does athletics dominate SLAC's like Amherst, Bowdoin, etc?

[Anonymous]

Athletics dominate ADMISSIONS at SLAC's. 40%+ of students are athletes. No these are not D1 atheletes, and they are not on scholarship, but they are at the front of the line for admission. Each coach will have a handful of admits per year - so team sport with a roster of 25 players will get the coach 5 - 6 slots per year. The process is the coach and players connect (either kid wants school or coach sees kid play), summer of junior year you get an academic and FA pre-read from admissions, coach makes 'offer' in early fall, player applies ED, all done by early December.

The pre-read is not definitive - more like 'we're likely to admit you'.

Offer from coach is verbal - 'if you are admitted I'd love to have you play for us'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Athletics dominate ADMISSIONS at SLAC's. 40%+ of students are athletes. No these are not D1 atheletes, and they are not on scholarship, but they are at the front of the line for admission. Each coach will have a handful of admits per year - so team sport with a roster of 25 players will get the coach 5 - 6 slots per year. The process is the coach and players connect (either kid wants school or coach sees kid play), summer of junior year you get an academic and FA pre-read from admissions, coach makes 'offer' in early fall, player applies ED, all done by early December.

The pre-read is not definitive - more like 'we're likely to admit you'.

Offer from coach is verbal - 'if you are admitted I'd love to have you play for us'.

THANKS! That is really helpful. I have a younger child (just entering high school) who plays a sport with very little NCAA involvement, so likely to be DIII and I was curious how all that worked. Older child couldn't hate sports more.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the pp who said academics dominate. My DS went to Swarthmore and I was able to attend a few of his athletic events each year. Not many students in the stands--they were probably studying on a Saturday afternoon.

The biggest benefit of the student athlete is a group of friends of different academic years the minute they land on campus. At his school, the athletes were extremely studious. My son's group alone were Fulbrights, PHD bound, as well as Harvard Law. It was impressive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amherst grad here. Academics by far dominates over athletics. Not even close. Hell, the a capella group at Amherst is more popular than the athletic teams.

Hey, what's the workload/academic pressure like there? Is it competitive? Collaborative/supportive? What is the balance between STEM and Humanities students? What was your experience in general? Thx.

Amherst is an amazing school. I can't say enough good things about my experience there. Outstanding professors. Incredibly smart and motivated students. Definitely a good balance of STEM and humanities types. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform academically (and I wasn't the only type A personality in attendance there), but I wouldn't describe the school as a pressure cooker or the general environment as overly competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athletics dominate ADMISSIONS at SLAC's. 40%+ of students are athletes. No these are not D1 atheletes, and they are not on scholarship, but they are at the front of the line for admission. Each coach will have a handful of admits per year - so team sport with a roster of 25 players will get the coach 5 - 6 slots per year. The process is the coach and players connect (either kid wants school or coach sees kid play), summer of junior year you get an academic and FA pre-read from admissions, coach makes 'offer' in early fall, player applies ED, all done by early December.

The pre-read is not definitive - more like 'we're likely to admit you'.

Offer from coach is verbal - 'if you are admitted I'd love to have you play for us'.

THANKS! That is really helpful. I have a younger child (just entering high school) who plays a sport with very little NCAA involvement, so likely to be DIII and I was curious how all that worked. Older child couldn't hate sports more.

A little more color on this - I'm coming at this as a parent with now-D3 athlete. Not the 'wow, who is that kid?' type athlete, but one of those players that is consistent, highly skilled, and makes plays. Probably not going to win MVP, but skilled enough that they'll start and make a big contribution every game.

Here's what I wish I knew at the start of the process:

- Make an honest assessment of where you can get in. If you are a 4.0/1450 student, you can get into a top 10 D3 SLAC as an athlete, when you would just be 1 of a 100 in the regular applicant pool. I'd say being a recruited athlete is worth a 200 SAT points or a 1/2 point on your GPA at most D3 schools. But if you are a 3.0/1250, you can get into a Top 25 school when you really would not have a chance with athletics.
- Visit the campuses and meet the coaches. Schools that admit 1000 students care a lot about demonstrated interest - a coach with 5 slots REALLY cares about demonstrated interest. D3 does have visits, but don't expect is to be like the D1 recruits posting on Instagram. They'll meet the team, go to a game, crash in a dorm room, etc. Try NOT to let your kid stay the night AFTER a game. Lots of parties and alcohol. And it lets your kid meet his potential future teammates. My son eliminated a school that made him an offer (name brand D3, top 25 SLAC) because he did not like the kids on the team.
- Study the various conferences and see what type of athlete they recruit. Especially in team sports, the conferences each have their own style of play and recruiting patterns. Is the team full of 6'5" guys, or 5'10" guys? Every roster has height and weight, and you can look at times/results in the individual sports. Studying the rosters of the teams can give you a clue also on recruiting patterns. NE schools have one type of sports recruit, SE is different. Take the time to figure it out so you are not wasting your time on conferences where you have no chance. Once you settle on a conference, you'll have 10 schools to look at that will all be fairly similar.
- Be prepared for ED. If a D3 coach wants you, they'll want you to apply ED. That is the ultimate demonstrated interest. If you need to see every possible FA and Merit package before making a decision, you will seriously disadvantage yourself on D3 athletic recruiting. Not to say you cannot do that, but it's very hard for coaches to hold open a spot like that for the entire recruiting season.
- Don't count on being a walk on. Almost every athlete on a D3 team is recruited - just because you played in HS does not mean you can walk on. The coach has an investment in his/her recruited athletes - you must really be exceptional to walk on.

Hope this helps. Fire away if you have questions.

