@dansmoaustin @ShanFerg3 Obviously there are athletes that get in that deserve to go, however, all the athletes that have gotten recruited from my school, except 1, had profiles far, far, far below the average. They’re now struggling at those schools.
Your observations are also flawed. There are ECs that take up just as much/more time than sports (even in college). The activities simply go unnoticed because they’re not appealing to the general public. I get about 4 hours of sleep per night.
@justliviglife I see you are a student, so I’m not going to judge your statement the way I did when I thought you were a parent. You will view life differently when you have more life experience IMO. Just for perspective, my daughter trains 5hrs a day leaving right from school 5 days a week and Saturday starting at 8 AM finishing at 4 PM, she gets home at 10:45-11 pm on school nights then she starts her homework, she travels internationally for tournaments as well as across the US to the most obscure places I never thought I would visit twice a month. She misses numerous days in school in order to compete in these tournaments thus having to make up work in one of the most challenging schools in the country. She catches sleep when she can waking up at 2 or 3 AM to finish papers, course work, or study for exams. She does this while having to maintain her grades as any other student in her school. I see the toll this takes on her. As a parent I admire her determination and feel awful for at the same time. Unless, this is your life it may be difficult to appreciate this when you compare it to some other EC or the debate team…which my daughter was on and won a prestigious award for btw. The bottom line is these kids aren’t giving anything they haven’t earned. If the school determined they are worthy of a coveted admission, guess what? They are. What you are exhibiting is called sour grapes. If you dedicated yourself to some endeavor the school you covet deems valuable you would be here telling us about your triumphant journey and offering insight valuable to others seeking advice not throwing cold water on others accomplishments achieved through hard work, dedication, and talent.
Not Ivy League student, but, as far as I know, part of the decisions is where you come from (kind of like extreme circumstances). If you are from an obscure state, like Alaska or Wyoming, it’s easier to get accepted than a more competitive and close state like the East Coast states. If you live in a public city school, yet had high achievement, it’s far more impressive than a suburban student doing well because cities usually have worse education systems and difficult circumstances.
“Honestly, I’m not exactly sure why I got in.”
lol, without a doubt, the most honest and lucid answer on this thread! Your humility will serve you well.
@ShanFerg3 @justliviglife Just happened to be surfing through this thread and noticed your posts. I too get quite annoyed when many people have this prejudice of athletes getting a literal free pass to Ivy admissions. Many people not familiar with Ivy recruitment, do not realize the academic requirements needed to be admitted as an Ivy recruit. Yes there is a band system for sports such as football. And yes, few certain football recruits who are superstar athletes may get in with lower academic index then other sports. However, in majority of the sports, their grades have to be on par with most of the kids getting accepted. My DS just like your DD was and is on the same training and tournament schedule, including all the international events. I am always impressed with his time management skills to juggle his school work, ECs/music, sport. Meanwhile keeping up an all A average despite taking rigorous challenging classes, and maintaining top national ranking in his sport. What also impresses me is that his friends who are also at the same level in his sport, are also extremely smart with excellent academics. His friends have all been recruited and accepted by an Ivy and other academically elite schools.
People who think of athletes as just some dumb jocks just do not know what it takes to get recruited. I’m not sure how much is just “sour grapes” versus just ignorance. It certainly is not a free ride. All accepted Ivy athletes have proven themselves not only athletically, but also academically.
Another mistake many people make is that the athletes are taking away admission spots from other non athletes. Every Ivy school set aside about 200 or so recruitment spots, and these have nothing to do with the other non athletic admissions numbers. So people will have to realize that the student athlete from one’s school who got into an Ivy didn’t rob you of your admission into that school if you are not an athlete.
“So people will have to realize that the student athlete from one’s school who got into an Ivy didn’t rob you of your admission into that school if you are not an athlete.”
The spots ivy league colleges allocate to athletes are definitely taken from non-athletes or applicants who are athletes but not recruitable. Same with applicants who are requested admission from the development office (Jared Kushner, Malia Obama etc). These colleges don’t increase the size of the incoming class to accommodate these 200 or 300 people.
@theloniusmonk I think the point is that these spots are only going to and were always only going to students in these designated areas. So the general pool are only competing for openings minus these 200-300 students.