What is required to get a Harvard LL

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>Facts about myself,</p>

<p>Great potential, 5 yard average a carry, had almost no time on the field last year due to first year, however managed to get 100 yards all carry, 1 TD and 2 point conversion, all with only around 6 min of actual playing time. I will be a sophomore in a month (HS)</p>

<p>Coach likes me enough that I will likely start JV, so I will have a lot more playing time. Uniforms are the same in JV/Varsity, and technically all of us are on varsity so it will be a mix.</p>

<p>GPA is 2.6, likely won't go up much more maybe 3.1 by junior year (taking Honors/AP, because Harvard says they prefer strong curriculum. Intelligence is quite high, so likely will do very well on ACT test and SAT 2 subject tests.</p>

<p>I don't want coach to say, we will take you as walk on, as I want that LL security, so I ask of you what is required so that I can get one.</p>

<p>Stats for (RB), like how many TD a season, yard carries etc</p>

<p>Grade wise, will having a 84 average hurt, but it's Honors/AP</p>

<p>Sat 2 and ACT, what scores are in the range.</p>

<p>Basically put my a applicant that sucks academically and rocks athletically, and another that is reversed, which rocks academically but sucks athletically, and then give me a goldilocks middle applicant.</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

2

<p>Your GPA still is really low. Even Harvard recruits are really smart. No matter what classes you take, you should still at least have a 3.5 UW (maybe a 3.9 or 4.0 W?) GPA. You won’t be able to do well at Harvard even if you get in–there’s a reason there’s a certain par for academics there.</p>

3

<p>^ Thank you for the quick response. I understand your concern and I’ve heard that 3.5 number before, however to obtain that will require near 4.0 GPA. I can obtain that, however training for D1 level will likely suffer as a result. Hence request for more info on getting in other than GPA, because from what I understand AI can rise even with a crappy GPA. I think I got the number to around 200 with a 2.6 GPA and very high test scores, however skill also factors into coach wanting me to get a LL to prevent me wandering off to a rival. So any idea on stat numbers I should be aiming at?</p>

4

<p>I’ve heard from a coach in another sport that they want 2100 minimum for the SAT</p>

5

<p>Allright, but info is still to vague for any planning I want to do, got the 2100, which is a good number to aim for, and got that high as possible GPA goal. Any stats athletically wise that I could aim for, that could possibly help secure LL letter. Remember LL is ultimate prize, anything that can help will be of use.</p>

6

<p>I was looking on the Stanford website, and none of their incoming freshmen–not even those with a 2400 on the SAT had a GPA below 3.2. I’d aim for 3.3; try and study hard. It is possible to balance sports and school–your social life doesn’t really matter.</p>

7

<p>According to the Harvard website, the average SAT score for recruited athletes is a 2082, although I’d aim higher if I were you due to your low GPA.</p>

8

<p>All right I’ll be heading to bed, however any poster that sees the thread, feel free to provide as much info as you want that could help.^ and to topaz, I can speak fluent Spanish and am great in history, so that’s 2 very high sat 2 scores in addition to a high act score.</p>

9

<p>A couple data points for you. First, search academic index on this site so you have some background. Next Go to the Tier One site and put your gpa and anticipated ACT or SAT score into the AI calculator and that will give you a rough number. Realize for HYP, that number likely needs to be at least in the high 180s/low 190s to be recruit able at all, and even at that level, you will be banking on the fact that one of those three schools is willing to spend one of their two A band slots on a running back, something I would not bet on given the way most Ivy teams run their offenses. I think it is much more likely that to have a legitimate shot at a slot at Harvard, Yale or Princeton (who have very similar stats) as a running back, you should be somewhere in the high 190s/ low 200 range. </p>

10

<p>As far as athletic data points, ypg or ypc, touchdowns scored, etc will be hard to judge given the style of offense that your high school plays and the level of competition. I think it would be wise to go to your local SPARQ combine this winter and get some measurables. Compare those numbers to others from SPARQ or the underarmour camps from running backs going to lower level FCS or FBS schools. That will give you a measuring stick for what to really work on going into your junior winter, when things begin to get serious.</p>

11

<p>The hoped for 3.1, ACT of 30+, solid D1 level ability and a coach who’s really interested in you might get it done. The worse your AI, the better you have to be. They are not going to take a chance on a kid academically AND athletically. And why Harvard for you?</p>

12

<p>I don’t understand how you can have a 2.6 GPA and get into honors and AP classes. </p>

<p>I also don’t understand how a rising sophomore knows about LL’s unless they are reading CC too much. Unless I am mistaken, a LL is something you get AFTER a pre-read and full early decision application. Like, October of 2016.</p>

<p>NO ONE is going to put anything in writing before fall of senior year. If you get a verbal offer, and accept, they might rescind it. I know of a Harvard recruit who got a verbal offer from Harvard and was rejected because of a D senior year (he did go to another Ivy).</p>