[Anonymous]

It would seem at 40% all ED admissions would go to athletes.

[Anonymous]

Academics definitely dominate at LACs. And the proper term is "LACs," not "SLACs."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Academics definitely dominate at LACs. And the proper term is "LACs," not "SLACs."

Amherst 31% of students are varsity athletes, Bowdoin is 36%. Similar numbers at other NESCAC schools. Definitely a sporty set of schools, and has students in sports at percentages similar to HS. Big state schools by comparison are low single digits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Athletics dominate ADMISSIONS at SLAC's. 40%+ of students are athletes. No these are not D1 atheletes, and they are not on scholarship, but they are at the front of the line for admission. Each coach will have a handful of admits per year - so team sport with a roster of 25 players will get the coach 5 - 6 slots per year. The process is the coach and players connect (either kid wants school or coach sees kid play), summer of junior year you get an academic and FA pre-read from admissions, coach makes 'offer' in early fall, player applies ED, all done by early December.

The pre-read is not definitive - more like 'we're likely to admit you'.

Offer from coach is verbal - 'if you are admitted I'd love to have you play for us'.

THANKS! That is really helpful. I have a younger child (just entering high school) who plays a sport with very little NCAA involvement, so likely to be DIII and I was curious how all that worked. Older child couldn't hate sports more.

A little more color on this - I'm coming at this as a parent with now-D3 athlete. Not the 'wow, who is that kid?' type athlete, but one of those players that is consistent, highly skilled, and makes plays. Probably not going to win MVP, but skilled enough that they'll start and make a big contribution every game.

Here's what I wish I knew at the start of the process:

- Make an honest assessment of where you can get in. If you are a 4.0/1450 student, you can get into a top 10 D3 SLAC as an athlete, when you would just be 1 of a 100 in the regular applicant pool. I'd say being a recruited athlete is worth a 200 SAT points or a 1/2 point on your GPA at most D3 schools. But if you are a 3.0/1250, you can get into a Top 25 school when you really would not have a chance with athletics.
- Visit the campuses and meet the coaches. Schools that admit 1000 students care a lot about demonstrated interest - a coach with 5 slots REALLY cares about demonstrated interest. D3 does have visits, but don't expect is to be like the D1 recruits posting on Instagram. They'll meet the team, go to a game, crash in a dorm room, etc. Try NOT to let your kid stay the night AFTER a game. Lots of parties and alcohol. And it lets your kid meet his potential future teammates. My son eliminated a school that made him an offer (name brand D3, top 25 SLAC) because he did not like the kids on the team.
- Study the various conferences and see what type of athlete they recruit. Especially in team sports, the conferences each have their own style of play and recruiting patterns. Is the team full of 6'5" guys, or 5'10" guys? Every roster has height and weight, and you can look at times/results in the individual sports. Studying the rosters of the teams can give you a clue also on recruiting patterns. NE schools have one type of sports recruit, SE is different. Take the time to figure it out so you are not wasting your time on conferences where you have no chance. Once you settle on a conference, you'll have 10 schools to look at that will all be fairly similar.
- Be prepared for ED. If a D3 coach wants you, they'll want you to apply ED. That is the ultimate demonstrated interest. If you need to see every possible FA and Merit package before making a decision, you will seriously disadvantage yourself on D3 athletic recruiting. Not to say you cannot do that, but it's very hard for coaches to hold open a spot like that for the entire recruiting season.
- Don't count on being a walk on. Almost every athlete on a D3 team is recruited - just because you played in HS does not mean you can walk on. The coach has an investment in his/her recruited athletes - you must really be exceptional to walk on.

Hope this helps. Fire away if you have questions.

Thank you! Very helpful!

[Anonymous]

OP, the athletes at these top SLACs are also academic. My cousin was a recruited athlete at one of them and is now a specialized surgeon who went to an excellent medical school. The teammates I heard about generally did as well. You should encourage your child to be more open minded.

[Anonymous]

I am the Swarthmore parent pp. My DS was a regular decision applicant. At that time, he was also admitted to Willams and Bowdoin RD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would seem at 40% all ED admissions would go to athletes.

No—per PP a coach might have a handful per team not the entire team, and not every team either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academics definitely dominate at LACs. And the proper term is "LACs," not "SLACs."

Amherst 31% of students are varsity athletes, Bowdoin is 36%. Similar numbers at other NESCAC schools. Definitely a sporty set of schools, and has students in sports at percentages similar to HS. Big state schools by comparison are low single digits.

Assuming these stats are correct, I’d say they are more a function of the type of student who applies to competitive schools—valedictorian types who are super involved in extracurricular activities. Probably the same percentages play instruments, volunteer, were part of a school club (debate team, robotics, etc.). As mentioned upthread, you’re dealing with type As who want to accomplish many things. It would be rare for a student to get into a top SLAC
or a top Ivy without any extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academics definitely dominate at LACs. And the proper term is "LACs," not "SLACs."

Amherst 31% of students are varsity athletes, Bowdoin is 36%. Similar numbers at other NESCAC schools. Definitely a sporty set of schools, and has students in sports at percentages similar to HS. Big state schools by comparison are low single digits.

What is the source for these stats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the athletes at these top SLACs are also academic. My cousin was a recruited athlete at one of them and is now a specialized surgeon who went to an excellent medical school. The teammates I heard about generally did as well. You should encourage your child to be more open minded.

This was my experience at a NESCAC school. During their sport season the athletes were either playing or studying with only Saturday night to let off steam. Most said they got their best grades during their season because they had to be so focused. I didn’t play on a team and didn’t feel left out at all and did not feel that athletics dominated the school.