<p>Recruited/Accepted into a D1 school. Not quite up to their academic profile but grades and scores are high enough to be pushed through by coach. Are we in over our head? Does anyone have any feedback on this? Is the curriculum within the same major really harder at the most selective schools then at a highly selective school?</p>
<p>I have no direct experience with this type of situation, but a few things come to mind, some more obvious than others.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Major: Some majors, such as engineering, weed people out. Others have much more flexibility in terms of courses one must take and the rigor of those courses.</p></li>
<li><p>School’s core/distribution requirements: If school is very flexible in terms of what courses meet graduation requirements, then there is more flexibility to stay away from high intensity courses.</p></li>
<li><p>Size of school: The larger the school, more options there will be in terms of not just available courses but also the rigor of classes. For example, even in my sons medium sized school (5000 students), there are 4 levels of 1st year physics that a student can choose from. OTOH, I know a student attending a school of 1000 where there is one course for everyone. Div 1 schools should have a variety to choose from, I would think.</p></li>
<li><p>Academic support: Does athletics come before academics? Are there tutoring and other supports available for athletes who need it? Are professors and coaches mutually supportive of the students commitment to both and willing to work with practice and exam schedules etc?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As they say, a student athlete can have 2 of 3 among sleep, sports, or social life.</p>
<p>Yes, in general a more selective school will be harder. The students are stronger on arrival to campus and so the profs can teach at a higher level from the get-go. My D knows kids who did not carry nearly as challenging a high school schedule as she did, but since they are at state schools they have gotten upper class standing because of their AP’s and still seem to be breezing through upper level classes and gettting A’s. That is NOT happening for her at HYPS and she is working hard.</p>
<p>Please…state schools have challenging programs as welll…get over yourself already!</p>
<p>No doubt that is true–there are many fine state schools with many challenging programs. That said, there is no doubt that The GFG is correct in his/her assessment. I have a non-athlete D at a top-20 school who is working MUCH harder to earn lower grades than less accomplished h.s. peers at lower tier schools. There’s a reason highly selective schools want h.s. students taking the hardest course load and doing well. As GFG said, the overall student body at these schools is starting at a higher intellectual vantage point and expectations on the part of the institution are also higher.</p>
<p>thrower</p>
<p>I think the question you should focus on is not whether, in general, a more selective school is going to be more challenging. In general, yes it will be, for the reasons outlined above and because classes are usually graded on a curve and your student will be competing directly against those with higher stats.</p>
<p>But rather, think about what your particular school offers for your student. What will the requirements be for your student in his/her major? How have other students similar to yours done in the past? etc.</p>
<p>To use a broad example, for a low stat for the school student, majoring in chemical engineering at MIT (D1 in crew, I believe) will be very difficult. Sports management at Ohio State, on the other hand, may be a more manageable experience.</p>
<p>Honestly, I wouldn’t worry. The fact that your S was accepted means that the college expects him to fit in and do well academically.
With respect to academics and selectivity of schools, I think it’s probably fair to say that the range of students in terms of their academic prowess is much wider at less competitive schools than at highly selective schools, so it’s easier to excel.</p>
<p>I remember asking “what was the biggest obstacle to success?” during an official visit to UPenn, Wharton School information session for the recruits. I was expecting to hear about priorities and freshmen distractions and not taking advantage of advisors etc… and the answer was “injuries.” That was a completely unexpected answer…and the Wharton folks reinforced what beenthere2 is saying…if we accept you, then you can do the work. I remember MIT delivering the same message for one of my kids…</p>
<p>will your child ask for help when they need it? do they wait until it is almost too late to ask for help? American colleges and universities today have a lot of resources available to help the students…but the kids have to seek out and ask for help, assistance etc.</p>
<p>^^^ I have to agree with that. I may be wrong, but I truly believe that no reputable admissions office is going to accept a recruit without feeling confident that they can do the work at the school. The athlete struggling too much, or failing, academically helps no one.</p>
<p>Thrower1- I have a friend who’s son was recruited to a D1 school for his sport and it was a given that it would be a challenge for him academically… Coach got him in but knew it would be tough… Totally backfired, kid even though redshirted his freshman year became academically ineligible, struggled big time, ended up trying to fight back sophomore year to no avail… Ended up transferring to a school that better fit his learning style (smaller, more hands on school). He lost an entire year of eligibility in his sport and spent 2 frustrating years at a school where he should have never gone to in the first place. It was a bummer for all. The parent said they wished they would have not had the “starry eyes” syndrome at the time for the original school.</p>
