<p>My son’s shot put coach had a saying “62 feet is like a 4.0”. The better the athlete, the more coaches will go to bat for you with admissions. I have found with my son and daughter that open communications with the coaches early on will help you find out if your S or D is a fit. For my son, the coach initially told him that if he could raise his ACT score, he could get him in. He did so, and got into a top 10 school. Just ask ;)</p>
<p>We attended a college coaches forum (for a different sport) and the top academic coaches all commented that they are given a “team average” that they need to meet every year that is typicall 10-30% lower than the regular student numbers. So, I guess if he is lucky enough to have a couple fellow recruits with high test scores to “make the average” and he is a highly desired athlete - it will work out. But of course, there is no way to know this. Goodluck - I hope it all works out!</p>
<p>24 ACT for a top liberal arts school? That’s like an SAT of 1100, like 300 points below the other students. I sure hope lacrosse doesn’t dip that much regularly. That student couldn’t get into Rutgers with that SAT.</p>
<p>I was told that if the target Ivy says that 2200 would be “good” and 2100 “average” for their general student population, a student athlete should target those <em>but</em> the better the athlete, the more slip allowed. If a student had for example 1800, he or she had better have excellent grades to make up for it. You can’t assume 600’s across the board though.</p>
<p>The question everyone needs to ask when applying to schools is how many reach schools to apply to, and how many probables, and how many definites. We are looking at three reach schools, two probables, and one definite. All six are being targeted for sports recruiting, with the reaches impossible without sports being a strong consideration.</p>
<p>The admissions committee representative from my alma mater told me that the coaches put together a (rather long) list of who they want, and they throw them out at the admissions committee. The admissions committee then tells them “no problem”, “maybe with conditions”, or “no way not in a zillion years”. The “maybe with conditions” would be the kids with lower than average SATs and/or GPAs who still could make it if the coach wants them enough.</p>
<p>Obviously the best position for a student-athlete targeting an Ivy to be in is SAT scores above 2200 and unweighted GPA above 3.9. But remember the reverse of it, if there is not a position available (the team already has four centers in upper classmen), you’re not going to play there. You could get in on academics but not get offered a spot on the team.</p>
<p>Hi rhandco, thanks for sharing that. It was really helpful. have a quick question, when you say “you can’t assume 600s across the board, though,” what does that mean?</p>
<p>Ah Redmann995 even Rutgers will take low test scores as long as the athlete is good enough and they are not looking to enroll in the College of Engineering or Pharmacy. We found the coaches there no different than at any other state D1 school theyll ignore low test scores if they need to, but they will tell you what they think low is (and you would be surprised /disappointed at what a small number that is). However, with Lacrosse, I suspect that there is enough talent within the state that they have their pick of good students who are also great athletes.</p>
<p>We know of an HYP lax player who committed sophomore year. His SATs just came in at low 1900s and he is still a green light according to his parents.</p>
<p>1900s at HYP must be one of their best recruits. That’s really low (but definitely in the game for a top recruit).</p>
<p>Agreed, 1900 is low - but doable. I think we have a bit of a skewed perspective here on CC about test scores. The reality is that a low-mid 1900 SAT puts you in the top 10% (approx) of all students that take the test. If a kid is on the short list of top athletic recruits in the country and can score in the top 10% academically - well, there are not a lot of those kids out there.</p>
<p>Actually just lower 1900s (not 1900) but his GPA is great and he’s a great player. He works hard in school, was a triple athlete and pared down all his sports to finally do lax in HS. The kid is an athlete. Good prep school.</p>
<p>Hi pardon my ignorance what is HYP? I assume a top school?</p>
<p>Just a followup, and I do believe that there are exceptions to every rule. My son has gotten verbal offers from two D1 schools and is seriously talking with 2 top lib.arts (think top 8). His final ACT score was a 26 equal to an 1800 on the SAT. He is a strong student in a rigorous school but not a great test taker (time is the problem). He is a strong athlete and obviously all his credentials were able to get him to this point, nothing is in stone right now (though offers have been made he is still making up his mind) but things are looking very hopeful and some opportunities that we didn’t think could happen have in fact happened.</p>
<p>His best friend on his team just committed to a top D1 school for lacrosse (well above his academic standards) and had a 24 on his ACT so it does happen but I think the skill and desirability of the player is a very very big part of this equation. Just wanted to offer my insight and observations into this process…</p>
<p>HYP - Harvard, Yale, Princeton. often thought of as the top tier of the Ivy League. Sometimes people will put an S on there for Stanford (not an Ivy) but thought to be the same caliber.</p>
<p>Congrats to your son - very exciting for you.</p>
<p>Momoffour11,</p>
<p>HYP=Harvard,Yale,Princeton</p>
<p>Sounds like things are going well for your son! I would consider having a few schools that match his scores and gpa on the radar in case things don’tgo as planned.</p>