If your kid wants to go to a selective university, do not let them play sports in high school

[Anonymous]

Well my friend’s DD from a top NYC private who mostly had just a club and varsity sport as her EC and is a top student just got into not one but 3 EA/ED T20s. No hooks, white UMC girl. Not recruited for the sport either, just played it because she enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Playing a sport as an EC is similar to listing National Honor Society. Everyone lists these. Good to list but nothing unique.

What? No. Low IQ take. NHS takes every warm body with a “good enough” gpa and a faculty sponsor. That’s nothing like having to make the team and go to practices and games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Playing a sport as an EC is similar to listing National Honor Society. Everyone lists these. Good to list but nothing unique.

What? No. Low IQ take. NHS takes every warm body with a “good enough” gpa and a faculty sponsor. That’s nothing like having to make the team and go to practices and games.

Try to keep up. Not referring to skill set involved. Referring to activities that are so common that they do not allow your student to stand out among the piles of applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:🙄

There’s more to life than sacrificing your kid’s authenticity and interests to try to match the ever-changing whims of admissions committees.

Sure, if your kid doesn’t like sports, don’t force them to play one in an attempt to impress admissions. That’s silly and worthless. Same is true if they’re all-in on their instrument, musical theater, dance, or any other super time-consuming passion.

But if your kid loves sports (or the equivalent) and wants to pursue it in HS but not at a recruited level, there’s plenty of upside for them as a human being: authenticity, grit, leadership, social skills, physical health, mental health/wellness, and more.

All that said, if playing three varsity sports is what keeps our 4.0/1500+/12AP student out of the T-20, that’s fine with us. We’re thrilled to see our kid enjoy and excel at the EC’s they have chosen. It’s been wonderful for their growth, resilience, sense of self, and relationships with their peers, coaches, and teachers, alike.

IMHO that’s more important in the long run than dropping their authentic self in an attempt to make themself marginally more attractive to a school with an already tiny rate of admission. But you do you.

It is not a marginal boost. I don’t think that many parents realize here how much sports actively hurt your chances in admissions because of the time factor. Most college admissions advisors actively tell kids to give up on sports if they aren’t being recruited

This +1
or the non-recruited student athlete continues with their sport knowing that it will not be a boost in any way come college application time
it is the parents that seem the most delusional to me as they really think that playing on a travel team will move the needle in any way when it doesn't

There is no evidence for what you are saying though. Colleges look for students who aren’t just pulling in the grades. They want to see persistence and a time commitment. It doesn’t have to be sports, but suggesting sports aren’t a benefit on an application is ridiculous.

I completely agree. But applicants have to keep it in perspective at the same time. Their travel sport commitment that takes 16 hours a week is no better or worse than any other regular EC that may take the same time or just an hour or two.

Tell me what that “other regular EC” is and I’ll tell you if it’s better than travel sports. Not all “regular ECs” are equally impressive or as impressive as sports.

I think we are not agreeing on what it takes to have an impact on a college admissions application reader. It is not a matter of an EC being "impressive" or not. It is very much a matter of an EC making the applicant stand out from the pack - to seem different in some way. Playing a sport on any level, other than when being recruited, is as common as one can be. Hundreds of thousands of college applicants play sports, which is fine. But do not for a moment think it will help any stand out unless they are being recruited to play in college.

The number of kids who play varsity sports is small compared to the number of kids in high school and even the number of college applicants, so yes it does make you stand out.

No it’s not one of the insane “started a nonprofit to help disabled children in Tanzania” ECs but it’s not “common” either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless your kid is recruited, admissions officers do not really care about sports. I know a kid who has perfect grades and a 35 ACT who was a captain of the varsity football and lacrosse teams (and was class treasurer, NHS president, volunteered, and did part time work), and he got rejected from every remotely selective college. The Ivy Leagues, Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UNC, and UVA all rejected him. Many other kids who are two or three sports athletes have similarly bad results.

At most top schools, the students will tell you most people there did not play sports outside of the recruited athletes. Most of their extracurriculars were centered around the major they want to study. Sports are time consuming and take away time from these more impactful extracurriculars. For sports like basketball, baseball, or lacrosse, you are easily spending 20+ hours per week on an activity that ultimately won’t help you in admissions.

And it doesn’t help that in the DMV area, you have to be super talented or spend years playing a sport just to make into the JV team. You have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on sports. Sports are just a waste of time for most kids

I agree that varsity sports is not an impactful EC if I was to do it all over ago. Unless you are recruited athlete, it would help to focus more on grades.

Maybe you just weren’t good enough? I know kids who keep a 3.9+ with a dozen APs and a 1560 SAT that they nailed ina single take with a few hours of review. They do this while leading a top team as a captain and starter. They still find time to rack up 1500 hours of volunteer time because they are consistent and disciplined. What about them? Maybe they are just plain superior all around to those who study furiously to achieve less then whine about recruited athletes being less worthy.