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<p>What about football/basketball at the top athletic programs? Unless you want to say that their admissions office is not reputable?</p>
<p>^^^But then don’t those top athletic programs offer academic support/study hall/tutoring to those students to help them succeed? A “reputable admissions office” knows whether or not their school can give the support an athletic recruit may need. </p>
<p>My athlete looked at/was recruited by ivies and non-ivy D1 programs. No ivy made any reference to academic support to us (not saying it doesn’t exist, just saying that it was never mentioned in any way to us). However, non-ivy top athletic schools all referenced their tutoring programs, study halls, extra help sessions, etc. that were offered to their athletes. In a couple of schools, it appeared that the athlete’s course loads were reviewed by the athletic/academic staff in order to make sure that the athlete would not be getting in over his/her head. I took this to mean that, with those non-ivies, they would be confident that in accepting the athlete, they could ensure his/her academic success with a significant network of support at the ready. That is why I believe that it is unlikely for an admissions office to accept a student who they seriously think is going to have an academic issue, particularly with all of the support that can be offered (non-ivy). </p>
<p>Just my opinion!</p>
<p>Mayhew is right on the money with this. My daughter was recruited by Ivy and non-Ivy DI programs also. The academic support for athletes at non-Ivy DI schools is excellent. My daughter met the academic advisors for the team at several schools and was told that they had priority registration for classes, so that the athletes would be in the sections that did not impact practice schedules. Many had mandatory study halls, with free tutors available for the athletes. And the coaches receive progress reports, the athletes ability to travel and participate hinges on academic success. So, if the school is a non- Ivy DI, I would not worry about it. If it is an Ivy, a couple of the schools we spoke with DID offer academic support for athletes, but not to the extent the non-Ivys. One thing was that their were no classes in the late afternoon, so that classes did not impact practice schedules. Another was no classes on Friday so as not to conflict with travel. Another had an adademic advisor for sports and tutoring available. With the Ivy League schools, we asked about their academic support and only one school told us none was available, after all, if you got into that school, you shouldn’t need academic support, haha. </p>
<p>Bottom line is, I think that if an athlete got through admissions, there is enough support at most schools for the athlete to be successful. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>To the OP, I don’t know that there is a real strong correlation between the incoming student’s stats and his success in college. Handling the adjustment and being self-disciplined enough to put in the necessary study time is key. Coming into a situation where he may be a little concerned about his ability to keep up can be a powerful motivator to stay on top of things.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your feedback. The coach had expressed that academics is #1 and there are resources available. He must maintain a certain GPA throughout his senior year. I truly believe that if my DS wasn’t so lazy, he could have been admitted on his own. He most definitely has the intelligence, it’s the work ethic that scares me a little. I am hoping being with others in the same situation will inspire him!</p>
<p>ihs: how about Stanford? They win a few games and their players do pretty well on the SAT</p>
<p>ummm, what about Stanford? I don’t think I suggested that <em>every</em> top program had problems. But there certainly are plenty that have graduation rates in 50-60% range and the Stanfords and the Dukes are the exception rather than the rule.</p>
<p>[Scout.com:</a> The Bootleg’s 2010 Graduation Rate Analysis](<a href=“http://stanford.scout.com/2/952555.html]Scout.com:”>http://stanford.scout.com/2/952555.html)</p>
<p>Now I don’t want to assume the poor graduation rates are completely due to academic difficulties but I expect there is a large component of that.</p>
<p>And we are getting OT. Sounds like OPs kid is in pretty good shape so that’s all good.</p>
<p>Thrower1,</p>
<p>Typically schools will publish the profile of a class. I would look at previous years to get an idea. Yes, the ciriculum will be more difficult at a highly selective school. Whether or not it is “most selective” or “highly selective” your son/daughter will still have to do the work. There is no getting around that. If you have serious reservations then your son/daughter should talk with the coach about their intended major, and the time committment to the sport. I would rather make an informed decision now than have to deal with a very uncomfortable situation in the future. Four years of struggling could be that uncomfortable situation. </p>
<p>We’ve had that talk, and we went in with eyes open. My son is an engineering major/baseball player at a D1 Ivy with 38-42 baseball games and no travel during the week. This is in contrast to a typical D1 with 56 baseball games and travel during the week. This was a no brainer for us. My son now understands (perfectly) why we had that discussion last year, and is glad we did.</p>
<p>You’re right. Right after I posted, a certain top basketball school came to mind which recruited students from ‘prep’ schools that were run by a janitor somewhere in a basement.</p>