athletes at academically selective college

[Anonymous]

So we are in the recruiting process now and have a wide net of schools at all levels. At the point that things are being narrowed down (on both sides, by kid and by schools). This is not an athletic skill question but an academic one.

My kid has very good grades over 4.0 weighted and lots of rigor in the schedule (all honors or AP). (Also has other activities, like NHS, clubs, another sport that is more for fun, and community service hours but there's not "started a charity" or anything like that). Kid is in serious talks with coaches at some high academic schools, some that claim the average incoming freshman GPA is 3.9+. My kid, unweighted now, is prob. 3.8. I'm guessing that will go down a little (3.6-3.7) after this semester as there are a couple of B's in tough classes (like APCHEM, AP Precalc).

I have a hard time believing every kid on the sports teams at these schools have 3.9 GPAs. (If they do, good for them and that's amazing. This is not a rip on those kids, who are obv very bright). I'm just trying to determine if it is worth pushing forward with these schools, some of whom say my kid is their top recruit for the year/position, if there is no chance DC will make it through admissions. Let's say worst case scenario, DC ends the semester with a 3.6 unweighted (I think it will be closer to 3.75 but hard to know for sure since teachers haven't been great with the gradebook updates). But let's say 3.6. . . . is that going to be a dealbreaker? This is for schools at D1 and D3 level.

Anyone have EXPERIENCE with this (rather than opinions whether athletes should be allowed such "hooks")? Just don't want to keep an iron in a fire that has no chance.

[Anonymous]

I can give insight into Ivy League only. This doesn’t apply for other D1 schools and I only have a little D3 experience with NESCAC schools. I have an athlete at Yale and another Ivy that I won’t name because then it’s easy to figure out who my kid is.

Every team does not have all HS kids with 3.9s. But some/many do, especially on the women’s teams. Ivy League schools manage their teams and admissions differently depending on the size of the school and the sport. So at DD #2’s school, sports like football and hockey have different standards and leeway than cross country or gymnastics because the latter have established that they can get the right caliber of athlete without compromising on a very high GPA. They also allocate pre-reads and recruits differently team by team and year by year. Some sports (rowing, squash) have a lot of international recruits that make it harder to know what’s really going on academically.

What year is your child, and what sport? Are the D1 schools Ivy or t20? If they’re a sophomore and this is an Ivy, they’re just putting your kid into the wide part of the funnel and you won’t really know where these conversations are going until at least this summer.

[Anonymous]

Wut sport

[Anonymous]

AP Precalc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can give insight into Ivy League only. This doesn’t apply for other D1 schools and I only have a little D3 experience with NESCAC schools. I have an athlete at Yale and another Ivy that I won’t name because then it’s easy to figure out who my kid is.

Every team does not have all HS kids with 3.9s. But some/many do, especially on the women’s teams. Ivy League schools manage their teams and admissions differently depending on the size of the school and the sport. So at DD #2’s school, sports like football and hockey have different standards and leeway than cross country or gymnastics because the latter have established that they can get the right caliber of athlete without compromising on a very high GPA. They also allocate pre-reads and recruits differently team by team and year by year. Some sports (rowing, squash) have a lot of international recruits that make it harder to know what’s really going on academically.

What year is your child, and what sport? Are the D1 schools Ivy or t20? If they’re a sophomore and this is an Ivy, they’re just putting your kid into the wide part of the funnel and you won’t really know where these conversations are going until at least this summer.

Junior. One D1 is just outside top 21 and the other is not a top 20. The D3's run the gamut of selective to not (they offer different things, in terms of opportunities). I'd rather not say the sport but it's not a big one like softball, soccer, but also not super niche ones like squash or rowing.

And interestingly, USNWR has some of these schools ave. gpa as 3.9 but different pages (like Niche and others, as I know everyone has views as which are better) has the same schools as less than that for the average.

I'll also add that some

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Precalc?

Yes. What's the issue with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Precalc?

Yes. What's the issue with that?

