<p>however, it's probably harder for athletes to get better grades once they start taking extremely rigorous courses in college/balancing that with practice
and that's esp. true if the courses are graded on a curve and they have to preform based agaisnt all the smart people who got in because of their academics/ intelligence</p>
<p>^Keep in mind that these athletes got in because they are good at a sport...if they are too lazy to "balance practice/coursework", then they would have to get in the way that "all the smart people who got in because of their academics/intelliegence" would have to...</p>
<p>Its either:
1) Less stringent admissions standards and more work in college or
2) Difficult admissions but no long practices</p>
<p>You can't have your cake and eat it too.</p>
<p>Besides, it's not like the regular students got in my only studying all day, they also participate in EC's throughout college and have to balance that as well.</p>
<p>yeah, thats true</p>
<p>This is why I strived to score as high as possible on the SAT... Being white and from New York, I was at more of a disadvantage than the vast majority of other applicants... My desire propelled me to score a 2330, and I was accepted to Penn last March.</p>
<p>And in terms of athletes scoring below average, it is borderline absurd sometimes... Sure, there are recruited athletes who are intelligent and score well... But a boy in my writing seminar this semester scored a 900/1600 on his SAT. I get that athletes should have some leeway, but I think that's pushing it a bit. This is Penn, after all.</p>
<p>Not to take anything away from atheletes but I am editor of multiple publications at my school. I work just as hard as any athlete, I put in more hours then most and I get half the praise. Although my ec work and passion will help my application I am still expected to have above avrage grades and test scores. I don't think an athlete with mid level grades and scores should have an advatage over me. </p>
<p>I have a ton of respect for my athletic friends. They do work hard and I want the best for them. However my extra work should hold the same weight as their's... unfortunately I am not sure that it does.</p>
<p>A lot of applicants do just as much if not more than athletes. They might spend all their time on research or music or publications or whatever, but they will not get the same amount of recognition half the time because all these schools find athletic talent to be more important/unique. Unfair, but probably won't change anytime soon.</p>
<p>If they were recruiting you to edit at publicatiosn there the nyou too would have better chances. It's not that athletic talent is more important, it's that they have 30 varsity division oen teams and they need to stay competitive.</p>
<p>By the way, i'm really against it too, but i was just trying to present how i feel the schools look at it.</p>
<p>but you have to look at it this way, researching and newspaper editor or mun president are all academic. sports are not. how many extremely qualified, scores and stats wise, editors or researchers are there? probably 75% of them are. how many just as qualified starting quarterbacks or starting shooting guards are there? probably 10%? maybe even less.</p>
<p>having more athletes is a good thing, they curb grade inflation here :)</p>
<p>Well, i am a decent athlete, but my school is ranked #4 in the country for Basketball, has a state champion football team, nationally ranked Cross-country team, and our #1 tennis player is ranked 5th in the nation. So, considering that, I can't really put sports on my resume even if I am well above average because my school is ridiculously good at both sports and academics. So, being sidelined to only academics, I can't really "shine" as well as the athletes at my school, is that fair? I say no.</p>
<p>your school is NOT ranked #4 in the country for basketball. i follow high school basketball very closely and because of that i do not know if your other rankings for your sports are true. how decent are you? if you can't "shine" as well as the athletes at your school, you do compete still with other schools, do you do well against them? talk about competitive sports? come to southern california=]</p>
<p>there isnt a top 25 basketball team in TN, assuming from your profiles thats where you live. MaxPreps</a> Winter 06-07 National Rankings</p>
<p>Yes, you are right. They are no longer at the top, but they have been in the top 5 in the years I have been at my school. The same applies for other sports too, they may not be ranked that high currently, but sometime in the past two years they have been. Our school recently lost money for our athletic programs due to No Child Left Behind, which is the main reason we aren't that competitive anymore. But either way, there's no point in me playing a sport seriously during senior year, after everything has been sent to my colleges. Like I said, I'm only decent, not enough to be recruited, mostly because I gave up playing seriously when a bunch of pros were at my school.</p>