“I largely got in based on athletic merit,” admits Yalie

[ucbalumnus]

@katliamom

"the fact of the matter is that student-athletes, particularly in the Ivy League, are very successful once on campus. "

Based on my observations, I’d agree with @TiggerDad . For one, these tend to be disciplined and competitive types. They have the grades and the stats to be considered: you’re NOT going to see C-average high school students on Princeton teams. Plus, in contrast to many universities, the Ivies tend to put school first, sport second, thus giving athletes a very good shot at being able to excel academically.

Not too much of a surprise, since a recruited athlete in the Ivy League must have achieved highly in both a sport and academics*, suggesting a very high level of personal ability and motivation as needed to do both (as opposed to just one). Yes, parental support helps, but athletic achievement still requires the student to earn his/her achievement, rather than merely inherit a birth lottery preference like legacy or development.

*Even if the sports achievement is not at the top end of NCAA D1 level and/or the academic achievement is not at the top end of Ivy League admits, it is still a strong total achievement to reach “lower NCAA D1 level” in a sport and “lower Ivy League admits” in academics, each of which is still very high compared to the universe of college bound high school seniors.