<p>My daughter has a medical condition that prevents her from participating in any competitive sports. </p>
<p>I don't want to suggest that she has a health condition that makes it difficult for her to study well and be an active participant in academic and social environment at schools - because that is not the case. However her condition is such that she is not allowed by her doctor to participate in any competitive sports activities (Varisty level or otherwise). As parents, we feel that for her to overcome her medical conditions and do as well as she has done so far, is not a small achievement. </p>
<p>Will she be penalized for her lack of Sport EC records and poor PE class grades? If we submit medical records, will her situation be understood and accepted? How would colleges view her case as compared with students with similar grades/test scores/essays etc...but with excellent sports EC records? </p>
<p>Any advice from parents & students in similar situations would be very appreciated.</p>
<p>Agreed: A goodly portion of students don’t have sports ECs. Don’t worry about it. No school is looking for cookie cutter students. Think of the 1000s of physically disabled people who attend great schools each year as well. Your D will be admitted/rejected based on her whole picture – not just if there were sports ECs in her resume</p>
<p>Only the US Service academies require sports, I’m pretty certain</p>
<p>My d hasn’t done sports a day in her life, for non-medical reasons - she doesn’t like them. And she had excellent admissions results to some top schools. Some of her friends who also didn’t do sports ended up at Ivies and other top schools. Does your d have other EC’s in which she’s interested? Art, chorus, music, theater, non-competitive sports? If so, she should be fine. No medical records needed.</p>
<p>Agree with the above. One top school MAY have had a problem with my son’s lack of a sports record (he actually did three sports as a 9th grader, but never mentioned them on his apps), but the other seven obviously had no problem. He was offered a lot of merit scholarships based on his academic and non-sports extracurricular record. The most telling fact is that he attends a school with a reputation here on cc as a sports-fanatic institution on a very generous merit scholarship. Don’t let people convince you that lack of athletics is a big deal. There are other ways to make one’s mark, show one’s talents, and exhibit real leadership.</p>
<p>Absolutely positively NOT! My D had a sports related injury in 9th grade that resulted in knee surgery and ended her otherwise successful “career” in Field Hockey. Three of her teammates eventually got scholarships to play in college and we felt like she was headed in that direction. But she had other EC’s to cover for her: she is a talented award winning musician.</p>
<p>She was not penalized by being out of sports for most of high school.</p>
<p>Any student who has other reasonable EC’s will not be penalized. Frankly, they are not looking for anything specific, but only that your D has some activity outside of classroom that she is devoted to and that she has either excelled at or given extraordinary efforts. It can be church ministry, youth in government, working for YMCA, Orchestra, Band, Marching Band,Debate Team…anything that she loves to do.</p>
<p>If its sports, then that is fine. But the vast majority of kids in sports dont get athletic scholarships anyway. </p>
<p>Keep up the good work and good luck in your college search.</p>