensive athletic achievement. But those four are the exception.</p>
<p>Well since I’m a soccer player, AND a dedicated cashier at the grocery store, I should be set! :D</p>
<p>Haha, I kid. But if you have sports that you play for more than a year, the commitment and dedication show, yeah, but at the end of the day its how well you do in the classroom.</p>
<p>Ok thanks everyone! And yes, M’s Mom, I play the sports out of enjoyment, I was just wondering if there were some positive externalities in college admission :)</p>