<p>Midwesterner,</p>
<p>You know what? I had Princeton and Yale mixed up on that, and I apologize. Princeton is a few percentage points lower, but compared to the percentage of athletes, both schools' URM admissions are, I think, at or about almost DOUBLE that of recruited athletes. </p>
<p>Princeton's URM admissions were 36% and Yale's 42% for the class of 2008.</p>
<p>Yet recruited athletes comprise only about 15% of a class.</p>
<p>"For the class of 2007, the last class accepted under Hargadon, 218 athletes represented 13.9 percent of the 1570 students accepted. For the class of 2008, the first class admitted under Rapelye, 228 athletes represented 14.0 percent of the 1631 students accepted." (Source: Daily Princetonian, April 28, 2004)</p>
<p>I was convinced I had read that 42% of URM's were OFFERED admission at Princeton and only 36% accepted. That must have been in one of my nightmares during the college admissions agony.</p>
<p>But whether it's Yale's 42% or Princeton's 36%, the math still tells me that I would rather be a URM than an athlete if I was seeking admission to one of these schools. A URM wakes up being a URM every day -- as does an "ORM", an acronym that never ceases to amaze me. It is his or her birthright -- similar to being a legacy, I guess. </p>
<p>An athlete is not born an athlete, however. He or she can sacrifice 25-30 hours a week in punishing workouts for years (while keeping a close eye on GPA and fulfilling community service requirements) to MAYBE advance to the point in his or her chosen sport to be "recruitable". Athletes are also subject to the "banding" requirement at Ivy League schools. I know of no such policy regarding URM's. There are no scholarships offered to recruited athletes, either, whereas I believe URM's are not denied scholarships outright. I'm not sure how they handle legacies. </p>
<p>I haven't dug up the data for every Ivy, but I did find this:</p>
<p>"Based on acceptance rates alone, African American students have the best chance of getting into Dartmouth, with legacies right behind them. African Americans were accepted into the Class of 2008 at a rate of 44.6 percent, while legacies had a 35.4 percent acceptance rate. Native Americans and Latinos enjoyed acceptance rates of 34.6 and 29 percent, respectively."</p>
<p>So if people want to think someone "stole" their spot at one of these schools, it is statistically more likely to have been a URM than an athlete. Of course there are also the legacies to consider.</p>