Private Schools Value Top Athletes Most
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Anonymous
+1. A d don’t get me started on what the team captains have to do to motivate a team when a girl is having a bad day, parents divorcing, being grumpy. You have to learn to deal with all the personalities, get them to out aside their differences or bad day, and have a good practice - for the team. My kid has gone into swim practice or a soccer game grumpy or reluctant somethings, but always comes out of it feeling better and with more energy, even tough matches. Alf of this is not even roughing on lifelong healthy habits and sports you can do well into older ages (swim, tennis, golf, coaching). |
Anonymous
FFS I woke up at 6am for quiz bowl practice, and spent hours and hours playing and instrument, traveled to competitions as well as played in marching and pep band. Lots of people do a lot more than just good grades, but you know that winning medals a solo ensemble will not carry near the weight as hitting a ball far. Get over your self. Most top students work really hard in a variety of things, and without a cheering crowd and matching t-shirts. |
Anonymous
Come survey my neighbor’s kids’ travel hockey team. Due to all the dual working families and world bank travel on it (precovid) the elaborate car pool and snack systems are impressive. Really naive and insulting to say you have to be a SAHp to get your kid to practice. Think harder pP. yes it’s not effortless, and yes even the parents (gasp!) have to be more organized and do a base level of planning ahead! Parenting is hard. |
Anonymous
Cool. Having your kids do the same route as you and avoid sports? My kids do concert, jazz and marching band plus mock trial and two sports a year and chose one for travel once in middle school. One does performing arts too. They also don’t put down other kids. Neither do I. There is no best EC. But there certainly are qualities to each of them. It’s up to parents to have their kids try a diverse set of ECs and whittle them down to the best fit ones. |
Anonymous
Hahahaha. World Bank travel, you are hilarious. Yes you can substitute money for SAHP. |
Anonymous
| Disagree completely |
Anonymous
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My son attends one of the top schools (as a cross country runner) and one of his favorite parts of school are the football, basketball and soccer, etc games. I used to roll my eyes at the idea of high school athletic recruits but now I hope they keep them coming.
PLEASE RECRUIT MORE! Having competitive teams is magic for school community and the overall quality of life at a high school. It gets almost everyone out and socializing at the same time and place. Everyone goes--the jocks, the nerds, the jocks who are also nerds (like my kid and his friends). Large sporting events are really fun and having a reasonably competitive team helps immensely. |
Anonymous
I myself was a varsity basketball player and loved it. It does not mean my thinking can’t evolve in the topic. I don’t disagree with the benefits of playing sports, but they usurp a lot of school attention and resources in a way that detracts from their core mission. I realize it’s ingrained in our culture, but my comment *was* aspirational. |
Anonymous
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1) people need to get off the idea that the athletes are lesser students
2) people need to understand the sports, and particularly football, foster broader community spirit than any other activity 3) colleges need to fill slots, that includes staffing teams. if they have the choice between the A student with 1500+ and a lineman and the same student who isn't a lineman, guess which one they are going to take? |
Anonymous
I agree with this. My kid was just admitted to a Top 5 from another private with virtually no sports program (at least not competitive). Although DC is an athlete, I almost think that having a football team (and, more specifically, the school spirit and camaraderie that comes with it) was a bigger draw than their own sport. Nothing brings a school together like sports. You may not want it to be the case, but it is. |
Anonymous
Maybe for large public schools. Most elite privates certainly at the middle school level (since you are talking about admissions) do not have enough students to field the teams at that level - sports are for fun, not particularly to help with admissions to high schools and our school sends kids to the top NE boarding schools. Our school discourages playing on travel teams and wants kids to play on the schools teams. My kid goes to an all boys’ private middle school (not DMV) where sports is everyday and mandatory and the main sport they recruit for is ice hockey and even that takes second place after academics. The teachers at the school also coach sports and many of them played sports in college like football at Amherst, squash at Yale, etc not exactly Friday night lights. |
Anonymous
You're just plain wrong. If you were good enough, it would make just as much a difference. Maybe you looked at the wrong schools, or just weren't good enough. But the initial assertion of this whole thread is flat out wrong. I promise you, the top debater at say, St. Albans or Potomac, has more doors open at top schools than the top soccer player--unless of course, they are one and the same, which, in these schools, is quite possible. |
Anonymous
Why can't we all build spirit around advanced handbells? Can you imagine? |
Anonymous
they are lesser students more often than not so why do we need to get off that idea? colleges do need to fill spots and in your example, it's more likely that they would take the lineman with a B+ average and 1300 SATs over the A student with 1500+ who did non-athletic activities. |
Anonymous
Depends on the school. The ivies and similar get plenty of linesman with A avg and 1500+ SATs. Unless you are Olympic caliber or nationally ranked in the top 200, sports prowess isnogoing to help much + top grades and SATs. |