Does anyone know of anyone who went to an ivy league school with low ACT/SAT scores who were recruited by the schools for sports. I know a few kids who have been told my schools such as Princeton and Columbia that the coach could get them in with 29 ACT. Does anyone know of anyone else with similar stories?
I’ve heard 30 was the bottom line but I think it depends on the school. Princeton seems to be very test aware and wants higher scores SAT in the 2200+ range and certainly over 30.
I think it also has much to do with what kind of a GPA the student has. They seem to be reviewed together.
A coach will certainly let you know with the academic pre-read if certain test scores need to be improved.
Good luck!
There’s lots of gradients. GPA, ability, etc.
Have a read here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/941249-ivy-league-recruited-athletes-p1.html
You say you’re a “recruit” – what does that mean? What have the coaches said to you? You might spend some time here http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/
and trawl for other families’ experiences.
There is a minimum Academic Index the Ivy schools have agreed to require. That AI is determined by scores, grades, rank. The school will then decide how many students it will take at the bottom on the AI and how many at the top to balance the whole team, the whole athletic department. The better the athlete, the lower the AI can be. Have there been athletes at Princeton with a 29? I’m sure there have been. Are there a lot of them? No.
A recruited athlete at my school (for Harvard) was told she needed at least a 29 if that helps!
It also is dependent on the sport. The fencing recruits at Princeton are also usually highly qualified academically. I would suspect the lowest indexes are reserved for sports like football where they need a large team.
It can also make a difference if the school has a regularly ivy championship winning team in a particular sport. The coach can then dictate who they can choose to keep up the winning tradition and have a greater pull within admissions.
I completely understand sports such as fencing and swimming that have few spots and are not very popular at the schools will have stricter requirements. How would sports like tennis and golf fare in admissions? I have heard tennis has become more lenient in the ivy leagues as almost all of the ivy leagues are now becoming top tennis teams in the no
*ncaa
Football player from my school is going to Brown with a 25. i heard he could have gone to yale had he gotten a 26, but I’m not sure how true that is.
Something nobody talks about are the recruited athletes who don’t manage to keep up academically and transfer to less competitive colleges after the first or second year. At least in the Ivy League, students are generally held to the same academic standards as their classmates- no ‘rocks for jocks’ soft standards.
ok. I have heard that athletes get tremendous help in college with tutors and extra help is always available. Also in my sport, I have managed to balance my sports and academics to the point where I do not see it as a problem once I get into college
bump
@zxcvbnm1216
When my son and I attending an info session where a Harvard rep was present we asked him specifically if student-athletes get any extra help (tutoring etc as the UCSD coach had told us his athletes get help) and the rep told us, very pointedly…“No, athletes don’t get any special assistance…everyone at Harvard is involved in some EC so an athlete is just like any other student”.
So…that pretty much answered it for us.
@tonymom I believe that is only Harvard and Yale. My friend at Columbia tells me he gets a tutor whenever he wants bcause he is part of the athletics program. My other friend at Darmouth also pointed out the same thing
@zxcvbnm1216
That’s great if those other schools provide support! Maybe the ones that don’t are just limited to HYP…
@tonymom yes you are right
@tonymom @texaspg @twoinanddone Thank you for all your help. I just talked to one of the coaches from the ivy’s (not HYP). He said that he is comfortable with getting athletes in the 29-31 ACT range. I got a 29 so he said if I take it one more time (first time) that it would make it a lot easier for him through the admissions process.
Good luck. What is your sport?
@zxcvbnm1216
Good luck with your future testing. Keep a positive attitude and you’ll do fine.
I would suggest not taking any tests in the fall of your senior year unless you really have to. ACT screwed up majorly this past fall and my kid got stuck having to hold off reporting ACT composite because he was waiting on the writing score.
You will have plenty to focus on with the recruiting and its best if you can have those scores done by then.
Again good luck! 