How much will quitting my sport senior year hurt me in the admissions process?

I played freshman year on JV, sophomore and junior year on varsity. I just don’t enjoy it anymore. Time constraints not a big issue although extra time to focus on applications and schoolwork definitely won’t hurt. I just want colleges to see me as someone who can finish what I started, and I’m afraid that a lack of continuity with extracurriculars will hurt that. I also don’t want them to think that I only did it in the first place for college apps. I have other activities and hobbies but only one through the school if I quit, and I don’t want that to hurt me either.

I know it’s hard to say, but could this be the difference between getting into good schools and not?

Thanks for reading. Any input is appreciates. Thanks!

No. It’s not the difference between getting into top schools or not. They will want to know what you have filled the extra time with.

Frankly, piling on and acing a tough 1st semester senior year has enormous benefits… don’t be scared to drop the sport. If my kid (varsity since freshman year) had told me, going into her senior year, that she needed to drop the sport b/c she wanted more time to devote to her classwork, I would have said “go for it.”

I remember UCLA said they didn’t like it. But both of my kids dropped out after sophomore year so I understand.

And just because you drop a sport at school doesn’t mean you have to drop it recreationally if it’s only the varsity aspect of it that you aren’t liking. The schools aren’t recruiting you for an athletic scholarship - they just want to know how you spend your time and what you enjoy. So if you drop , say, travel soccer and play only pick up games in your neighborhood instead, or drop varsity tennis and hereafter play only for fun, you are still entitled to indicate that you are engaged in that sport. Lots of kids have sports ECs for which there are no teams at all - surfing, snow-boarding, skate-boarding, etc…and that ‘counts’ too.

Post #4, that’s exactly what my kid did. She loves the sport and I love the fact that she got out and exercised so she didn’t do her sport through her high school.