PP probably didn't know it existed as it is new this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wut sport

Probably basket weaving

[Anonymous]

Can you share gender? That makes a big difference.

If they’re already a junior and haven’t signed, you need to start scouring current rosters and signing lists to understand what’s really going on with that school/sport. The fact that coaches are talking to your kid past summer/fall of junior year is a good sign. Outside T20 could mean almost anything depending on the sport. Is this women’s volleyball at Washington University in St. Louis or is this men’s soccer at Michigan?

It’s unlikely that anyone is going to guess who your child is so unless you share gender/sport most advice you get will be totally random and probably off-base.

[Anonymous]

Girls sports way easier please say girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share gender? That makes a big difference.

If they’re already a junior and haven’t signed, you need to start scouring current rosters and signing lists to understand what’s really going on with that school/sport. The fact that coaches are talking to your kid past summer/fall of junior year is a good sign. Outside T20 could mean almost anything depending on the sport. Is this women’s volleyball at Washington University in St. Louis or is this men’s soccer at Michigan?

It’s unlikely that anyone is going to guess who your child is so unless you share gender/sport most advice you get will be totally random and probably off-base.

Female.

I know there are kids parents on these boards in our small sports community so I won't say the sport.

[Anonymous]

Honestly talking to coaches and the other parents might be more helpful if you can’t share the sport.

If it’s lacrosse, GPA is more than fine and might help. You’re looking for team fit and playing time.
Tennis or a tiny roster sport? Sport matters more and recruiting will be an uphill battle.
Volleyball, basketball, soccer? GPA might have never mattered if schools that are ranked 20-50 are even talking to you, you’re just trying to get on a team. GPA can help with walk-on spots because you’re helping with the AI without taking a scholarship.
Gymnastics? GPA doesn’t matter, you’re just trying to get on a team.

I can’t help with other sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we are in the recruiting process now and have a wide net of schools at all levels. At the point that things are being narrowed down (on both sides, by kid and by schools). This is not an athletic skill question but an academic one.

My kid has very good grades over 4.0 weighted and lots of rigor in the schedule (all honors or AP). (Also has other activities, like NHS, clubs, another sport that is more for fun, and community service hours but there's not "started a charity" or anything like that). Kid is in serious talks with coaches at some high academic schools, some that claim the average incoming freshman GPA is 3.9+. My kid, unweighted now, is prob. 3.8. I'm guessing that will go down a little (3.6-3.7) after this semester as there are a couple of B's in tough classes (like APCHEM, AP Precalc).

I have a hard time believing every kid on the sports teams at these schools have 3.9 GPAs. (If they do, good for them and that's amazing. This is not a rip on those kids, who are obv very bright). I'm just trying to determine if it is worth pushing forward with these schools, some of whom say my kid is their top recruit for the year/position, if there is no chance DC will make it through admissions. Let's say worst case scenario, DC ends the semester with a 3.6 unweighted (I think it will be closer to 3.75 but hard to know for sure since teachers haven't been great with the gradebook updates). But let's say 3.6. . . . is that going to be a dealbreaker? This is for schools at D1 and D3 level.

Anyone have EXPERIENCE with this (rather than opinions whether athletes should be allowed such "hooks")? Just don't want to keep an iron in a fire that has no chance.

For the D1 schools, if the coach is saying your kid is the top recruit for their position, then they can dig deep to get your kid accepted. Even at an Ivy, the coach will have a ton of clout for one or two players for the niche sport to essentially get them accepted.

D1 is a completely different animal from D3...again, if your kid is truly a top recruit, the standards will be different for your kid even compared to another recruited athlete that is say #5.

As another poster said, obviously revenue sports like football and basketball are a completely different animal (maybe hockey at a Harvard or one of the northern schools).

[Anonymous]

Read the current rosters and also look for the academic awards for the team members.

You can also set up Google alerts for the schools and the teams.

My kids were pre-covid and test scores mattered. Patriot and Centennial conferences.

[Anonymous]

Ask the coach to have the admissions office for a pre read. That will give you an idea.