Recruited Athlete?

<p>I recently applied ED to Smith and am anxiously waiting to hear back in a few weeks! I have a few questions about the admissions process at Smith for recruited athletes... So, if anyone on here is a current student and was recruited to do a sport, it would be awesome if you could help me out. :)</p>

<p>If the coach has admissions do a "pre-read" for your application and admissions tells you that your transcript, test scores, school profile, etc all look really solid and great, is it highly unlikely that you would be denied admission? I understand that Smith is D3 and they can't guarantee recruited athletes a letter of admission or anything... Hopefully someone can give me some insight on what to expect?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Hopefuladmit13, I haven’t a clue how the process works for recruited athletes for Smith, although the scenario you propose sounds plausible. I know you’re asking for feedback from current students, but you should know that they’re really, really busy with their studies and sports and likely don’t have time to see your post, so you shouldn’t take it personally. Good luck! You should hear soon.</p>

<p>I have not heard of Smith recruiting athletes and my daughter was an athlete with a national ranking beating girls who went to D1 schools to play. My philosophy is, if you are really dedicated to an education, going to college on an athletic scholarship just so you can go for free makes no sense, because most of the top colleges (like Smith, or Columbia, or Williams) look at athletics as an achievement but it must be balanced with other factors that are equally important like grades, the interview, recommendations, the essay, your other extracurriculuars, how you spent your summer vacations, etc. Smith no longer cares about your SATs so you can stop worry about those. But if your school had AP classes, those would matter. It also helps to be from Texas, since they want a well rounded class to make everyone’s experience more rounded. Some of the D1 schools will admit anyone who graduates and these people work hard for the scholarship money. Smith wants great applicants, not great athletes. Your achievement as an athlete should not be underestimated. This is more important than you might think, because studies show that student athletes as a group have higher graduation rates and do better in college than – believe it or not – high SAT scorers. Even when they are admitted with lower SATs and lower GPAs. This is the value of an athlete to a school like Smith. You need a strong essay, great recommendations, an excellent GPA and you should try to get to the interview. And of course you must visit the campus. Which is beautiful. This is a very exciting time of life right now for you. Good luck!</p>

<p>Smith, does, in fact, recruit athletes, especially for team sports such as soccer and basketball. No, there are not athletic scholarships, but it can be a factor in your application getting approved. Like most schools, Smith does allow coaches’ input into the process. But you must have the other bases covered as well. Good luck!</p>