<p>Does participating in sports/activities that are not typical of a prospective top school applicant make a difference in the eyes of admissions counselors? For example, I have been a varsity wrestler for three years. Georgetown doesn't even list wrestling as a sport on their application. I also play football and expect to be a captain this year. Will these activities help me stand out from the applicant pool? My SAT's and GPA are very competitive.</p>
<p>There are two categories for sports a) are you recruitable? and b) everyone else. With everyone else, it is a good EC that colleges like, but not better than another good EC. Captain is good as it is also leadership.</p>
<p>They help to some degree, but if it is sports yes they probably will focus on whether you are recruit able. If not, they will treat it like most other ECs. However, being both a football and wrestling player is not typical of most top applicant and definitely helps break down stereotypes. I imagine they could give you a second look especially if you are good at it. GL schools ike Goergetown are hard to get into, but do well in school and your app and you will be in good shape.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how being a wrestler would be an advantage for getting into a school (Georgetown) that does not hav a wrestling team. They will be looking for things you can contribute to the school, and if there is no need for a wrestler, that won’t help. My son-in-law, on the other hand, had a scholarship to a school that did need people on their wrestling team and has gone on to coach a high school wrestling team. Look for schools that have a team if you want wrestling to be an advantage.</p>
<p>Sometimes something like that can make you stand out from other applicants looking at similar majors. For example, there was a guy from my high school who got into MIT for electrical engineering and he was a wrestler for 4 years. He felt like that played a role because of the unusual combination. Also, he was URM, first generation refugee immigrant…</p>