Question of how central athletics is to the culture?

Schools clearly vary in the emphasis placed on the jock culture. If your son does not participate at a varsity level (or in the traditional NE sports such as hockey, lacrosse, etc . . would you be cautious about choosing a school that seems to have this focus? Of course, this is all relative–just curious if anyone has had experience in this area . . a child who is not a “jock” going to a school in which athletes dominate the social culture . .

Myself, I would be somewhat wary of a school that is dominated by “jock culture,” whether or not my child participated in same.

I agree with @twinsmama

So–maybe I am missing something–isn’t that the case at many (? the majority) of elite schools–I don’t mean that academics are not primary but rather that athletics is what puts boys up on the social hierarchy? In other words–I would have thought that schools in which this is not the case would be the exception not the rule . .

I think you are missing something or else need to ask your question differently.

I’m not saying that sports are not important to some extent at most/all BS. And there is a jock subculture at most schools, as there is a geek subculture, a preppy subculture, an artsy subculture, add in the name of your clique. What I am saying is that in most schools, none of these subcultures dominate, and I personally would be wary of attending one where it did, even if I were part of that subculture.

I am following what you are saying. Without naming names, are some of the schools spoken of frequently on these boards in this category?

Most of these schools have a significant expectation/requirement of athletic participation, generally for at least two seasons. So naturally the most visibly successful athletes will gain notoriety at perhaps an earlier age than a gifted academic or artistic student.

High sports participation is a structurally built-in thing to nearly all top boarding schools, but some schools are much more liberal with the definition of what a “sport” is, how many seasons per year the student must participate, and how many years the student must participate. In most schools, the heaviest requirements are in the early years with greater flexibility by junior or senior year–things like independent yoga, debate, building sets for the school plays, or even community service might qualify students for the their “sports” requirements. And as an imperfect guide, the bigger the school, the more flexibility on these issues as they have adequate numbers to field competitive sports teams.

In my opinion, this is more an ease-of-entry thing for early years (and PGs, which is a different discussion) than anything that is fundamentally embedded in a school’s culture. This is no different than public school or college–you are initially more tribal in your behavior in order to gain comfort and friends, but over time, most kids expand their horizons and try all different things. Though our kid is likely a varsity athlete, we were very impressed with the schools that encouraged a much broader discussion of interests than just a sports focus–even from the relevant coaching staffs.

It is important that a student be able to find a home or a group of friends, obviously. And sports are a convenient way to do it as the “team” culture that sport tends encourage off-the-field relationships. But as long as there are plenty of kids with shared interests of your kid, you’ll be fine, varsity athlete or not.

This was an important consideration for our daughter when she looked at schools, as she does not self-identify as an athlete (she’s happy to participate in sports, but it’s not her main thing). She very much didn’t want a school where to be popular/well-liked, you have to be a star athlete. It’s certainly true that at any of the schools discussed on this board, kids can find a group of like-minded friends and have a wonderful time. But she didn’t want to be considered outside the mainstream of social life just because she’s more into drama than sports. So we looked carefully at what the sports requirements were (and even more importantly, what counts as a “sport” for purposes of meeting those requirements) and asked a lot of questions about what kind of kids are involved in drama/arts and how they’re perceived by the rest of the student body. There were definitely a number of schools that failed that test and she didn’t apply to.

Take assessments about “jock culture” with a grain of salt. This is a subjective judgement; it will depend upon the family’s own frame of reference.

All schools field sports teams. The importance of those teams to the school’s culture varies wildly–and it can vary from decade to decade. A change in coaches or admissions officers can change a team’s status within the student body. At many prep schools, there will be students who will be recruited by colleges. They are often very nice, hardworking students.

Schools which are all one gender are not necessarily ruled by “jock culture.” They might have more teams available for boys to play on, because it’s a good way for young men to let off steam. (And girls’ schools often have really strong field hockey teams.)

Most schools want a healthy balance of sports, academics, the arts and community service. I can think of several very non-jock schools in our area that have recently built or bought new sports facilities.

The objectionable side of “jock culture” is (in my opinion) a factor adults can influence. Are elite athletes encouraged to try things they are not good at? If a student decides he doesn’t want to play hockey any more, is she allowed to switch to squash? Are special privileges given to top athletes which are not available to the uncoordinated? If an athlete and a non-athlete get in trouble for the same thing, are they treated equally? This is something you can’t easily discover from outside the community. I would also caution against trying to decipher a school’s culture today on the basis of stories (i.e. gossip) from years ago.

Hi. So my DS will be fine with any sports requirements and he is social enough and confident enough to find his people wherever he goes. If I am reading the consensus here although there may be a spectrum if I have chosen schools that in general have many arenas of success (as I imagine all of the top schools would) I should not be too concerned