"McCray headed to Princeton" (Atlanta, GA)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
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<p>Greater Atlanta Christian cornerback Meko McCray has accepted an offer to play football for Princeton, turning down Harvard and Yale. He said one of the main factors came down to the engineering department.</p>

<p>That’s not something you hear very often this time of year. Typically college football decisions are more apt to come down to offensive schemes, football atmosphere or the coaching staff. A prospect’s parent might bring up academics.</p>

<p>But for McCray, a 4.1 GPA student who got a 1950 out of a possible 2400 on the new SAT, it was important to feel good about the engineering program. He thinks he might like to pursue a career in it.</p>

<p>“Maybe chemical engineering or electrical engineering,” said McCray, who first got the idea in an eighth grade career survey. “I really like math and science.”</p>

<p>He has been to summer school programs for high school students at both Yale and MIT. In addition to being named Mr. Spartan at GAC and Homecoming King, McCray is president of the National Honor Society and a member of Mu Alpha Theta, a math honor society.</p>

<p>On the field, he’s been a two-year starter in GAC’s secondary. He made seven interceptions and nine pass break-ups this season.</p>

<p>The Tigers are coming off their first Ivy League Championship in 11 years. It was a bonus for McCray that the much of the Princeton coaching staff has been together for a while under head coach Roger Hughes, who took over at Princeton in 2000. </p>

<p>“There’s a sense of unity,” McCray said.</p>

<p>Ivy League schools don’t have athletic scholarships but they offer financial aid packages, which McCray said in his case would cover almost all of the $42,000 in tuition. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2007/02/01/gacs_mccray_hea.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2007/02/01/gacs_mccray_hea.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<ol>
<li>nice. Why is princeton bragging about this?</li>
</ol>

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<p>I don't think Princeton is bragging... this local newspaper is.</p>

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<p>1950...that's not the point. The boy can play ball, while he still excels academically. Sure, a 1950 might not be that great (still a damn good score my most people's standards), but he has that on top of his athletic abilities.</p>

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<p>Disturbing.</p>

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<p>"1900. nice. Why is princeton bragging about this?"</p>

<p>He got a 1950. Thats a pretty darn good score everywhere, besides the CC forums. Lets be realistic, here. Not everyone gets a 2200. And the fact that this kid excels in a sport is an added bonus. Recruited athletes probably get in with FAR less than a 1950, and his academic stats show that hes not just a boneheaded linebacker. </p>

<p>More power to him.</p>

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<p>He's also a Wendy's High School Heisman athlete, a star member of the track and field team and a URM</p>

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<p>I really don't understand why ivy league schools put it upon themselves to do this... what do they get out of sports??? They are not and will never be known for athletics. They will always be known for the great minds they tend to produce... and let's face it... in no way can such kids juggle such a rigorous athletic careers and improve the intellectual atmosphere/reputation of the school... It just doesn't make sense to me.</p>

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<p>brown man, i hate to say this, but the Ivy League is an ATHLETIC INSTITUTION. </p>

<p>I'm probably just as nerdy as you are, if not more -- 2400, 8 5's on APs, intel semis, but I do recognize why sports are on campus. besides, when some of these players make it to the big leagues and start earning money by the boatload, a lot of it'll end up right back at that school</p>

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<p>realistically speaking Ivy league is not an Athletic Institution. Technically speaking, yea, sure it is, but during the 1960's the board of directors at many of the ivy schools (who were, at this time, in a dilemma - whether to invest in sports or academics?) decided to ditch sports and invest most of their resources in academics. That's why Ivy league schools now do not offer athletic scholarships and do not have good sports teams. Although it started as a sports league, it became a collection of academical powerhouses.</p>

<p>Also, like 0.00000001% of the ivy league players go on to become famous sports stars in rich-money sports (football, baseball). So your statement that money made by the players who make it to the big leagues ends up right back at that school is questionable.</p>

<p>and one more thing.... i don't like ppl who randomly go bragging about their SAT scores or AP scores.</p>

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<p>well i dont have much time, but i want to briefly point out that, ivies want people on their campus who will excel in EVERY aspect of life: not just scientific research, not just writing, not just acting...</p>

<p>because when you go to the real world, academics is not everything. so they want to accumulate people who are talented in all facets. also, the fact of the matter is, a lot of alumni donate money specifically aimed at athletic programs. sports and athletes are what help keep a lot of alumni connected with their alma matter....</p>

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<p>The ivy league posseses a huge athletic legacy... Just look at the fierce rivalries...</p>

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<p>I think athletic recruitment is a great way to diversify the college campuses, especially at extremely academically intense universities and colleges, such as the Ivy League schools.</p>

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<p>for those up in arms, here's another football player from the same state, but with a 1270 SAT (old, presumably), and getting looks by both princeton and yale.</p>

<p><a href="http://savannahnow.com/node/221539%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://savannahnow.com/node/221539&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>
[quote]
He got a 1950. Thats a pretty darn good score everywhere, besides the CC forums.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The question is not whether 1950 is a good score or not. The main point is why Mr "hot football player" McCray or Mr "double legacy" Whatever IV can attend Princeton with a 1950 whereas a non-athletic, exceedingly bright middle-class Asian kid with a perfect 2400 score cannot on the grounds that admitting him/her will "hurt diversity", as if all Asian people, based solely on their ethnicity, had exactly the same personality, tastes, skills, etc ! In fact, that argument is so stupid that anyone outside the racist American society (I'm international BTW) would simply laught at it !</p>

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<p>many such students can, and do, attend princeton and its peers.</p>

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<p>for those who "cannot," these have never been the grounds.</p>

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<p>This is not a zero sum game. The financial aid that this student will receive was probably earmarked specifically for football players by the donor. So if they don't give it to this guy (or some other football player with an equally bad SAT), no one will get the money. Personally, I would rather a somewhat underqualified person attend than no one at all.</p>

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<p>bruno 123, I am having trouble understanding why a high SAT score is something that should be given precedence over everything else. Obviously McCray has done extremely well in his high school studies and clearly he has managed that while being highly ranked in football and high achieving in track and field. I think that he is just as worthy as someone who scores a 2400--SATs can be tutored and prepped for and I don't know think that they should be more of a determinant than high achievements in sports. I don't think that Princeton has lowered its standards or anything of the kind. This is a smart, achieving kid who might not have had the advantage of private tutoring or parents that encouraged him to take the test multiple times etc. He sounds like an interesting addition to the campus culture and I'm willing to bet that he winds up doing well in college and well in life.</p>

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<p>Yea this kid may add diversity, yada yada... but what is he going to accomplish intellectually? It is unlikely that he will accomplish much in academics -- being a recruited athlete, football will always be his first priority -- and it is those who do well in academics who bring ivy league schools their reputation. Princeton will never ever be known for its football team.<br>
And let's face it, although a 1950 is an okay score, and some think that a 1270 is not too bad either, such scores are pretty pathetic by Princeton standards.</p>

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<p>And weasel... how is this not a zero sum game?? There are a finite number of spots in the class. For every recruited athlete who gets in, thats one other qualified kid who loses his chance at a Princeton education.</p>