This. Ime, people who excel at one thing often excel at many things because the skills needed to be a good student, a good athlete, a good leader, a good friend and a good romantic partner are the same: high IQ, dedication, self awareness, motivation, ambition, time management skills, grit, perseverance, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:🙄

There’s more to life than sacrificing your kid’s authenticity and interests to try to match the ever-changing whims of admissions committees.

Sure, if your kid doesn’t like sports, don’t force them to play one in an attempt to impress admissions. That’s silly and worthless. Same is true if they’re all-in on their instrument, musical theater, dance, or any other super time-consuming passion.

But if your kid loves sports (or the equivalent) and wants to pursue it in HS but not at a recruited level, there’s plenty of upside for them as a human being: authenticity, grit, leadership, social skills, physical health, mental health/wellness, and more.

All that said, if playing three varsity sports is what keeps our 4.0/1500+/12AP student out of the T-20, that’s fine with us. We’re thrilled to see our kid enjoy and excel at the EC’s they have chosen. It’s been wonderful for their growth, resilience, sense of self, and relationships with their peers, coaches, and teachers, alike.

IMHO that’s more important in the long run than dropping their authentic self in an attempt to make themself marginally more attractive to a school with an already tiny rate of admission. But you do you.

It is not a marginal boost. I don’t think that many parents realize here how much sports actively hurt your chances in admissions because of the time factor. Most college admissions advisors actively tell kids to give up on sports if they aren’t being recruited

This +1
or the non-recruited student athlete continues with their sport knowing that it will not be a boost in any way come college application time
it is the parents that seem the most delusional to me as they really think that playing on a travel team will move the needle in any way when it doesn't

There is no evidence for what you are saying though. Colleges look for students who aren’t just pulling in the grades. They want to see persistence and a time commitment. It doesn’t have to be sports, but suggesting sports aren’t a benefit on an application is ridiculous.

I completely agree. But applicants have to keep it in perspective at the same time. Their travel sport commitment that takes 16 hours a week is no better or worse than any other regular EC that may take the same time or just an hour or two.

Tell me what that “other regular EC” is and I’ll tell you if it’s better than travel sports. Not all “regular ECs” are equally impressive or as impressive as sports.

I think we are not agreeing on what it takes to have an impact on a college admissions application reader. It is not a matter of an EC being "impressive" or not. It is very much a matter of an EC making the applicant stand out from the pack - to seem different in some way. Playing a sport on any level, other than when being recruited, is as common as one can be. Hundreds of thousands of college applicants play sports, which is fine. But do not for a moment think it will help any stand out unless they are being recruited to play in college.

The number of kids who play varsity sports is small compared to the number of kids in high school and even the number of college applicants, so yes it does make you stand out.

No it’s not one of the insane “started a nonprofit to help disabled children in Tanzania” ECs but it’s not “common” either.

This statement is delusional. Just wait and see.
Playing a sport is incredible for kids on so many levels but it will not ever make an applicant stand out when applying to college (unless you are a recruited athlete).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Four years ago I heard an AO from UVA say they like students who played sports and still got good grades because that shows they can manage their time.

They like well rounded kids. My son’s friend got into Harvard with excellent grades and a dedication to the performing arts. For someone to say a dedication to sports is a detriment is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in one of the highly regarded FCPS schools and every single kid I can think of who went to an Ivy or top school not only played sports in HS but also was a captain. OP is totally off base (ha!)

There are only a handful of captains in every school and the best athletes are not necessarily the best academic students. I think it’s somewhere in the middle of both of your claims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless your kid is recruited, admissions officers do not really care about sports. I know a kid who has perfect grades and a 35 ACT who was a captain of the varsity football and lacrosse teams (and was class treasurer, NHS president, volunteered, and did part time work), and he got rejected from every remotely selective college. The Ivy Leagues, Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UNC, and UVA all rejected him. Many other kids who are two or three sports athletes have similarly bad results.

At most top schools, the students will tell you most people there did not play sports outside of the recruited athletes. Most of their extracurriculars were centered around the major they want to study. Sports are time consuming and take away time from these more impactful extracurriculars. For sports like basketball, baseball, or lacrosse, you are easily spending 20+ hours per week on an activity that ultimately won’t help you in admissions.

And it doesn’t help that in the DMV area, you have to be super talented or spend years playing a sport just to make into the JV team. You have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on sports. Sports are just a waste of time for most kids

lol
😂
Mine played division 1 lax and soccer

You are incredibly stupid

Neither of mine played travel
Neither of mine spent years playing their sport they both started in 8th grade.
Both are great students top academically

The OP is a clueless idiot but you are lying.

Why is he lying? There are plenty of students over this large country who began a sport in middle school and mastered it quickly.

[Anonymous]

Every weekend, kids start these dumb posts and every weekend, you all take the bait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless your kid is recruited, admissions officers do not really care about sports. I know a kid who has perfect grades and a 35 ACT who was a captain of the varsity football and lacrosse teams (and was class treasurer, NHS president, volunteered, and did part time work), and he got rejected from every remotely selective college. The Ivy Leagues, Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UNC, and UVA all rejected him. Many other kids who are two or three sports athletes have similarly bad results.

