<p>Why do "recruited athletes" get such a boost at the Ivy/elite colleges in the admissions game?</p>
<p>other than D1 mens FB/BB- all sports are losers financially for universities. What do the colleges get out of it? </p>
<p>It's not student driven either- half the games on ESPNU have 200 people in the stands even at the D1 baseball/lacrosse/soccer games that are televised!</p>
<p>Wouldn't a school be better served putting their money/effort into dancers/playwrights artists?</p>
<p>While a great fencing/bowling team adds to a varied student body- why would these athletes go from 5%-20% admission rates to "recruited" status where they get a 50%-95% shot at getting in?</p>
<p>I don’t think being a “recruited athlete” gives you a 50+ percentage chance of getting in (Unless you are considered the “best” on a national level), though it does help you quiet a bit. From my understanding ivy league schools are not aloud to give out scholarships, no exceptions. They make up for this by giving their heavily recruited athletes a “likely letter” which basically tells them they have a very good chance of getting into the school, and the coach will help out with admission. How much leeway an athlete has in admission depends on the sport, athletic ability, the coaches need for the athlete, and the athletes AI score. Football and basketball seem to be at the top of the totem pole for athletic recruits, were fencing or water polo have the short end of the stick, getting a smaller amount of admission help. Of course ability plays a very large roll, I’ve heard (no hard facts) that about 5-10 players are heavily recruited and the coaches want them badly for football. of course for other sports there are less players so the number goes down. But the idea is the same, that there are spots reserved for the best athletes. Sometimes ability does not seal the deal though. Even if you are a great quarterback they may already have a truly outstanding quarterback and already have 3 or 4 backups. So in this case they don’t need you. A team that has many upperclassmen in your position are likely looking to recruit new players. For ivy league, an AI score is the academic standard for recruited athletes. Unless it has changed it is on a scale of 171-240. It consist of 2/3rds SAT and 1/3 GPA or Class Rank. To calculate your score take your SAT score out of 1600 and divide it by 10. After you have done this there is a table circulating in the forums which tells you your GPA points (ex. 4.0=80, 2.5=40ish) a 1270 SAT and a 3.0 GPA will give you about a 181 were a 1600 SAT and a 4.0 GPA will give you a perfect score of 240. Having a high AI score can help you both in the recruiting process and the admission process. Sometimes a coach will recruit an athlete with a 240 just to bump up the average AI score of the team that ivy leagues are forced to meet. It is not unlikely that they may be nothing more then a scout team throughout all 4 years though. I believe patriot league may also go on the same or similar system like AI. I can’t really answer the question about why colleges pour so much into their athletics, but my guess is just to be competitive at every level. I know this was a huge amount of information but i hope it proves helpful to you.</p>
<p>Why? Because it makes a much better class. Scholar athletes from various sports are diverse and many have leadership skills/personalities. And many athletes are artists. I don’t think you realize what rock stars top athletes at top schools are…they are often highly successful in other areas, such as the arts</p>
<p>Just out of curiousity do you have any more information on “many athlets are artists”? I ask because this is turning out to be true for my S but wondered if this is a common trait observed among these group of kids?</p>
<p>To the OP I find myself wondering about this as well… Speculating here that this maybe due to historical reasons ie BB and FB are good for the school and make money for the school. However to be fair to all sports --scholarships needed to be granted to regular sports as well… Otherwise that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. WRT to artistic fields being granted equal or more preference to less money making sports like soccer or lacrosse it might have to do with gender - males and thier historic over representation in sports have resulted in colleges responding to that specific subgroup. I am handwaving though and perhaps someone more knowledgble can weigh in here</p>
<p>“many athletes are artists”</p>
<p>just local observation. of the 20 or so kids that sign from our high school I’d say 5 are artists and will pursue it in college. Singing and acting seem dominant…makes sense as they are “performance” arts just like sports:)</p>
<p>Is that both boys and girls? My S is likely not going to choose an performing art major right now but who knows what he might choose in the future… You are right about the performance part though - I am always on his case to downplay that part of his personality thinking it leans towards showboating but perhaps I need to let it go and accept this is a part of the skills development process? Interesting line of thought but off topic for this thread…</p>
<p>1 girl who draws, 1 boy who sings, 2 girls who sing, and 1 girl actor</p>
<p>I don’t think any of the performance art kids are majoring in it, not enough time. But I know the 3 kids who sing are in the choir at their colleges. Which I believe is a club thing.</p>
<p>Chris46,</p>
<p>The answer varies depending on the institution, their division, conference and the sport. I’m not sure where you are getting your numbers but they don’t look right to me. Not even close to reality. BTW…for my son’s Ivy sport, it is SELF FUNDED. In other words, the operating budget is not determined by the school. It has been this way for quite a few years. There are some very generous supporters and alumni who cover the operating expenses and the coaches salaries. I believe you will start to see more of this type of model in the future for all college athletics.</p>
<p>For Ivys, they can offer up to 33 sports. As a conference they believe in well rounded student athletes as they believe in well rounded people from all walks of life. If you talk to Admissions people it is a huge part of what they are trying to do…put together a well rounded student body. Also, I would not describe it as a “boost” with Admisions at all. An athlete needs to stand out in his or her sport get the coaches support and have the credentials to pass Admissions. Many of the Ivy baseball players that I know could have played D1 baseball elsewhere.</p>
<p>Elite D3 schools are pretty much the same thing as the Ivy process. You have to stand out athletically, get the coaches attention, and have the credentials to pass Admissions. There are no freebies here either.</p>
<p>D1 schools (non-Ivy) have a lot more latitude in their requirements.</p>
<p>In addition to self funded sports, you will probably start to see self funded activities (such as those you mentioned above) as the budget crisis hits state budgets and higher education in general.</p>