College equation has changed for boys

[Anonymous]

It's still nice to have a leg up in Ivy admissions

[Anonymous]

When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

Forgot to add, I would not take the marching band, fraternity bro (even if in my fraternity), debate club champ, student paper editor, etc... You even bring that sort of stuff up in a leadership interview or on your CV, and I'm labeling you a weirdo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you play in a revenue generating sport which means football or basketball, college sports are just another enjoyable activity to pursue. Think marching band, fraternities, engineering competitions, and the like. All power to you if that’s what you enjoy and it’s great that our colleges offer all these activities to enrich the experience. College soccer is no more no less. I hope people aren’t delusional about college sports.

:roll:

Come back when recruited athletes no longer get a special admissions process and are in the same bucket as students in marching band.

Athletes recruited for soccer don’t often get a led up in admissions. It’s different for revenue generating sports like basketball and football. DS was advised to maintain the highest GPA possible if he wanted to be recruited. Sure there may be an occasional applicant who a coach fights for but it’s isn’t going to be the majority of recruits. A 3.5 isn’t going to get admitted to HYSP on the men’s side. The coaches have their choice of talented HS soccer recruits who check the admissions boxes. But the fact is college soccer coaches are much more likely to choose a transfer or international player in 2026.

Athletes recruited for soccer absolutely get a leg-up in admissions, and it’s very odd to claim otherwise. My child who was recruited by several ivies was told he could get through admissions so long as he kept his grades up and got at least a 1250 on the SAT. My other child (not recruited) with perfect grades in highly rigorous classes and a 1600 on the SAT was shut out by those same schools.

Also, check the rosters for HYPSM. The vast majority of players are American.

I’m not saying it’s an easy path to get to any top school, but we have found that the shot at a golden admissions ticket tends to keep kids more focused on their academics than they might otherwise be.

The HYP players or "IVY" players get no scholarship $.

So? Most Ivy League schools are extraordinarily generous with financial aid for families that need it, and at least where I live, full-pay families are very happy to pay for an Ivy league degree.

[Anonymous]

Pros:
1. Stay healthy and fit (mentally too)
2. Character
3. Good work habits- show up on time, listen to a coach, work as a team.
4. Go d3, it's what I did. Make good friends, stay out of trouble. Love the game.

If everything is a about money, recruitment, status, you are letting yourself and your kid down. We all die broke and unknown. Enjoy the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

Forgot to add, I would not take the marching band, fraternity bro (even if in my fraternity), debate club champ, student paper editor, etc... You even bring that sort of stuff up in a leadership interview or on your CV, and I'm labeling you a weirdo.

You should make this known early in your hiring process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you play in a revenue generating sport which means football or basketball, college sports are just another enjoyable activity to pursue. Think marching band, fraternities, engineering competitions, and the like. All power to you if that’s what you enjoy and it’s great that our colleges offer all these activities to enrich the experience. College soccer is no more no less. I hope people aren’t delusional about college sports.

:roll:

Come back when recruited athletes no longer get a special admissions process and are in the same bucket as students in marching band.

Athletes recruited for soccer don’t often get a led up in admissions. It’s different for revenue generating sports like basketball and football. DS was advised to maintain the highest GPA possible if he wanted to be recruited. Sure there may be an occasional applicant who a coach fights for but it’s isn’t going to be the majority of recruits. A 3.5 isn’t going to get admitted to HYSP on the men’s side. The coaches have their choice of talented HS soccer recruits who check the admissions boxes. But the fact is college soccer coaches are much more likely to choose a transfer or international player in 2026.

Athletes recruited for soccer absolutely get a leg-up in admissions, and it’s very odd to claim otherwise. My child who was recruited by several ivies was told he could get through admissions so long as he kept his grades up and got at least a 1250 on the SAT. My other child (not recruited) with perfect grades in highly rigorous classes and a 1600 on the SAT was shut out by those same schools.

Also, check the rosters for HYPSM. The vast majority of players are American.