At most top schools, the students will tell you most people there did not play sports outside of the recruited athletes. Most of their extracurriculars were centered around the major they want to study. Sports are time consuming and take away time from these more impactful extracurriculars. For sports like basketball, baseball, or lacrosse, you are easily spending 20+ hours per week on an activity that ultimately won’t help you in admissions.

And it doesn’t help that in the DMV area, you have to be super talented or spend years playing a sport just to make into the JV team. You have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on sports. Sports are just a waste of time for most kids

Or the student and/or his parents lied about the perfect grades and ACT score. Amazingly parents and kids both do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless your kid is recruited, admissions officers do not really care about sports. I know a kid who has perfect grades and a 35 ACT who was a captain of the varsity football and lacrosse teams (and was class treasurer, NHS president, volunteered, and did part time work), and he got rejected from every remotely selective college. The Ivy Leagues, Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UNC, and UVA all rejected him. Many other kids who are two or three sports athletes have similarly bad results.

At most top schools, the students will tell you most people there did not play sports outside of the recruited athletes. Most of their extracurriculars were centered around the major they want to study. Sports are time consuming and take away time from these more impactful extracurriculars. For sports like basketball, baseball, or lacrosse, you are easily spending 20+ hours per week on an activity that ultimately won’t help you in admissions.

And it doesn’t help that in the DMV area, you have to be super talented or spend years playing a sport just to make into the JV team. You have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on sports. Sports are just a waste of time for most kids

lol
😂
Mine played division 1 lax and soccer

You are incredibly stupid

Neither of mine played travel
Neither of mine spent years playing their sport they both started in 8th grade.
Both are great students top academically

The OP is a clueless idiot but you are lying.

Why is he lying? There are plenty of students over this large country who began a sport in middle school and mastered it quickly.

Yes as to rapid mastery. I was ranked third in the nation in my sport after developing rapidly. Single mother kid from poverty. High grades, high scores. Admission to any college was not an issue so long as I applied. I suspect I would not have been admitted to Cal Tech but everywhere else was fair game. The point here is that sports should be pursued if a kid really likes them as opposed to considerations of college admission. There were three post high season national competitions back in my day and I won one of them. I can assure you I was not competing to gain admission to any particular college. You have to be in the moment to do these kind of things. Terrifically intense too, no matter how talented. The athletic scholarship helped tremendously with finances (divorce situation with wealthy father abandoning the family) but without athletics I would have been admitted somewhere with a bright future. I did as well academically as I did athletically, so it is a matter of priority. I wrote myself a 10 point academic contract which served me well. Be yourself, and I would not follow the lead of DCUM admission obsessed apparatchiks.

[Anonymous]

Not being middle class also kills your odds significantly. Top tier schools hate the middle class. They prefer their student bodies to consist mostly of wealthy elites with a few poor or hooked kids sprinkled in to give the appearance of "diversity"

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the notion that sports is a waste of time. If your kid can play a sport, being part of a team is great both for social skills and confidence building. Staying active, pushing your limits, working with others within a system, learning how to compete, to be coached and apply what you learn in real time...what's not to like about that? If your kid can do it, who cares about the college admissions nonsense - sports is good for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless your kid is recruited, admissions officers do not really care about sports. I know a kid who has perfect grades and a 35 ACT who was a captain of the varsity football and lacrosse teams (and was class treasurer, NHS president, volunteered, and did part time work), and he got rejected from every remotely selective college. The Ivy Leagues, Notre Dame, Michigan, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UNC, and UVA all rejected him. Many other kids who are two or three sports athletes have similarly bad results.

At most top schools, the students will tell you most people there did not play sports outside of the recruited athletes. Most of their extracurriculars were centered around the major they want to study. Sports are time consuming and take away time from these more impactful extracurriculars. For sports like basketball, baseball, or lacrosse, you are easily spending 20+ hours per week on an activity that ultimately won’t help you in admissions.

And it doesn’t help that in the DMV area, you have to be super talented or spend years playing a sport just to make into the JV team. You have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on sports. Sports are just a waste of time for most kids

I agree that varsity sports is not an impactful EC if I was to do it all over ago. Unless you are recruited athlete, it would help to focus more on grades.

Maybe you just weren’t good enough? I know kids who keep a 3.9+ with a dozen APs and a 1560 SAT that they nailed ina single take with a few hours of review. They do this while leading a top team as a captain and starter. They still find time to rack up 1500 hours of volunteer time because they are consistent and disciplined. What about them? Maybe they are just plain superior all around to those who study furiously to achieve less then whine about recruited athletes being less worthy.

This. Ime, people who excel at one thing often excel at many things because the skills needed to be a good student, a good athlete, a good leader, a good friend and a good romantic partner are the same: high IQ, dedication, self awareness, motivation, ambition, time management skills, grit, perseverance, etc.

I would wager that less than 1% of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL scored 1500+ on the SAT, and that sports management is the number 1 college degree (for the ones that graduate).

Let’s keep in perspective the profile of the truly best athletes.