<p>I am not defending cheaters–there is no excuse for such behavior. I am also not necessarily accepting the premise that most elite school athletes are academically under-qualified compared to their non-recruited peers.</p>
<p>However, that said, if a very rigorous school decides to lower admissions standards for a particular group of people and then goes on to burden that already less academically-qualified group with a heavy duty commitment that taxes them physically and time-wise, is it any wonder some of them crack? And why would it surprise you that more of them crack than their counterparts who don’t have to regularly travel out of state and who have 20+ more hours free per week in which to do their work? </p>
<p>If Harvard misjudges a student’s capability, they shouldn’t have to bear all the blame for any negative consequences, like the temptation to cheat. It is the student’s and parents’ responsibility to determine if the student is suitable for the school, regardless of having been admitted. My athlete D’s SAT, GPA, and course rigor were comparable to non-athletes at her top school. Still, she is not an academic super-star or genius, so we questioned whether she belonged there and we gave careful thought to whether she should attend.</p>