<p>So, I'm pretty sure the answer is no, BUT for some reason I'm not 100% sure. </p>
<p>There have been many cases where people that are especially good and/or dedicated at something get into top flight schools WITHOUT a sport to boast on their resume, but that's the thing. They excel at something or the other.
Then there are the acceptances of students who are just well-rounded: sports, clubs, service, leadership and all that jazz. So do you need to have a sport on your resume to get into a good school?
My intentions are shallow, but lets be honest, so are most people's. I could go on a rant about how what people do during high school is for college apps and nothing else, but that's for another day and another thread.</p>
<p>I'm tired and I can't seem to get my point across, so...</p>
<p>tl;dr:
-If you're not godlike at something, but instead you're a "well-rounded" student, is a varsity or JV sport needed to be excepted to a good school?</p>
<p>FYI I posted this in the Stan thread cause 'tis the school of my dreams.</p>
<p>Stanford, similar to Duke, is an athletic powerhouse and reserves prime slots for elite athletes (frequently at the expense of rejecting large numbers of brilliant students), but in general one would need to be of national caliber.</p>
<p>My opinion is that whether you play a varsity sport or not, it will have absolutely no impact on getting admitted to a school like Stanford. Some high school students believe playing a sport or joining a club makes you look better for a top school. It doesn’t hurt, but I don’t think it really sets you apart either.</p>
<p>Take my kid’s high school for example. Probably one third of the students play a sport at some level during their four years whether it be something like JV lacrosse or freshman track. Would Stanford be impressed with an activity in which a third of the students participate? Every student in my kid’s high school is required to join at least one club. Do you think that is going to impress anyone in an admissions office if everybody has to do it?</p>
<p>To get admitted to an elite school you really need to do something other than the standard high school activities.</p>
<p>What dad2 said is probably about 1/4th true. Stanford does have a lot of good athletic teams that recruit players, but i’d take issue with the comment that “large numbers of brilliant students” are rejected as a result. first, some of our athletes are very smart. Its only anecdotal, but the only football player i know is getting his phd in the engineering school (at stanford) now. Are there some dumb ones? yes. are there a lot of dumb stanford students that aren’t even athletes? yes.</p>
<p>the kids that are actually brilliant, by a school like stanford’s standards, are going to get in at a much, much, much higher clip than the 7% advertised admit rate. People just need to realize being national merit, an ap scholar, etc is sort of a bare minimum. get a USAMO/IMO medal, a big science prize (most notably intel), etc. and you get to start shifting over to brilliant territory.</p>
<p>and to answer the question on the thread, no you don’t have to do a varsity sport.</p>
<p>furthermore, there are a number of kids I know going to Stanford that are complete run of the mill. No prizes (unless you count that AP honors BS as one), some had V sports, some didn’t. Well, I guess they weren’t run of the mill, many had their niches. But they definitely weren’t extraordinary.</p>
<p>I’m starting to question why I made this thread, its a dumb question. Oh well, I’m like that.</p>
<p>And don’t forget that a student who jumps off the page as truly passionate about something – whether it be a sport, music, community service or whatever – is going to catch the interest of the application reader. You definitely do not need a varsity sport.</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence: I didn’t do any sports in high school. Just did regular activities like band/marching band/math team and was accepted. I had an interesting life story though and molded my application accordingly.</p>