Is softball a spring sport in your area (assuming this is the sport if she is a pitcher). If that is the case, another alternative is to quit this year. If socializing is what she is getting out of this, maybe she can ask the coach to be a team manager or student trainer. That is not an unusual course for kids who decide playing a sport is not their thing. This was pretty routine for D’s HS team. I do think playing 3 years and dropping a sport senior year raises questions on commitment. If she plays 2 years and becomes a manager/trainer for 1 or 2 years, it will be a pretty normal pattern.
I imagine everything you have heard here, for the most part, are things you both have already considered. The choices before her aren’t bad ones. They just may have different, but still good consequences. What makes her happiest? Honor that.
I agree that if she is done, she should quit without concern about college admissions. The way your OP was worded it sounded like she was quitting to take the class. She has some time to think about it.
My daughter is actually a recruited athlete that isn’t pursuing playing her sport in college. Like the OP’s child, she played year round. By the middle of her junior year she decided to play her senior varsity season and “retire” because she found she turned down too many opportunities in HS and wanted a different experience for college. Thats a valid reason, IMO.
My son loved his sport and stuck with it, while taking lots of AP courses, and another significant time consuming EC.
He did it because he loved his sport and was willing to work until late at night to do his AP homework.
Nobody pushed him “because it looks good on his application” he just didn’t want to give up anything.
Point is, can be done with effort/commitment, but that comes from love of the activities.
Drop whatever is no longer a love…sounds like friends leaving the team may be a reason the sport is no longer loved.
As long as the kid is engaged at useful activities they enjoy, I don’t see why this is a negative to colleges to drop in favor of other things you prefer to do. At some point everybody drops their sport, just a matter of when… Only a lucky few continue through senior year of college, most drop in HS, does not matter when exactly.
That was definitely my interpretation. Between this post and others you have made on various threads, I got the impression that your daughter was pursuing top colleges and was thus dropping a sport where the team was struggling to take one more AP class to make her self “look better” for admissions officials. So, I apologize. Personally, I’m all for kids pursuing various interests throughout high school and think this “focus on one activity” mindset is troubling. That’s why I let my kids take more electives than AP classes and also why no one will be going to an Ivy. But, they’re happy. I wish your daughter the best.
On a related note: Whether she drops the sport or not, she may not have that “demonstrated passion” coming through an essay. I would encourage her to find another topic. And, that may very well be art history.
I don’t think quitting will make a difference to college admissions. In fact, I’m not sure colleges will even know she’s not playing senior year. I don’t think taking one more AP will make a difference to college admissions.
I don’t know I’d write an essay about how important softball is or the great leadership experience, but an essay can be written without mentioning that she no longer plays.
@twoinanddone but doesn’t the common app and UC apps ask applicants how many hours a week do they do their ECs? If she played her sport senior year she would be doing it 10+ hours a week with Team practices, games, and pitching/hitting lessons. Senior year would be zero. Any issues there?
IMO, it matters a lot less than parents and students tend to think. Ordinary athletes are a dime a dozen. By “ordinary” I mean those who will not be playing in college and/or going on to be a professional athlete or are applying for some sports-related program.
“Ordinary athletes are a dime a dozen.” written by @brantly.
This misses the point of holistic admissions. Much more important for LACs though.
The current lawsuit against Harvard reveals something much different than the above poster’s misguided assertion that “it matters a lot less than parents and students tend to think.”
To me the issue is not sports but dropping a substantial EC senior year. Among “holistic” qualities that highly selectives value are commitment/perseverance, teamwork and leadership. So, if your daughter drops softball her senior year, the choices are:
- Don't even list softball as one of her EC's in her App. Avoids the issue but leaves an EC time gap freshmen thru junior years.
- List softball as an activity but don't address why she did not continue senior year. May risk an AO wondering why, but most likely not that great of a risk.
- List softball as an activity and address why she did not continue. If the situation were that there was a conflicting EC, e.g. robotics, debate, whatever, or there was an injury, no issue. If it was, "lost interest/passion", some AO's might take it as a negative indicator of the qualities I listed above. Maybe most won't care, but writing an essay about "why not" is usually not a good place to start.
The more I think about it, the option I put out in #40 may be the safest solution which allows your daughter to do what she wants. It doesn’t sound like playing ball this year is as important as just being part of the team with friends. Lot’s of students stop playing HS ball after sophomore year.
@BKSquared She is already committed to the 2018/2019 team. It’s a year-round class/sport. They practice in the fall, winter and spring (optional summer workouts). While I guess it would be nice of her to be a trainer/manager her senior year, but there is no way her coach would allow that as the coach is not going to be happy that her #1 senior pitcher is not playing. In addition, D20 would not want to workout with the team for 9 months if she is not playing, plus the program is a school class so D would be in say AP Art History while the team is practicing the last class period of the day…
So the real question is do we encourage her to play senior year just to say that she was committed to the Varsity sport for 4 years and maybe helps her in college admissions? I’m leaning towards letting her do what she feels is best as it really is her last year in high school. I don’t want her having regrets or be forced to play a sport she has lost interest in. However, I would expect her to replace the sport with another EC, maybe more in line with her future major?
If that is the case, I would let her finish out the year this year and see what happens next year. Of the other options, I am in the camp that says don’t write about her sport. If it were a major EC frosh thru junior, I’d include it in her activities. If she has plenty of others, just leave it out.
Best to let her do what she prefers…maybe a little off season time off and reconsider? I’d encourage her to play her senior year though since she has put so much time and effort into it.
My D19 quit her fall sport this year. I don’t know exactly how it will play out in her application process. I do know that I am somewhat happy she did. We have been able to schedule visits with no problem. She just had her wisdom teeth pulled on Monday and there wasn’t an worry about missing time from the sport. She is working more. She also has more time for apps.
I think sometimes we want to have our children look like perfect candidates to these colleges. I know I was like that. In the end I would rather my D be who she is rather than someone she isn’t just for the sake of the apps. These kids still have some freedom before going out in the workplace. Let them find out who they are.
I think too much emphasis is put on what the adcoms will think. Life can’t be lived that way, especially when you have no idea what they’ll think. Maybe AP Art History will lead to a career path, or lifelong interest/hobby. Plus, I know SO many 4yr varsity players (lifelong sport) and that didn’t help at all in college admissions. And if she really wants to write about playing all those years, she could, pointing out her realization that she was done, and despite college guidance pressure, decided to explore something new. She’s growing, showing maturity, becoming an adult. I would not push my kids to keep playing a sport they didn’t want to just for a college app. And, I have one that’s been playing since 3, traveling the world with it, etc. I’m hoping he’ll give it up! (Too much time, injuries, don’t want him playing in college).
Totally agree. Best college advice I ever heard was: Do what you want to do (or not) because it’s your preference and works well for you – don’t let your choices be driven by your college application. IOW, don’t let the tail wag the dog.