<p>He was accepted early and will be rowing for the lightweight crew team at Harvard next year. I'm incredibly proud of him. He deserves it.</p>
<p>If anyone else has similar stories, feel free to share.</p>
<p>Good for your friend!!!</p>
<p>I can’t believe it’s time again for this-athletes really get tagged so much earlier than everyone else.</p>
<p>Hey does anyone know for what sports they “recruit” for?</p>
<p>One of my son’s best friends heard 2 weeks ago that he was accepted. He is a wrestler and extremely bright. He deserves to be there!</p>
<p>Yay, it’s always nice to hear stuff like that. I hope they all have a wonderful time at Harvard.</p>
<p>^why is it nice to hear stuff like that…I don’t see why athlete should be treated better than the rest of us who work just as hard at things other than athletics.</p>
<p>We googled DD’s nursery school “boyfriend” (actually, they got married right there on the playground). He moved across the country after kindergarten. Turned out he signed with Yale for basketball. Very smart kid, and always tall for his age.</p>
<p>How are athletes treated better?</p>
<p>Crimson,</p>
<p>Top schools come to the athletes, begging them to agree to enroll. That sounds like pretty good treatment to me. The “mere mortals” are holding their breath, hoping to be chosen. They realistically know that the chances are slim that they would be admitted.</p>
<p>Um, no. Do you by any chance go here?</p>
<p>And no, these athletes are subject to the same academic standards I am. They get no athletic scholarships, no “special treatment.” The time I spent leading my high school newspaper to win the top prize in the nation is the time that these students becoming nationally ranked in their sports. On top of that, they are truly intelligent people on par with many here. And “mere mortals” tend not to get into Harvard.</p>
<p>I know that Yale gives out around 100 academic likely letters around February or so (in addition to their 200-300 athletic likelies). Does Harvard do the same?</p>
<p>I don’t know any non-athlete who received a likely letter.</p>
<p>The rumor for Harvard is that yes, they give out academic likely letters, but far fewer than other Ivies. The academic LL’s are usually sent in the winter, Feb. or March.</p>
<p>As for the athletes–well the fact is American colleges (and fans) love sports, believe they are worthy activities to continue through the college level. Athletes carry values of teamwork, coping with defeat, rising to mental and physical challenges, time management, and leadership. The common chatter from business recruiters is that–they like athletes to join their financial businesses because they are experienced at dealing with pressure, and can recover from criticism and mistakes.</p>
<p>As for mathemonster’s comment–try 9 months of doing your five hours of AP homework after three hours of: swimming 3k meters, football practice, ten mile runs, or freezing hockey rinks and brutal checks. And no I don’t believe chess club, debating, or cello lessons are just as exhausting. Time-consuming, yes they are, but not physically depleting.</p>
<p>fauve for the win.</p>
<p>I interviewed a girl for my alma mater who also had a H likely letter. She matriculated there and eventually was a Rhodes winner. </p>
<p>I’m glad she didn’t choose my school – she was rather noisome.</p>
<p>“Noisome”? There’s an adjective you don’t see every day! I pity her freshman roommates.</p>
<p>While people are whining about athletes, they may want to consider that athletes often have a lot less say in where they go to college than other top students. An athlete effectively has to go where the coach wants him, even if that isn’t where he would otherwise choose. Sure, it’s great to know in October or November where you will be going, but I know a number of kids who learned in July or August that they had no chance at the colleges they liked most.</p>
<p>Of course, a handful of really extraordinary athletes are so good that they can pick anywhere they want, just like a handful of extraordinary non-athletes. But that is a really small group. For most normal-great athletes, reality is quite different.</p>
<p>CBatch – kudos to your friend! If you feel like sharing, how strong was your friend academically?</p>
<p>“I’m glad she didn’t choose my school – she was rather noisome.”-I lol’ed at that. Did she get into Yale?</p>
<p>I second Fauve wholeheartedly. Playing a tough match while its 45 degrees Celsius after a full day of attending classes makes debating seem like a walk in the park.</p>