I’m not saying it’s an easy path to get to any top school, but we have found that the shot at a golden admissions ticket tends to keep kids more focused on their academics than they might otherwise be.

Your kid must have been an absolute phenom then. I have not known anybody among my kids peers to be told this. Many of DS’s soccer playing friends played at the highest level and had near perfect to perfect grades (with rigor) and far better SAT scores. None landed at these schools. His coach who has placed dozens of players D1-D3 said grades are super important. Congrats to your son for accomplishing it. I mean this sincerely. He must be an amazing player. My own DS with a 3.85 UW/4.5 W didn’t even attempt to contact these schools because he felt he didn’t stand a chance as a student or player and we had no way to pay the tuition (donut hole family). He’s playing D3 at a LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

Forgot to add, I would not take the marching band, fraternity bro (even if in my fraternity), debate club champ, student paper editor, etc... You even bring that sort of stuff up in a leadership interview or on your CV, and I'm labeling you a weirdo.

This is an interesting comment, IMO, and the question I have is when the candidate would have this on their CV. It's one thing when they are first graduating from college and don't have a ton of relative work experience. It's another when it's 10 years post graduation. I'd say the same about the college athlete with work experience. Yes, it's a sacrifice and takes commitment to be a college athlete, but that doesn't automatically make them a great leader of people. Plus, if they are telling me about their exploits on the field in an interview and it's a ways after graduation, I take that as kinda weird.

When I first graduated from college, I did have stuff like that on my resume. My time in my fraternity as President was valuable and relevant to my career - it taught me a ton about leadership, working with people, public speaking, etc. Persuading a group of 40 guys to do what you want isn't easy.

Anyway, yes. The college recruiting game for boys is super tough. I've seen it first hand with my nephew who is the only true freshman in his incoming recruiting class - that is a kid right out of a US high school. Meanwhile, everyone on my DD's team that wanted to play has committed and it happened super early when compared to the boys.

Anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you play in a revenue generating sport which means football or basketball, college sports are just another enjoyable activity to pursue. Think marching band, fraternities, engineering competitions, and the like. All power to you if that’s what you enjoy and it’s great that our colleges offer all these activities to enrich the experience. College soccer is no more no less. I hope people aren’t delusional about college sports.

:roll:

Come back when recruited athletes no longer get a special admissions process and are in the same bucket as students in marching band.

Athletes recruited for soccer don’t often get a led up in admissions. It’s different for revenue generating sports like basketball and football. DS was advised to maintain the highest GPA possible if he wanted to be recruited. Sure there may be an occasional applicant who a coach fights for but it’s isn’t going to be the majority of recruits. A 3.5 isn’t going to get admitted to HYSP on the men’s side. The coaches have their choice of talented HS soccer recruits who check the admissions boxes. But the fact is college soccer coaches are much more likely to choose a transfer or international player in 2026.

Athletes recruited for soccer absolutely get a leg-up in admissions, and it’s very odd to claim otherwise. My child who was recruited by several ivies was told he could get through admissions so long as he kept his grades up and got at least a 1250 on the SAT. My other child (not recruited) with perfect grades in highly rigorous classes and a 1600 on the SAT was shut out by those same schools.

Also, check the rosters for HYPSM. The vast majority of players are American.

I’m not saying it’s an easy path to get to any top school, but we have found that the shot at a golden admissions ticket tends to keep kids more focused on their academics than they might otherwise be.

Your kid must have been an absolute phenom then. I have not known anybody among my kids peers to be told this. Many of DS’s soccer playing friends played at the highest level and had near perfect to perfect grades (with rigor) and far better SAT scores. None landed at these schools. His coach who has placed dozens of players D1-D3 said grades are super important. Congrats to your son for accomplishing it. I mean this sincerely. He must be an amazing player. My own DS with a 3.85 UW/4.5 W didn’t even attempt to contact these schools because he felt he didn’t stand a chance as a student or player and we had no way to pay the tuition (donut hole family). He’s playing D3 at a LAC.

