<p>I am currently a junior at a pretty demanding prep school. My school doesn't use a 4.0 scale, we just have 0-100 averages (with +3 in each honors course). My average is a 94.3, which is top 3, but my school only gives out top 10%, not class rank. My best sport is track, mainly the highjump. By the time I'm applying to colleges I would estimate my high jump to be 6' or 6'2". I am at 5'10" right now, but will be competing this summer. </p>
<p>Basically, I realize that a 6' jumper on the college level isn't too hard to come by. With the exception of penn and cornell however, the Ivy league schools recruit very very very little for track. And sometimes they don't need to because a lot of smart kids are runners and there will always be a supply. But this isn't the case for high jump. Harvard has a 6'6" jumper, but after that has a 5'10"-6' jumper. Yale didn't enter a highjumper in most of their meets this year. Brown has a 6'2" jumper that will be gone by the time I will be a freshman. </p>
<p>So while I'm not amazing at track, I am good enough to be on some ivy teams. And I am qualified to be at their school academically (I'm not saying I'll get in. Everyone has low chances of getting into an ivy. But I'd make their first few cuts i think). </p>
<p>My Question: Is filling out a recruiting form worth it?</p>
<p>Not so that they will "recruit" me, but so if it comes down to me and one other equally qualified kid, they will look an see that "Hey he could compete for us in highjump", and take me instead of some kid that was just as good as me in other respects. Is this good logic? Should I fill out the forms (for harvard, brown, yale, ect.)?</p>
<p>Absolutely fill out all the Ivy online recruiting forms. If a coach needs a high jumper for next year, and you have the test scores and rank, you may indeed be recruited. </p>
<p>Do you have 2 SAT II scores as well as the SATI or ACT? </p>
<p>You can learn a lot about Ivy recruiting at the Recruited Athletes section of Specialty Admissions here on CC.</p>
<p>Not so, AP. While it’s true that a lot of smart kids are runners, it’s a very small pool of kids that can compete at a D1 level and have the academic marks to pass muster with Ivy adcoms. There are a few walk-ons, but the vast majority of track athletes are recruited in the Ivy League. </p>
<p>If you can be consistently over 6’ this summer you will probably generate some interest from the Ivy schools who are in the market for HJ. (6’2" - 6’5" would generate a lot of interest). Send out some emails now to introduce yourself and let the coaches know where you’ll be jumping this summer.</p>
<p>varska: Do you think it is a good idea to talk to them now and tell them where/when I’ll be jumping, or to talk to them after I’ve cleared 6’.</p>
<p>On one hand, I want them to see I have potential. I have never been coached at all and I am a 5’10". But on the other hand, I don’t want to act like I’m going to jump 6’ or 6’2", because there is a possibility that could not happen.</p>
<p>And thank you for correcting me about the recruiting. I was making an incorrect assumption. As you said, my main goal is to “generate some interest from the Ivy schools who are in the market for HJ.” I have a good academic transcript, I just need something to separate me from the thousands of kids who also have good transcript.</p>
<p>If you are at the end of your Junior year, you should initiate contact now. I understand wanting to wait until you have higher marks, but T&F recruiting is heating up now. You can always update coaches as you improve. Even if you don’t jump 6’ 2’, with your transcripts you may still be a great recruit at any number of terrific, smaller schools so cast a wide net when you contact coaches.</p>
<p>3togo: I’ve done tons of research and I’m pretty sure I will be able to make the team at harvard (they have a kid they put in meets who jumps 5’10"). The heights on that are a little out of Harvard’s league I think. The highest Harvard jumper is 6’6" I believe. And I think thats a PR.</p>
<p>Basically what I want is to go to Harvard on grades and be able to jump there also, which it looks like I could. I’m not looking to be full on OV, likely letter recruited. I just want Harvard Admissions to see that I can be a walk on in one of their Varsity sports. How do I make that happen? </p>
<p>It sounds like the consensus is to go to coaches and hope they put in a good word</p>
<p>You have to be a little careful when looking at stats of the current athletes on the team. If Harvard has a high jumper going 5’10", that doesn’t mean they’re looking for more 5’10" jumpers. The main goal for an Ivy coach is to place high at Heptagonals - the Ivy conference meet. This year it took 6’5 to score any HJ points at heps. Also, if you go back a couple years, you can see that 5’10 jumper had gone 6’5 in HS when he was recruited. </p>
