<p>Read "The Game of Life". The book covers this in great detail.
Recruited athletes have far higher admissions rates to the Ivies than do URM's. </p>
<p>The Ivies do only need based financial aid. This is true for all students, athletes and non athletes, all ethnicities and races.</p>
<p>Recruited athletes do face banding in football. However, this only applies to people who are being recruited to play football in the first place. If you want to go to an Ivy League college, being a D1 level athlete is the best thing you can do to help your case.</p>
<p>That said, the vast majority of students admitted to the Ivies are not athletes.</p>