Is there anyway to make lacrosse look less elite and privileged on a college application?

[Anonymous]

Don’t worry, if your kid is at a public school and isn’t being recruited, they know he’s not elite in any sense of the word. Lacrosse is just another EC, no need to emphasize that he’s an unexceptional player on an unexceptional team.

[Anonymous]

OP you are over thinking this

[Anonymous]

Playing team sports is great. Builds character, camaraderie, interpersonal skills, commitment to a team. I would rather accept a lax player than some striver child of a tiger parent who fences or whatever else between violin lessons.

I'm not sure if I would dedicate my whole application to it but nothing to hide either. Good luck to him this spring!

[Anonymous]

hopefully he has a full list of other ECs....as this would be 1 of 10.

[Anonymous]

my kids play tennis - obviously a sport of white rich kids but I never worried about it from that perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are ridiculous OP

+1 It's not an equestrian sport or water polo. Have your kid showcase some good volunteer activities that shows he cares about people and it's fine.

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone is assuming elite or privileged for a random lacrosse player in Maryland. It's pretty common here, and most of the east coast.

[Anonymous]

FFS. Is this real?

You DC strivers who are all desperate with your "what is more elite? this" and your "is this the most prestigious? that" now want to downplay "elite and privileged" when it suits you to do so?

Y'all are disgusting. And OP your "I know, I know" doesn't cancel that out. No way to swat away all of the flies that are going to be swarming around you...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Include your polo events and write an essay about how you lovingly care for your polo horses yourself, grooms be damned? Lacrosse will look like you're positively slumming it by comparison

DD sails with her father and rides on horseback. Applications that look full pay are not looked down upon these days, OP.

Your kid is not getting a poverty boost if he lives in this area and your family is more than lower working class. He's white so he's not getting a ethnicity boost either. Thus: dwelling on the low caliber of his lacrosse team is unhelpful. It will just mean your kid is bad at his chosen sport - don't do that to him, please.

Huh? It sounds like your kids have lots of resources to be engaged in elite activities. And if that is part of who they are, then reflecting it in their application is reflecting reality.

If you're a sailor or a polo player or a lax player that does not come from a high level of resources, you might want to take care that your application reflects your reality. Why have the admissions Department misunderstand the reality of an applicant?

What about "the white middle class doesn't get a pass" don't you understand?
The pass is given if:
- you're very poor (not just poorer than your wealthy friends!).
- you're very not white (bonus for recent immigrants).
- severe disability or traumatic childhood (and it needs to be severe).

That's it. A middle class white kid IS NOT GETTING ANYTHING. It's ridiculous that OP wants special consideration just because her kid didn't have it as good as more privileged kids!!!

Within that context, it will disadvantage your kid to dwell on the team not winning stuff. The college admissions officer will read it and think "OK this kid couldn't make the best teams, so maybe he's not hard-working enough or not intelligent enough". You do not mention how modest the candidate's achievement is, unless you have the passes mentioned above, to explain that the achievement is actually spectacular given the starting point. Here the starting point is the AVERAGE starting point.

OP's error is thinking that their situation is indicative of some kind of hardship. It's really, really, not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people say not to write the essay about sports, but I disagree. This is a case where he could write the essay to highlight some positive aspects of his character -- his willingness to try a new sport, to stick with it even when some rivals were obviously more experienced and polished, etc. (I'll bet this suggestion is going to get hammered, LOL.)

I actually really like this idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title: Player & Teammate Recruiter
Org: xyz HS Lacrosse: no-cut ___ program built from soccer, wrestling & football recruits
Description: Picked up a stick on the first day of freshman tryouts without any background. Though we're outmatched most days, I've recruited friends, built a team and earned my place.

+1. If you're worried, this is the way to go. Tells a story, endearing, memorable and most of all, true to the person you're trying to build a narrative about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are ridiculous OP

+1 It's not an equestrian sport or water polo. Have your kid showcase some good volunteer activities that shows he cares about people and it's fine.

All the equestrians I know have had STELLAR outcomes. Many schools are trying to grow those teams. Must be institutional priorities at some schools.

[Anonymous]

I’m guessing your son doesn’t go to Blair?

College counselors know Montgomery County schools. They know the DCC schools aren’t Whitman/Churchill and that they serve a different demographic. I don’t think they’ll think your son is some entitled, privileged lax bro type of kid à la a Georgetown Prep lax bro or similar.

Your son will be fine. best of luck to him and his team this season!

[Anonymous]

My lax kid is “that” kid. He didn’t try to hide it on his apps and wouldn’t have wanted to go to any school that rejected him for being who he is. He had many great options presenting himself as who he is- a nice kid who spent a significant part of his life on the sport he loves.

[Anonymous]

My brother played lacrosse in a Salvation Army club in Maryland. There is nothing elite about my brother. His coach was African American and he had African American teammates.