13

<p>I would agree with rhandco. You are trying to ferret out the minutiae of a process at a very early stage, which I am afraid will lead to frustration. Play this season, and see how you stack up against your competition. Go to SPARQ, and find out how you stack up with kids getting recruited next year. Build a work out plan in the offseason designed to polish your strengths and elevate your weaknesses. Pick up heavy things and put them down, frequently, this offseason.</p>

<p>Academically, buckle down. You have dug yourself a hole with grades, but it is only one third of the grades you will have when it is time for recruiting to kick into gear. Show significant improvement, and take the ACT and SAT as early as you can. Rinse & repeat. </p>

<p>Lastly, the world is much wider than Cambridge, Mass. You may in fact turn out to have D1 level athletic ability, which is pretty rarified air in its own right, but not be able to get your grades and scores into a place where you are attractive to Harvard (or Yale & Princeton). But Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown & Columbia are world class schools as well, and in many, many cases may be a better fit for you as an individual. On the other hand, maybe you turn out to be a really good but not great football player. Johns Hopkins, Washington U, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin and on and on will provide you with an extraordinary education where football may ease your path to admission. Don’t start closing doors just yet. </p>

14

<p>^ My school’s policy is that you can attend any class as long as your parents wish for you to attend. I can promise you I was setting off heart attacks across the teacher community as I fought to get in. Also I do in fact read ALOT of CC, and know everything from EA is around 20 percent chance, to several other hooks that I have that can help ease admissions. Right now I simply need to raise grades, get great test scores, and run the ball a lot better.</p>

<p>This post is to give me any advice needed to get LL letter, like what is the lowest AI that you can get and still have good chance of getting LL (think poster above answered that with high 190), and also what stats are required to make coach fight to get me on his team. I know that I have 2 years left, I’m going to work as hard as I can to raise grades, as I am quite bad at school in general, but am getting a tutor and should be able to get in to 3.0+, and as well study for ACT likely, as well as 2 sat 2 tests (speak Spanish, and am great in history, so that’s 2 high sat 2 test scores). I also am doing several additional EC, with some good academic ones as well to further strengthen application. Also I am a URM, and first gen college applicant, so that should help tip the scales even further. My final card is that I’m going to apply as soon as I’m able (early September), and will tell the coach that I’m down for verbal contract and LL letter, so that I can get a LL before they are all gobbled up, as I’m committed to this particular school.</p>

15

<p>Paul - I’m a little reluctant to tell you this, but you’re searching for the truth about recruited athletes and LLs, so I might as well put this out there for you: If you are a recruited athlete, your other ECs don’t matter. So if you’re confident you’ll be recruited, skip other activities and just focus on academics and athletics.</p>

16

<p>First, I agree with Sherpa. If reaching for that particular brass ring is more important than enjoying high school, strip everything away but football and academics. Then bust your butt, every day. Personally, there is no way I would do that, but you have to make your own decision. Second, don’t apply to a school, especially EA, without the promise of support for a likely letter. Why tell Murphy you are committed to him without anything in return? Lastly, if Harvard is your one true love, go to their camp this summer, and get a good look at the competition you will see when it counts after your junior year.</p>

17

<p>Paul – lots of great advice here. I will tell you that with my non football playing but early recruited H kid, the whole idea of H wasn’t even on the radar between fresh and soph year. Your fervent interest now is just bad mojo as far as I’m concerned. Just make the most of all your opportunities and see where it gets you. Your statement “As I am quite bad at school in general” just makes most of us who have kids playing sports in Ivy league shake our heads. There’s zero help academically at Harvard. No tutors. No special allowances. And despite talk of grade inflation, the classes aren’t easy. I think most of the kids who aren’t athletes are literally some of the brightest kids in the whole country. They do A work in their sleep. My kid had a 2270 SAT, 3.6 at tough prep school, AP scholar with highest honors, SAT2 of 770 and 700 and works super hard to get decent grades. She knows she’s bright but that she doesn’t compare to the non hooked admits. Being the bottom of the barrel at H isn’t really a feather in your cap unless it’s just the prestige of saying you went to H and played football when you’re at a cocktail party when you’re 35. And that’s just pathetic. No one really cares then. Why do you want to go there? URM, 1st gen college – that would help differentiate you from the others if you were applying as a brainiac, but you’re not. It’s numbers and football ability. Give H a rest and just do your best. H will find you if they want you. Good luck.</p>

18

<p>^ All right, will strip EC to focus on football, and you are right in that I should not just blindly commit EA to the school, however I wish to help tip recruitment when it comes by basically saying I’m not going to any competitor if you take me. While I can’t go the camp this summer, is there any way I can see film or stats on Harvard’s current football athlete’s both past and present (some site or something). I will then do my best to study them.</p>

19

<p>Here’s some video for you, Paul. These guys were Harvard football, class of '13
<a href=“http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20130314_Pro_Day”>http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20130314_Pro_Day&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>Here is a highlight clip from last season. <a href=“2013 Harvard Football Highlights - YouTube”>2013 Harvard Football Highlights - YouTube;

<p>A pretty simple google search will yield plenty more.</p>

<p>I am not sure how much this will help you quite honestly since what you are looking at is a far different game than what you played your freshman year. </p>