<p>Which division, which sport?</p>
<p>Let’s analyze that a bit. I’d assume that the reason that many admissions offices don’t want to see essays by recruited athletes about their respective sports is because the applicant is already coming in through a somewhat one-dimensional angle. This makes perfect sense given that institutions are already making an academic tradeoff when they lower admissions standards for recruited athletes. Forcing students to not write about sports is in a way validating their academic profile beyond the bottom-threshold objective numbers (SAT + GPA) by exposing any gaps.</p>
<p>Given that you agree to the above, allow me to justify my use of baseball as the topic for my essay when I’m already coming in as a recruited player. It’s entirely possible that I’m completely off the mark with my analyses and just fabricated it to cover my butt since I’ve already submitted the application. </p>
<p>I am by no means a well-known athlete in my community. When I tell people around my school who aren’t very close to me that I’ve been recruited for college baseball teams, they usually reply by saying they didn’t know I played at all. I’m mostly known by my other EC activities which, quite honestly, consume much more time out of my day than baseball does. My application reflects this depth and commitment to other EC’s and highlights the fact that baseball takes a backseat to many of them.</p>
<p>However, I can’t say that there has been any stronger influences on my life than my experiences through baseball. I say this confidently without the facade that the typical high-school athlete wears when they talk about the trite and somewhat repetitive themes that you referenced earlier: tenacity, work ethic, etc. Baseball is not my life, nor will it ever be, but without it I really wouldn’t be the same person right now. It’s hard to articulate exactly what a game’s relationship is to you when all most people do is play it, but I fell as if what I’ve done with baseball is beyond just having fun playing it. I’m not the typical recruited athlete in this regard, as I don’t live and breathe for my sport but instead live and breathe because of it. </p>
<p>My coaches also mentioned nothing about not writing about sports for my application, so maybe this only happens on a by-school basis. Who really knows though? I may be entirely wrong. Tell me what you think.</p>
<p>7 - you are a great writer. If your essay was anything like your last post, you nailed it.</p>
<p>stemit - D3. The cc: line on the email was sent out to ALL coaches… not just my D’s sport.</p>
<p>Here’s an interesting link that may shed some light on the issue:
[The</a> Deadly Crew Essay](<a href=“http://www.pittsfordcrew.org/RowInCollege/DeadlyCrewEssay.htm]The”>http://www.pittsfordcrew.org/RowInCollege/DeadlyCrewEssay.htm)</p>
<p>^^ haha
Did you catch the typos in that article?</p>
<p>Thanks, imafan. I guess we’ll see what the ramifications of my essay choice are on December 15th.</p>
<p>I just have to jump in. Stemit suggests that the essay isn’t the key to admission, which may be true for those recruited to DI schools where things are locked in early. But for highly selective LACs, this is something you have to take really seriously - especially at schools that don’t have slots or tips for athletes. My D was in that category. She wrote her common app essay on a topic that was a combo of politics/service/personal reflection. The second essay, specifically for the college, she wrote about her sport. She and I talked about the risks, but it was just a great essay that said a lot about her, and she decided to use it. Successfully, I am happy to report. </p>
<p>so the short answer: it depends on the situation.</p>
<p>I think fauxnom nailed it! The variables: D1/D3’s, highly recruited/“love to have you when you’re admitted,” school’s general emphasis/lack thereof on athletics, coach’s input/lack of input on content of application. If the athlete’s application is not going to be flagged (e.g., MIT) the essay will be read and compared to the entire applicant pool. At the other extreme are D1 schools where the NLI is signed and the complete application (including essays) is submitted months later (e.g., USD). At the D1 school the essays are invariably about the sport. I would suggest that the applying athlete ask the coach - the coach has the information and the incentive to provide good honest guidence.</p>