<p>I am just wondering, how do you define “struggle”? if you are getting Bs maybe occasional C, is that considered “struggle”? or only “being able to graduate” becomes an issue is considered “struggle”?</p>
<p>Based on the experience of a friend whose athlete daughter just went through this, I’d say that the difficulty is not graduating; it’s feeling SO far behind the other freshman, and feeling out of place because of having to get tutoring and extra help from teachers just to get B’s. However, I think most of this stuff tends to even out after the first year or two.</p>
<p>I think that any Ivy school is a reach school for anyone. Admissions there are for the most part unpredictable. In terms of academics, every Ivy has majors that are not as strenuous as others. We never looked at D1, only at ivies or D3 since child would not have been good enough athletically at D1, so I am not familiar with the money part for athletics at D1. However, the one thing you need to remember in Ivy admissions are the money part – they do not give money for athletes, BUT they do give money if you qualify financially. Which means that if your athlete decides not to participate in the sport the following year due to academic pressure, etc, they will still be getting fin. aid.</p>
<p>Varska’s post above jives with our experience. The Ivies are bound by conference rules to only admit academically well-qualified athletes. Obviously, some are better students than others, and a really superb athlete has more academic wiggle room in admission. It stands to reason, then, that someone like that might struggle more than athletes who theoretically could have gotten admitted on academic merit alone. Therefore, it is not Ivy policy to provide any special study services to athletes. They can access the same services as any other student. Now that could be their official party line, and the reality once you get there might be different.</p>
<p>As for practice schedule, the intensity varies by program. There are always ways to get around the practice hour limit, such as through captain’s practices and “days off” where there’s no official practice but the student is required to go to weight training, or core training, or long runs with teammates as is the case for D. Some coaches will push the envelope more than others. D has a new coach this year at her non-Ivy Div 1 who just instituted double sessions several days per week, which he counterbalanced by a “day off” on Wednesday which really isn’t a day off.</p>
<p>D’s school is a top academic school, but they don’t hold their athletes’ hands either, or at least not in her sport. Yes, there is special tutoring available to athletes, but that is done for scheduling and accessibility reasons mostly. D has gone to that type and regular student tutoring and there was no difference.</p>
<p>As a graduate I can tell you that Ivy schools and elite universities are tough academically. Looking back, I am proud of graduating but maybe would have done better at a school that did not attract the world’s top talent. The best situation for your child is to put them in a place where they feel like they are thriving. Sometimes the elite university and athletics will only cause more stress. You need to follow your instinct in providing advice for your child. Most of the time they will be happy with their college no matter where they attend.</p>