Pursuing Sports/Arts in High School but not College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD played a sport though HS at a Club Level with no intention of playing in college and did a wide degree of performing arts with no intention of majoring in that field, although she does still perform in college clubs. She is at a T15 school and I don't think it hurt her. Her ECs were part of her story. Now she did not spend as much time on her sport as better athletes or those who were trying to play in college, but she was a captain of her HS team and was able to balance the sport and her performing arts and still get good grades in high rigor classes. Your DD should be who she is and tell that story. There is not one answer. College Confidential is full of stories of disappointed kids who tried to appear pointy and focus only on activities that they thought colleges would love. Now if your DD has time to add a STEM related EC to her day, I think that would make sense. BUt I don't think it makes sense to give up the things she enjoys based on what everyone else is doing.

Wow that's really interesting! Good to know. It's very true that there's not one answer. I think it's important to be true to who you are. Thanks for sharing a little bit about your DD. Sounds like a very talented kid! -OP

This. Be who you are and when the time comes find the school that fits the kid. Don't make them give up things they enjoy to craft them into some theoretical applicant for a pre-determined college (that they are unlikely to get into anyway!)

This

[Anonymous]

We are doing something similar as you, with our kids. I also see great gains in them from being part of their activities.

With reaches now being lotteries and safeties now being reaches, there are no guarantees that they will get in a the top colleges. At least this way, they will have had fun and not just focused starting their life only once they reach college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are doing something similar as you, with our kids. I also see great gains in them from being part of their activities.

With reaches now being lotteries and safeties now being reaches, there are no guarantees that they will get in a the top colleges. At least this way, they will have had fun and not just focused starting their life only once they reach college.

There aren’t many true safeties that are reaches. You are putting targets into the safety bucket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are doing something similar as you, with our kids. I also see great gains in them from being part of their activities.

With reaches now being lotteries and safeties now being reaches, there are no guarantees that they will get in a the top colleges. At least this way, they will have had fun and not just focused starting their life only once they reach college.

There aren’t many true safeties that are reaches. You are putting targets into the safety bucket.

Yes, I agree with what you are saying. I guess I meant safeties of the past. Of course everything will have to be reevaluated in the year my kids are applying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, please let her continue her instrument and any other extracurricular that makes her happy!

Honestly, we're at the point where she'll stand out more having "normal" activities.

'

I have to laugh a little whenever I get notes from my daughter's teachers (mind you, she is nowhere near Ivy League!) about what a nice, "normal" young lady she is, and how much of a pleasure/refreshing thing it is to have her in class. It actually makes me wonder a little about the types of students these teachers might be seeing these days. Probably the kids of the people OP described above.

Honestly, watching this board, it makes me glad that we aren't dealing with the Ivy or Die craziness.

Oh please no teacher ever wrote that. Not even once.

[Anonymous]

My child is the quintessential jack of all trades, master of none.
When he was in middle school, his MathCounts coach expressed disappointment in me by allowing him to "not specialize".
Um... he was amazing in Math but did not particularly enjoy it.
Sports... he was always at the cusp of JV/varsity. He was involved in it as long as he enjoyed it.
Music involvement was also the same although he had to sit in music class that he did not enjoy in order to participate in All-State- which he did. He felt the sacrifice was worth it.

He applied to 5 T10's, in at 3. And more importantly, in at his first choice school.

I think your kid is going to be alright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, please let her continue her instrument and any other extracurricular that makes her happy!

Honestly, we're at the point where she'll stand out more having "normal" activities.

'

I have to laugh a little whenever I get notes from my daughter's teachers (mind you, she is nowhere near Ivy League!) about what a nice, "normal" young lady she is, and how much of a pleasure/refreshing thing it is to have her in class. It actually makes me wonder a little about the types of students these teachers might be seeing these days. Probably the kids of the people OP described above.

Honestly, watching this board, it makes me glad that we aren't dealing with the Ivy or Die craziness.

Oh please no teacher ever wrote that. Not even once.

I mean, I'd happily show you messages in my email inbox if you must question my truthfulness. Not sure why you think I would make this up.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for your comments. I feel good about encouraging DD to participate in what interests her and what she enjoys. Hopefully when it's time to apply she will be appreciated for who she is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for your comments. I feel good about encouraging DD to participate in what interests her and what she enjoys. Hopefully when it's time to apply she will be appreciated for who she is!

Best of luck! I have a child likely majoring in her performing art (dance) with a health related double or minor, and I have seen kids on the FB board I follow go a bunch of different ways. Kids at Ivies who are part of classes and/or companies with a stem major, minoring in dance, double majoring, kids who decide to go the dance team route, kids who take classes off site, in addition to those who go the BFA route at places like Juilliard. So many ways to keep that psssion/outlet as part of their life.

My child wouldn’t have survived high school without dance.

[Anonymous]

My varsity-sport-playing musician, who is unlikely to be recruited for her sport or pursue a music major, will be applying to college in the next cycle, so my family will find out! She loves both activities and has gained a lot of self-confidence through her participation in both athletics and performing arts.

And FWIW, I think musicians develop a lot of transferable, life-long skills -- how to prepare and practice, break big challenges into small pieces, manage performance jitters, work in groups, in some cases market yourself/your ensemble and manage the business side of music, etc. Even if a college is looking for a stronger "narrative," music is a creative outlet plus a great learning opportunity

[Anonymous]

OP, your kid sounds great. Stick with who she is!

[Anonymous]

By and large, these things likely don't matter. Exceptions are athletics for recruited athletes and truly standout extracurriculars that actually matter in a way that contributes to society.

[Anonymous]

Op, so here's what happens, for example: your DD signs up for, what she thinks, are logical classes for next year. And she struggles. There's not enough time in the day to do it all. She realizes ...or you should realize: doors close. Which doors do you want to close? Gee, she can't really consider a STEM future, not unless she has a strong background in AP Calc, AP Chemistry. How is she doing in those classes?Haven't taken yet, but the prerequisites matter. Or several AP English/Humanities. You or she won't be able to rely on ... well, she would have done well IF it had mattered to her.

[Anonymous]

If your daughter enjoys it, she can continue. Some kids realize that they don’t enjoy the sport or the music that much, and prefer to focus their energy on different activities and courses. If your daughter enjoys and wants to continue, she should do so. But not all kids feel the same about their Highschool music / sports activities.

[Anonymous]

How gifted is your kid in music?

My kid got into multiple top schools via music, along with several other gifted musicians at our high school. We know top musicians at other high schools who had the same success.

At several of the top schools, some of these kids were admitted to both the music and another program, such as CS, engineering, business, chemistry. A couple of these kids (annecdotally) were rejected by lower ranked schools where they only applied to the non music degree program, which indicates that they would not have been accepted to the higher ranked schools without also being a gifted musician.

At one top ranked engineering school's admitted student presentation, the dean of engineering mentioned how much they value creative backgrounds such as music in their applicants, as it brings a different mindset to their work that they don't necessarily see in kids who are strictly focused on STEM. I suspect that my kid's music supplement helped at this top 10 engineering school.

This is is all annecdotal, of course. Based on my kid's application experience, if your kid is gifted in music, it will definitely help them on college applications success, even if they are applying for non music/technical degrees. It might not help at all schools, but it will help at some.