The PP kid most likely just pre Varsity Blues. Schools naturally reacted with more oversight and cutting back in admission slots for sports after the shake up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you play in a revenue generating sport which means football or basketball, college sports are just another enjoyable activity to pursue. Think marching band, fraternities, engineering competitions, and the like. All power to you if that’s what you enjoy and it’s great that our colleges offer all these activities to enrich the experience. College soccer is no more no less. I hope people aren’t delusional about college sports.

:roll:

Come back when recruited athletes no longer get a special admissions process and are in the same bucket as students in marching band.

Athletes recruited for soccer don’t often get a led up in admissions. It’s different for revenue generating sports like basketball and football. DS was advised to maintain the highest GPA possible if he wanted to be recruited. Sure there may be an occasional applicant who a coach fights for but it’s isn’t going to be the majority of recruits. A 3.5 isn’t going to get admitted to HYSP on the men’s side. The coaches have their choice of talented HS soccer recruits who check the admissions boxes. But the fact is college soccer coaches are much more likely to choose a transfer or international player in 2026.

Athletes recruited for soccer absolutely get a leg-up in admissions, and it’s very odd to claim otherwise. My child who was recruited by several ivies was told he could get through admissions so long as he kept his grades up and got at least a 1250 on the SAT. My other child (not recruited) with perfect grades in highly rigorous classes and a 1600 on the SAT was shut out by those same schools.

Also, check the rosters for HYPSM. The vast majority of players are American.

I’m not saying it’s an easy path to get to any top school, but we have found that the shot at a golden admissions ticket tends to keep kids more focused on their academics than they might otherwise be.

Your kid must have been an absolute phenom then. I have not known anybody among my kids peers to be told this. Many of DS’s soccer playing friends played at the highest level and had near perfect to perfect grades (with rigor) and far better SAT scores. None landed at these schools. His coach who has placed dozens of players D1-D3 said grades are super important. Congrats to your son for accomplishing it. I mean this sincerely. He must be an amazing player. My own DS with a 3.85 UW/4.5 W didn’t even attempt to contact these schools because he felt he didn’t stand a chance as a student or player and we had no way to pay the tuition (donut hole family). He’s playing D3 at a LAC.

Thanks! My kid was/is a soccer phenom with great grades, which made the recruiting process for our family far easier than for most. But we know plenty of boys who have been able to parlay their academic and soccer talents into commitments from T20 universities or NESCACs. But to your point about being a donut hole family, all these kids were ones whose families could easily afford to be on an MLSNext team and pay for college, or they were receiving financial aid from their clubs and targeting colleges that also provide significant financial aid. Everything is rigged against donut hole families when it comes to college!

Congrats to your son on playing D3. I hope he’s enjoying it. My kids’ friends who play D3 are all having a much more relaxed and enjoyable experience than the D1 players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

Forgot to add, I would not take the marching band, fraternity bro (even if in my fraternity), debate club champ, student paper editor, etc... You even bring that sort of stuff up in a leadership interview or on your CV, and I'm labeling you a weirdo.

And this is why American businesses are fixated on doing away with regulation and focusing on the short term, necessitating a government bailout a couple of times per generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's becoming increasingly difficult to say the path to college soccer is worth the sacrifice for many, including our family. Several factors have made it a pipe dream. The most significant started years ago with Title IX, which is great for girls but, for boys, and understandably so, shifts scholarships to the revenue makers - basketball and football. These two sports eat up dozens of scholarships. Then you have the transfer madness that has most lineups comprised of 21 yo (often older) seniors with coaches constantly recruiting over their current talent. There is little to no loyalty. The infiltration and prioritization of scholarships to international players is another factor. Some are literally pros who are using college here as an avenue to keep playing while getting a degree. Finally, the MLS academies have become the D1 pipeline, which means if you are not in one - the odds are much steeper at going D1 or even D3, as there are quite a few academy players at all levels. Some kids don't want to go all-in on soccer and disregard academics, other sports, or the ability to enjoy their youth outside of soccer. My kid was a soccer nut until recently, but I think he and I are starting to see that it's no longer in our best interest to prioritize soccer as much as we have in the past. There are some kids who will see the end goal of college soccer as worth it. But I'd advise boys in particular to know that even if you join an academy and make a D1 roster, it's hard to argue that there is a straight up return on investment. Of course, this is different for everyone, but from a financial and time standpoint, know that you're going to commit ALOT to make it on a college roster and then will still deal with the transfers that change the team landscape every year.

