<p>This senior boy at my school, who excels in basketball got accepted to UW Madison after getting a 13 on his ACT and not even having a B average. UW Madison is hard to get into and top scores and grades are required. But I guess they made an exception to him because "he plays basketball good"</p>
<p>hello...........this is news?</p>
<p>i suppose that's called recruited athlete? It's not definitely a ridiculously unfair thing, who knows, maybe he paid an infinite amount of effort in playing basketball?</p>
<p>That's not as unfair as Paris Hilton being dumber than a 10 year old given the life many of us would die for and having done NOTHING to deserve it.</p>
<p>Get over it. Being good at a sport is a skill and talent that requires a lot of work, just as much, perhaps more than a great academic student.</p>
<p>He has an usual talent. I don't imagine it was easy for him. They didn't so much make an exception for him so much as he utilized one of the possible ways to be accepted.</p>
<p>Compare the person whose family donates $150 million to Harvard, or the person in an affluent high school with an average SAT of 1400/1600, and the person in an inner city school with an average SAT of 700/1600.</p>
<p>If he averaged 13 on the ACT, this would mean his combined score would be roughly 52. To be eligible for Division I athletics, he would need at the minimum a 3.000 GPA in the core courses, as defined by the NCAA. <a href="http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/membership/membership_svcs/eligibility-recruiting/faqs/ie_quick_ref.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/membership/membership_svcs/eligibility-recruiting/faqs/ie_quick_ref.pdf</a></p>
<p>Someone with a 13 ACT with less than a B average in the core courses, in other words, could not play for the school.</p>
<p>they didnt focus on academics, just as you didnt focus on sports. He's lucky, but this isnt uncommon at all.</p>
<p>
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But I guess they made an exception to him because "he plays basketball good"
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<p>He plays basketball well. Say it with me now...well.</p>
<p>Is this guy and good? We can use some big men who can score and rebound.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters... playing a sport really well takes a LOT of time and dedication, usually much more than is necessary to get good grades.</p>
<p>It isn't fair...and while he is in school want to bet he will take easy courses, get "help", and have no skills for life and a job when he leaves, as he doesn't sound like he is prepared for college</p>
<p>And, if he did that poorly on the ACT (no sat tests), who wants to bet that his grades were helped along the way so he could stay eligible to play</p>
<p>Happens all the time and is a dis-service to the student</p>
<p>There are kids that excel in sports AND to pretty well in high school, playing sports is not an excuse to not do well, its just a justification and not really a valid one</p>
<p>NCAA has rules of eligibility to play in college...makes one wonder about the transcript and padding of grades to make him eligible</p>
<p>Fix the growing gap between the rich and the poor first. Then you can whine about this imbalance. A lack of social-economic affirmative action is causing more imbalance than recruitable athletes in college admissions.</p>
<p>No he said "good" thats why I am quoting it</p>
<p>This is extremely irritating to me. I've seen some kids acheive unbelievably in athletics, and it took more time, effort, and tenacity than it does for me to do well in school. I can't knock that, at all. A girl from my high school class was recruited by Penn because she plays lacrosse. She wouldn't have had a chance in hell of getting accepted for anything else but lacrosse. She worked unbelievably hard in the sport to get where she is. My problem with it is this: if I don't get on the lacrosse team because of my ability in Calculus, why should she go to Penn only because she can play lacrosse? (Penn's my first choice, btw). </p>
<p>Regardless, it happens. As they say, it is what it is. It's not worth worrying about.</p>
<p>Matt</p>
<p>last i heard a minimum ACT score of 17 was required for a student to play sports in college anyways.....</p>
<p>but on the other hand, dont worry about it. just b/c he got in doesnt meet a student w/ top grades wont get in. this kid is obviously dedicated to the game of basketball and he wont last long in college anyways if he keeps up this kind of academic work.</p>
<p>"My problem with it is this: if I don't get on the lacrosse team because of my ability in Calculus, why should she go to Penn only because she can play lacrosse? (Penn's my first choice, btw)"</p>
<p>Because athletes bring money to the school, mathematicians don't...sad, but true.</p>
<p>Is college for learning or not? If a kid was a great athelete, why bother even trying in school, because heck, they can throw a ball</p>
<p>What if girl or boy gets injured and can't play anymore? Will the be able to handle the course at the school?</p>
<p>I really wonder what percentage of kids that are recruited based MOSTLY on sports, how they do when they LEAVE college </p>
<p>And, believe it or not, it never occured to me to think of the ethnicity or race of the students involved</p>
<p>ANd I have to say that being a good athlete in highschool and in college, while a great thing, and does give one some valuable skills- how to be organized, how to be a team player and a leader, etc., most people will not play after college, so if that is all you have, you will be at a loss</p>
<p>My H played soccer all through school and still does, god bless him (over 50 league) but he learned in college to be able to get the jobs he wanted</p>
<p>If you go through school with total focus on your sport, unless you are the .01or whatever that go pro, you better have something tangible to come from your "education"</p>
<p>Miss Misery, say this twice, "LIfe isn't fair." Did you get it?</p>
<p>As for the basketball player geting admitted over other more academically qualified applicants, so what. Schoools recruit based on THEIR needs and not yours. Kids with significant talent in music, sports and art will get accepted with lower SATs and GPAs. Before you start complaining, wouldn't you like to attend a school that has a winning sports team? Wouldn't that add to your overall experience at the school and to your school spirit? Wouldn't you like to attend a concert or play with performed by accomplished musicians and actors? This adds to the overall experience of everyone.</p>
<p>Frankly, I am not offended by this. In fact, I applaud schools for recruiting specially talented students,which benefit all students.</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong with giving athletes or artists a boost, but this particular case is going too far. Couldn't they have found a qualified athletes with at least halfway decent academic credentials? It's not fair when athletes who by all predictions won't be able to handle the work get in and have their hands held through college. Certainly they can find a qualified athlete who can handle the work as well.</p>