<p>The main way to parlay your athletics and academics into admission at Harvard is via the recruiting - OV - LL route. There really isn’t much of a 2nd tier admissions support system (ie, no likely letter, but I’ll put in a good word) as far as athletics go in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>^ I second this post… there is a HUGE difference between being a recruit and being able to walk-on to a team. The recruits typically will be the top performers on the teams … track & field teams can not recruit enough athletes to fill the team so they need walk-ons to fill out their rosters … and, in addition, the Ivies are often pretty liberal in allowing walk-ons in track & field. As a recruit the coach can use an admission slot to get you into the school (which is where the recruiting guidelines come into play) which is a 100% acceptance rate if you pass muster with admissions … while walk-ons need to pass the regular admissions process (6% admit rate at Harvard) and then tryout. Very-very different things.</p>
<p>Another way to look at it is from the perspective of Harvard admissions. You have a stack of 30,000 applicants representing thousands of incredibly qualified and talented individuals. You’re faced with the heartbreaking task of eliminating 93% of them. The coaches have given you their allotted list of recruits that they need to put a competitive team on the field. These kids are also highly qualified, but that leaves even fewer spots for the general applicant pool. Now imagine if the track, soccer, swimming, hockey, fencing and rugby coaches said, “hey, here are a few more kids that are pretty good and I wouldn’t mind having.” There just aren’t enough spots at Harvard to allow much support for non-recruited athletes.</p>
<p>3togo, varska: Are you saying they don’t take into account walk-on potential? If I was a college and I could have a smart kid with nothing else or a smart kid who could play varsity, I’d take the varsity player. I want to reiterate, I am trying to get into these schools academically, not for HJ. I’m just wondering if it will matter.</p>
<p>I think your HJ will matter as a good EC, it’s just not going to translate into much meaningful assistance from the coach unless you’re recruited.</p>
<p>
That’s a bit of a false choice. The ‘smart kid with nothing else’ isn’t likely to be admitted anyway. </p>
<p>I hope you’re not getting discouraged here, as advised earlier in the thread contact the coach and fill out the recruiting questionnaire - you never know until you try.</p>
<p>“A smart kid with nothing else” was the wrong way to put it. I meant a very well qualified kid with the great grades and great EC vs. me: a very well qualified kid with great grades and great EC PLUS the ability to be a walk on.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, I am not getting discouraged. I’m curious about all these things.</p>
<p>OP, I just wanted to add to the conversation that I agree with varska and 3togo here, if you’re not being actively recruited, it’s unlikely that being good enough to be a walk-on will have an effect on the admissions process, at least not any more effect than any other EC. Coaches are limited in the number of athletes they can support and their influence is really limited to those athletes they are actively recruiting (not that they might not love to have you as a walk-on). Absolutely fill out the recruiting forms and keep working on your jump and see where it takes you. You’re doing all the right things to become informed about the process. Good luck to you!</p>
I do not know if they give tips to potential walk-ons after reserving a bunch of slots for recruits … but it doesn’t seem real likely to me (I have no inside info but it just seems like double dipping to have both slots and tips).</p>
<p>Many moons ago I describe myself as recruited walk-on at an Ivy … I exchanged letters, phone calls, and visited when I was on a tour … and I was told “if you get in we’d love to have you try out for the team”. I have no idea if a tip was used or not … but I do know when I got to school there were 5-6 other distance runners almost exactly like me (almost identical times and recruiting stories); I find it hard to believe they used 5 to 6 tips just on milers.</p>
<p>I’ll keep working on my jump. Regardless of recruitment or tips or anything, if I do get in to an ivy academically, I want to walk on. So I have to get good enough to do that.</p>