<p>I'll be applying to Columbia in the fall and I was curious about walk-ons at Columbia. I am currently involved in Archery and Fencing and I've won a few competitions on the local level, however I'm nowhere near the skill levels of recruits for these sports so I'm definitely ruling that out.</p>
<p>So I guess I'm getting at: Do these sports have walk-ons? If so, how "easy" (and I use that word loosely) is it to do so?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Also, if you know the answer to this question regarding Harvard/Yale, that'd be great too.</p>
<p>Can’t answer your question specifically, but in my time (20+ years ago), every sport took walk-ons. I was a crew recruit, but 2/3 of the freshman intake were walk-ons. The football team took walk-ons. I know a guy who walked onto the fencing team and in due course went to the Olympics.</p>
<p>Should be the same at Harvard and Yale. Granted, some sports might be futile at the college level for walk-ons, the squash team for example.</p>
<p>As for getting recruited, don’t sell yourself short. It costs nothing to send an email to the fencing coach introducing yourself. The coaches have reserved admissions slots for recruits and must use or lose them; I’m convinced that’s how I got in.</p>