<p>Hello:</p>
<p>What types of athletes does Princeton recruit for? If you know, then please specify below: I know that the mens basketball team recruits, but what about the less well known sports?</p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to find out, are there any less popular sports that could give my kids an edge in applying to Princeton?</p>
<p>Virtually any sport ... as long as they are very good at it.</p>
<p>So there are no specific sports they look at particularly?</p>
<p>i dont know about princeton but I am from bombay, india and every year 1-2 of the top squash players from bombay ends up at Harvard. (5 in the last 7 years). Most of these guys are also academically above average</p>
<p>
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I guess what I'm trying to find out, are there any less popular sports that could give my kids an edge in applying to Princeton?
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To me this question reads a little backwards ... are your kids young and you want to steer them to a sport that might help them get into Princeton? Or are they older and you're asking what sport they should concentrate on now to help get an edge in admissions at Princeton? Or are you asking a different question? </p>
<p>To get a recruiting push at Princeton your daughter or son will need to be very-very good in HS ... something like all conference level performance. This is far short of what is needed to get a scholarship at a Division I schools but in almost all cases these will be kids who are very-very good at their sports and have been pursuing them with excellence for years. And it would be very-very rare that someone jumped into a new sport at the last minute and was good enough to get recruited to a school like Princeton (unless they were already an all-conference type athlete in another sport and brought that skill and determination to a new sport).</p>
<p>My kids are still young and I have time to steer them towards something.</p>
<p>I imagine the toughest competition is for positions in Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Soccer and Tennis.</p>
<p>Are there less-well known sports that Princeton still recruits for? (ie like Fencing, Squash, crew )??</p>
<p>Just came across this page:</p>
<p>Even if an athlete is recruited by a coach at Princeton, it does NOT guarantee admissions. Do a search for the previous threads on recruiting and "likely letters" on the Parent's Forum. It is a complicated process, and being a very talented athlete can help with admissions, but at Princeton in particular it is ot a lock.</p>
<p>those lesser known sports are the sports that princeton is best at (the fencing, squash, and crew) so yes, if your child is internationally, or at the very least nationally ranked, they can get recruited. It is not easy, especially for those sports that you named, especially as there are so few spots available on the team. plus, being nationally ranked at something is not something that a parent can merely "steer" a child towards, there is innate athletic ability and drive that is needed. </p>
<p>Beyond that, the vast majority of recruited athletes have stats right up at the top of the pool (1400 minimum SATs and top 10%) Princeton has so many applications that there are those nationally ranked athletes who also have high stats. Sure, they may not have all of the ecs as the academic all stars, but a national sport takes up just as much time. Sure there are those very few athletes who fall below princeton's academic standards, but they are few and far between. i would not go in expecting athletics to get you (or your children) into princeton if the extremely high stats are not there, and I would not count on being recruited in the first place</p>
<p>out of HYP, harvard is the only one with guaranteed admission, princeton and yale give a lotta leeway and <strong>most</strong> athletes get in but not all that are recruited.</p>
<p>From our school there are a number of exceptional top athletes in
those small sports. First of all each of the three sports you listed,
fencing, squash and crew require there to be a program available
for your child to train. To be top Nationally ranked in any of these
will take years of practice and also a large dose of natural talent.
Although it seems that these small sports might be an easier ticket
for athletic recruiting to a school like Princeton, in reality it is a school like Princeton that has the top National teams in these sports.
Unlike basketball and football where they take a number of recruits and
do not generally get the top National level players (because they want to go to top football or basketball schools) in these small sports they
only take a few recruits and not only are you competing with US
National level athletes but there is a big International presence.
In at least one of these sports I saw top National level athletes not be recruited at HYP this year. Hard to take the course load required of
an American applicant and get the scores to qualify at Princeton and
have the time to be able to be competitive with foreign athletes who
have a lot of time to practice and are not held to the same academic
standard. I have also seen athletic recruits with 1100 range boards
get into Princeton while these top US athletes are passed over.
Bottom line is to find things your children are passionate about.
To be that good at anything requires passion and desire and talent!</p>
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My kids are still young and I have time to steer them towards something.
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To play a sport at Princeton they will need to be very-very good ... and that pretty much requires them to be passionate about the sport ... so I'd suggest you let them steer themselves to the sport they choose because they love the sport. What I would recommend, not to help with Princeton admissions but to help them find their passion sport. would be exposing them to as many sports as possible as kids ... inclusing a lot of sports most kids do not try as younger kids ... squash, wrestling, crew, skiing, etc. Ultimately their natural ability and passion will determine if sports is a hook for them at Princeton or somewhere else.</p>