You should quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's becoming increasingly difficult to say the path to college soccer is worth the sacrifice for many, including our family. Several factors have made it a pipe dream. The most significant started years ago with Title IX, which is great for girls but, for boys, and understandably so, shifts scholarships to the revenue makers - basketball and football. These two sports eat up dozens of scholarships. Then you have the transfer madness that has most lineups comprised of 21 yo (often older) seniors with coaches constantly recruiting over their current talent. There is little to no loyalty. The infiltration and prioritization of scholarships to international players is another factor. Some are literally pros who are using college here as an avenue to keep playing while getting a degree. Finally, the MLS academies have become the D1 pipeline, which means if you are not in one - the odds are much steeper at going D1 or even D3, as there are quite a few academy players at all levels. Some kids don't want to go all-in on soccer and disregard academics, other sports, or the ability to enjoy their youth outside of soccer. My kid was a soccer nut until recently, but I think he and I are starting to see that it's no longer in our best interest to prioritize soccer as much as we have in the past. There are some kids who will see the end goal of college soccer as worth it. But I'd advise boys in particular to know that even if you join an academy and make a D1 roster, it's hard to argue that there is a straight up return on investment. Of course, this is different for everyone, but from a financial and time standpoint, know that you're going to commit ALOT to make it on a college roster and then will still deal with the transfers that change the team landscape every year.

You should quit.

Almost all do, unfortunately after years of being fooled into thinking the juice was worth the squeeze and that fun wasn't the only real reason to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I am hiring leadership talent, and look at comparable candidates that have similar track records, similar educations and seem to be a good cultural fits - same same - except for one was a college athlete and the other was not - I will take the college athlete every time. (spoiler alert: And so will most other leaders of leaders).

The special treatment of college athletes extends well beyond the institutional walls.

Forgot to add, I would not take the marching band, fraternity bro (even if in my fraternity), debate club champ, student paper editor, etc... You even bring that sort of stuff up in a leadership interview or on your CV, and I'm labeling you a weirdo.

And this is why American businesses are fixated on doing away with regulation and focusing on the short term, necessitating a government bailout a couple of times per generation.

All our problems would be solved if we had more flautists. Lizzo for president!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's becoming increasingly difficult to say the path to college soccer is worth the sacrifice for many, including our family. Several factors have made it a pipe dream. The most significant started years ago with Title IX, which is great for girls but, for boys, and understandably so, shifts scholarships to the revenue makers - basketball and football. These two sports eat up dozens of scholarships. Then you have the transfer madness that has most lineups comprised of 21 yo (often older) seniors with coaches constantly recruiting over their current talent. There is little to no loyalty. The infiltration and prioritization of scholarships to international players is another factor. Some are literally pros who are using college here as an avenue to keep playing while getting a degree. Finally, the MLS academies have become the D1 pipeline, which means if you are not in one - the odds are much steeper at going D1 or even D3, as there are quite a few academy players at all levels. Some kids don't want to go all-in on soccer and disregard academics, other sports, or the ability to enjoy their youth outside of soccer. My kid was a soccer nut until recently, but I think he and I are starting to see that it's no longer in our best interest to prioritize soccer as much as we have in the past. There are some kids who will see the end goal of college soccer as worth it. But I'd advise boys in particular to know that even if you join an academy and make a D1 roster, it's hard to argue that there is a straight up return on investment. Of course, this is different for everyone, but from a financial and time standpoint, know that you're going to commit ALOT to make it on a college roster and then will still deal with the transfers that change the team landscape every year.

You should quit.

Almost all do, unfortunately after years of being fooled into thinking the juice was worth the squeeze and that fun wasn't the only real reason to play.

That’s too bad.