<p>Hello CC! I'm a new user, but I've been lurking on the forums for a little bit now. </p>
<p>My question, like the title stated, is what the cut-off line for GPA is if you're interested in being recruited for your sport at an Ivy school. I've been looking at the competition results from previous years, and can place top-three in finals in my best events, so I think my "athletic" component should be fine. </p>
<p>However, I'm concerned about my GPA. Right now, it's not the best and to make it more confusing, our school does percentages, not GPA. We only have two APs, but you can only take them as a senior (I'm a junior right now). </p>
<p>So, what would be a percentage estimate of the grade range coaches would expect when you contact them?</p>
<p>Top 10% of class is a number I’ve heard frequently, unless you are at a school with extremely high academic standards. Your guidance couselor may be able to tell you if your school’s profile puts it in that category.</p>
<p>If your SATs are good enough, a mediocre class rank is still potentially recruitable. For example, to hit a 190 academic index you could score 700s on your SAT math and critical reading, plus 700’s on your SATII subject tests and your rank would only have to be in the top half of your class. Bear in mind, while it’s possible to be recruited with a 190 AI (technically it’s possible with a 171) the process will be a lot smoother with 200+</p>
<ol>
<li>Keep in mind that your test scores count double your GPA or rank when calculating your AI, so high test scores help.</li>
<li>Also, the GPA may be to your advantage rather than the ranking; there are conversion tables from percentage sto GPA.</li>
<li>There can be adjustments made for attending a competitive high school and/or having a competitive course load.</li>
</ol>
<p>If I were the coach, your question would turn me off. Who wants the bare minimum of anything? Recruiting and admission are based on lots of factors with complex relationships. Some of them you can’t control, such as who else in your sport is interested in the same schools. You do have a lot of control over your grades, so take the attitude that you’ll ramp up your efforts to improve them (and be ready to tell the coaches specifically what you’ll do - they will care about your grades) and work a little harder than you have before. I’m not saying your grades are bad, just that coaches will care about your attitude, and “here’s how I’m improving” sounds better than “what’s the minimum you will accept.” Just my .02.</p>
<p>^ Your first five words were the operative ones. Coaches are interested in numbers in both athletic and academic achievement, not rhetoric that shows a supposedly desirable attitude. Honestly, OP’s question is perfectly fine, especially considering he’s not insinuating that he’d start slacking if he had wiggle-room for his GPA.</p>
<p>It is difficult to raise a GPA a lot by the time you are a junior/senior, particularly if it’s already in the 3’s. Your best bet is to keep doing well, but as another poster stated, test scores can really boost your AI more than GPA, so keep improving those. Do a search for “Academic Index” which is how the Ivies determine academic eligiblity. There is also an AI calculator on CC. The coaches are more interested in your skill set than your grades (as long as you meet the AI). My son’s friend just got into Columbia with a 3.1 (from a top New England Prep, so I’m sure they give the GPA a bit more weight). He is very strong in his sport.</p>
<p>Looking at the OPs question from a slightly different angle, he asks “am I wasting my time dreaming about being recruited by an Ivy with my current stats?”</p>
<p>The answer … best guess … is that they’re looking for 600+ (650+ is better) on each section of the SAT, with a GPA to back it up – 3.5? 3.6?. It’s going to vary by the specific Ivy being discussed, by sport, by coach, by athletic talent being recruited, by the recruit’s high school coursework and school reputation, so it’s hard to have a specific cut off without more specific information.</p>
<p>I have no idea how “competitive” my school is considered to be…it’s a fairly nice school in a nice catchment area. It’s got a good reputation, I guess, but as for course load, well, I should think it’s not as hard as say, a private school?</p>
<p>Okay, now I know SATs are VERY important to balance the GPA. I took the SAT in October and got 2230…should I retake?</p>
<p>And I heard that sometimes, if your stats are TOO good school-wise, coaches refuse to support you with LLs. Is that true?</p>
<p>No. If your athletic stats aren’t good enough coaches may not support you with a LL but if they want you badly enough, they won’t roll the dice with the sub 10% admissions rate.</p>
<p>i have a 3.4 UW. 3.55 W GPA. and a 1960 SAT.
As a junior I took one AP Class, and a few honors, but my course load wasn’t too challenging.</p>
<p>Now I’m a senior, and I’m ranked 18th in the nation for my sport. I was recruited by Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke and the Naval Academy, among others (those were my top choices)… All of the schools cleared me academically. But i think I’m going to attend the Naval Academy. I actually received my congressional nomination yesterday!!! I got my conditional acceptance pending a congressional nomination into the academy about a month ago.</p>
<p>From going through the process here’s what I’ve learned.</p>
<p>If you want to be recruited by an Ivy, and you don’t have a 4.0 and 2200 on your SAT, you have to be really, really good at your sport. Having the coach on your side is a huge advantage. Start contacting coaches now, fill out recruiting questionnaires, and get your name out.</p>
<p>Good luck! PM me if you have any more questions.</p>