Do you have to be a top athlete to be recruited at SLACs, MIT (D3) and the Ivies?

[Anonymous]

There’s something called the Academic Index at Ivies. Coaches love these 1550 kids if they at least just be competitive with the team. If your kids has a shot at an Ivy with or without the sport, being able to improve the Academic Index is real. For the kids, it can give certainty of admission through a likely letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, it's going to depend on the sport. But, the very sought after schools recruit top level, nationally known players. The Ivies in my kid's sport only take International players and players coming from pro-academies in the US. Your typical travel and/or HS player is not even good enough for the Club team at the school. It also gets International players and players coming from the top leagues in the country-but not recruited-and is very competitive (100s of kids come out--like 1 or 2 Freshmen make it).

+1. Went to a Cornell v. Dartmouth mens soccer game last year and 10 of the 11 starting Dartmouth players were non-U.S. That means there are probably no more than 2 or so U.S. kids recruited at Dartmouth each year and if you want to play there you are competing against kids playing at pro academies around the world.

These are primarily the players that wash out of “pro academies” that decide to come to the U.S. for an education. They’re definitely good, but not pro academy good.

[Anonymous]

So you are missing the point about athletics. Except maybe for MIT, coaches will take a top athlete who just meets the academic bar over a student who won’t be an impact player. Coaches need wins. That’s it. Your kid needs to be admissible, but the athletics are the critical part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies: yes, top athlete

MIT: not top, but it is not a typical hook, meaning you don’t have a preread and if you pass that then you’re pretty much in when you apply barring unusual circumstances. Instead, many still don’t get in when they apply even with coach support so lots of athletes commit elsewhere where their admission is virtually guaranteed.

40% acceptance rate at MIT is still insane - that's an 8x boost to your odds

Those odds are completely kid and coach dependent. It is coach dependent bc those who are there longer tend to be more accurate as to whether the kid will end up getting in based on years of experience. The issue is lots of good athletes/students don’t want to risk losing a spot at another good school for the risk of a maybe at MiT. Cal Tech is the same way.

Good points. My kid was offered recruiting support at MIT and after reviewing her package said should get in two out of three times based on his experience. It is an amazing advantage but the challenge for the coach is that kids of the level that they need have options. In my kids case she had offers from NESCAC schools, top UAA schools, and Patriot League schools which were all basically 100% if she said yes. In the end she chose a NESCAC instead.

Just to add that it's a 40% acceptance after MIT's version of a pre read or pre application review. The coach probably ghosts the student if don't have a changes of being admitted and the student doesn't apply.

The coaches are very upfront about the required academics. If they don't believe that the kid can get there they will stop talking. After an initial conversation to determine mutual interest the coach said to my daughter "let me know when you've got a 1500 SAT score with a 770 on the Math side. Then we can talk more." I know many kids who could never cross that initial bar. In her case he said 2 out of 3 after the pre-read of her 780/780, 4.6 GPA with 9 completed APs and 5 more planned. The kids that make it are great students and really good athletes.

Her athletics were also strong. She wasn't going to play P5 but she was a starter on a team that was nationally ranked, played in two state championships and where several of her teammates went on to play P5.

So she got in? What sport? How different is this for football?

Volleyball. She turned it down for a guaranteed commit at a NESCAC. Liked MIT but not enough to take the chance in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or is a very strong student at a top high school plus a good but not tippity top club/varsity player enough? Are there many top athletes out there who also have the academic chops to hack it at these colleges? I am sure it depends on the sport, but how about for sports outside of football and basketball? If your SAT is in the 1550-1580 range, high rigor at a strong, nationally recognized HS, and let's say you are an ok lacrosse/volleyball/soccer/track athlete, what are the odds that you'd get recruited by a top academic institution? Obviously no chance at Duke, Stanford and the likes.

I am new to this site and process and curious how it all works.

Your question is a good one, but why don't you read the bios of athletes at the schools you mention? They'll give you a sense of the athletic level required. My DS plays soccer at a top academic college. The athletic level required is pretty high, even if the school is DIII. Most of the players have won athletic awards (county/state first team, etc.).

No D lll s do not have any academic rigor that’s absurd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or is a very strong student at a top high school plus a good but not tippity top club/varsity player enough? Are there many top athletes out there who also have the academic chops to hack it at these colleges? I am sure it depends on the sport, but how about for sports outside of football and basketball? If your SAT is in the 1550-1580 range, high rigor at a strong, nationally recognized HS, and let's say you are an ok lacrosse/volleyball/soccer/track athlete, what are the odds that you'd get recruited by a top academic institution? Obviously no chance at Duke, Stanford and the likes.

I am new to this site and process and curious how it all works.

Your question is a good one, but why don't you read the bios of athletes at the schools you mention? They'll give you a sense of the athletic level required. My DS plays soccer at a top academic college. The athletic level required is pretty high, even if the school is DIII. Most of the players have won athletic awards (county/state first team, etc.).

No D lll s do not have any academic rigor that’s absurd

NP:

Wow you’re wrong. U Chicago, Tufts, MIT, and Cal Tech are all D3s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or is a very strong student at a top high school plus a good but not tippity top club/varsity player enough? Are there many top athletes out there who also have the academic chops to hack it at these colleges? I am sure it depends on the sport, but how about for sports outside of football and basketball? If your SAT is in the 1550-1580 range, high rigor at a strong, nationally recognized HS, and let's say you are an ok lacrosse/volleyball/soccer/track athlete, what are the odds that you'd get recruited by a top academic institution? Obviously no chance at Duke, Stanford and the likes.

I am new to this site and process and curious how it all works.

Your question is a good one, but why don't you read the bios of athletes at the schools you mention? They'll give you a sense of the athletic level required. My DS plays soccer at a top academic college. The athletic level required is pretty high, even if the school is DIII. Most of the players have won athletic awards (county/state first team, etc.).

No D lll s do not have any academic rigor that’s absurd

NP:

Wow you’re wrong. U Chicago, Tufts, MIT, and Cal Tech are all D3s

+1. So are all the SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, it's going to depend on the sport. But, the very sought after schools recruit top level, nationally known players. The Ivies in my kid's sport only take International players and players coming from pro-academies in the US. Your typical travel and/or HS player is not even good enough for the Club team at the school. It also gets International players and players coming from the top leagues in the country-but not recruited-and is very competitive (100s of kids come out--like 1 or 2 Freshmen make it).

I wonder how Trump’s ban on student visas for international students will affect those teams for the next couple of years…

+1. Went to a Cornell v. Dartmouth mens soccer game last year and 10 of the 11 starting Dartmouth players were non-U.S. That means there are probably no more than 2 or so U.S. kids recruited at Dartmouth each year and if you want to play there you are competing against kids playing at pro academies around the world.

[Anonymous]

Al Dopfel from my class was drafted in the 3rd round by the Angels. I think he was the first in baseball. I think he didn't make it to the majors. He was a pitcher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you are missing the point about athletics. Except maybe for MIT, coaches will take a top athlete who just meets the academic bar over a student who won’t be an impact player. Coaches need wins. That’s it. Your kid needs to be admissible, but the athletics are the critical part.

I can’t imagine a quarter to a third of Amherst’s students for example (the athletes) got in with middling grades from middling high schools and 1250 SATs. What’s more likely is that most of them are excellent students and ok athletes and only a handful are true impact players for whom the academic standards were lowered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, it's going to depend on the sport. But, the very sought after schools recruit top level, nationally known players. The Ivies in my kid's sport only take International players and players coming from pro-academies in the US. Your typical travel and/or HS player is not even good enough for the Club team at the school. It also gets International players and players coming from the top leagues in the country-but not recruited-and is very competitive (100s of kids come out--like 1 or 2 Freshmen make it).

I wonder how Trump’s ban on student visas for international students will affect those teams for the next couple of years…

+1. Went to a Cornell v. Dartmouth mens soccer game last year and 10 of the 11 starting Dartmouth players were non-U.S. That means there are probably no more than 2 or so U.S. kids recruited at Dartmouth each year and if you want to play there you are competing against kids playing at pro academies around the world.

Trump TACO’d on that.

[Anonymous]

In the age of rampant grade inflation, it’s quite funny that anyone thinks great athletes won’t have the grades. Most schools remain test optional so that isn’t even a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies: yes, top athlete

MIT: not top, but it is not a typical hook, meaning you don’t have a preread and if you pass that then you’re pretty much in when you apply barring unusual circumstances. Instead, many still don’t get in when they apply even with coach support so lots of athletes commit elsewhere where their admission is virtually guaranteed.

40% acceptance rate at MIT is still insane - that's an 8x boost to your odds

Those odds are completely kid and coach dependent. It is coach dependent bc those who are there longer tend to be more accurate as to whether the kid will end up getting in based on years of experience. The issue is lots of good athletes/students don’t want to risk losing a spot at another good school for the risk of a maybe at MiT. Cal Tech is the same way.

Good points. My kid was offered recruiting support at MIT and after reviewing her package said should get in two out of three times based on his experience. It is an amazing advantage but the challenge for the coach is that kids of the level that they need have options. In my kids case she had offers from NESCAC schools, top UAA schools, and Patriot League schools which were all basically 100% if she said yes. In the end she chose a NESCAC instead.

Just to add that it's a 40% acceptance after MIT's version of a pre read or pre application review. The coach probably ghosts the student if don't have a changes of being admitted and the student doesn't apply.

The athlete I know who wanted to go to MIT wasn't ghosted. The coach told them outright that they were sorry but they couldn't support their application.

My kid (not yet a senior) has gotten attention from MIT coaches. They were at least as interested in his academic chops as his athletic ones. They don't want to waste their time on kids that don't have a decent shot.

My impression is that sports won't move the needle at all on things like test scores, GPA and level of rigor, but they'll be somewhat more forgiving on EC's, or rather they'll consider lacrosse as an asset in the same way that they'll consider math team as an asset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Al Dopfel from my class was drafted in the 3rd round by the Angels. I think he was the first in baseball. I think he didn't make it to the majors. He was a pitcher.

https://mitathletics.com/news/2025/7/14/baseballs-estrada-selected-by-los-angeles-dodgers-in-seventh-round-of-2025-mlb-draft.aspx

He graduated. Retired from IBM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivies: yes, top athlete

MIT: not top, but it is not a typical hook, meaning you don’t have a preread and if you pass that then you’re pretty much in when you apply barring unusual circumstances. Instead, many still don’t get in when they apply even with coach support so lots of athletes commit elsewhere where their admission is virtually guaranteed.

40% acceptance rate at MIT is still insane - that's an 8x boost to your odds

Those odds are completely kid and coach dependent. It is coach dependent bc those who are there longer tend to be more accurate as to whether the kid will end up getting in based on years of experience. The issue is lots of good athletes/students don’t want to risk losing a spot at another good school for the risk of a maybe at MiT. Cal Tech is the same way.

Good points. My kid was offered recruiting support at MIT and after reviewing her package said should get in two out of three times based on his experience. It is an amazing advantage but the challenge for the coach is that kids of the level that they need have options. In my kids case she had offers from NESCAC schools, top UAA schools, and Patriot League schools which were all basically 100% if she said yes. In the end she chose a NESCAC instead.

Just to add that it's a 40% acceptance after MIT's version of a pre read or pre application review. The coach probably ghosts the student if don't have a changes of being admitted and the student doesn't apply.

The athlete I know who wanted to go to MIT wasn't ghosted. The coach told them outright that they were sorry but they couldn't support their application.

My kid (not yet a senior) has gotten attention from MIT coaches. They were at least as interested in his academic chops as his athletic ones. They don't want to waste their time on kids that don't have a decent shot.

My impression is that sports won't move the needle at all on things like test scores, GPA and level of rigor, but they'll be somewhat more forgiving on EC's, or rather they'll consider lacrosse as an asset in the same way that they'll consider math team as an asset.

MIT directly told my kid they are requiring all coach backed recruits to have a 780 or higher on the math section and above around a 1550 total on the SAT.

Cal Tech told my kid who has nationwide awards for STEM and an enormous amount of leadership and impactful ECs that admissions wants even more STEM work.