Landon Admissions

[Anonymous]

I've also recv'd an email asking for referrals. They are making the rounds.

[Anonymous]

17:51

Landon had their first open house 2 weeks ago. It was on a weekday from 9-11.

The Nov 7 is the only Sunday one. There is one more scheduled for a weekday in early December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've also recv'd an email asking for referrals. They are making the rounds.

I'm not sure I follow. You are a current Landon parent and the school sent you an e-mail soliciting names of good potential candidates?

[Anonymous]

Does landon have to recruit students? I would assume, that despite it reputation, Landon would still be turning kids away in droves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does landon have to recruit students? I would assume, that despite it reputation, Landon would still be turning kids away in droves.

All of these schools recruit to some degree. For thecMoCo privates like Landon or Bullis, they are trying to convince parents to spend $30,000 plus for private education in a county with good schools. As an all-boys school, Landon must also try to find applicants seeking an all-boys' education. So I'm sure they recruited before the bad publicity of last year, and will continue to do so. (By way of analogy, realize that the Ivies, for all their apps, still send admissions reps to visit high schools around the country.)

[Anonymous]

does landon make academic accomodations for its athletes?

[Anonymous]

Please.

[Anonymous]

Most definitely, of course.

[Anonymous]

Wait, really? Is this from personal experience or snarkiness. How does it work for kids who need the academic accomdations. Its not like college with a wide range of classes

[Anonymous]

From a Landon alum with multiple friends who work and send their kids there:

There is no special academic or admission accomodation for athletes. One thing Landon has always prided itself on is that it does not recruit athletes. It does the best with the kids it has. There also is a myth that Landon makes many of its younger students repeat a year so that they are older by graduation and therefore have a competitive advantage. This is also false and would be a poor strategy anyway. In my class, the 2 best athletes were some of the youngest.

With its excellent lacrosse program, there are plenty of families who want their kids to come to Landon in the upper school and play, but their is no different admission standard for them. The lacrosse coach is as a demanding teacher as he is a coach, and will not compromise the school's academic reputation. One of the first questions which he has to answer when college coaches come recruiting is whether the student can handle a collegiate workload. As for the other sports at Landon, none of the teams are as nationally competitive or recognized to even warrant the question of "recruiting" or different academic standards.

[Anonymous]

Landon definitely recruits for basketball now. I am not saying that as a criticism--I believe that most or even of all the IAC schools do recruit for basketball--but just as a point of accuracy.

[Anonymous]

There are explicit rules in the IAC prohibiting recruiting for sports. Most of this centers around the concept of initiating first contact with the student/family, meaning the school cannot first call a 7th grader's parents and ask them if they are interested in coming to the school. There are are obviously ways of gaming the system and trying to get star athletes to come, but the spirit of the policy is that the schools are not supposed to seek out and admit students just for their athletic abilities, particularly if they are not academically qualified. This works well for the most part, although there are always rumors of violation of this policy, usually involving Prep. Although this may just be because Prep's students all enter in 9th grade (making them easier targets for such accusations), whereas the bulk of Landon and STA's students have been there for several years before blossoming into star athletes.

I find it highly doubtful that Landon would focus on its basketball program to recruit and risk violating this standard. There is no big upside.

Often the rumors of recruiting as various schools are unfortunately cloaked in a little racism. Whenever there is a star athlete who is African American or not financially well off, there is an assumption that he is there for sports. Our neighbor's son played basketball at Prep and was constantly called a "recruit" whenever he got the ball during games with other teams. They were a solid middle class family, he was a science nerd, and ended up at Yale where he was academically successful.

[Anonymous]

All of the IAC schools are recruiting now. Look at Episcopal's nationally ranked soccer team. They have 2 players from Cameroon and 1 from Zimbabwe. Looking at Landon's basketball team now a days, its completly different then what it looked like 10 years ago.

Bullis appears to be heading back to its old days, pre Farquhar, and letting in some athletes. Their football team is much improved with their new coach. Prep has always been recruiting for years for football and basketball. They are the largest IAC school by a long shot.

As for lacrosse, Landon and Prep don't really need to recruit nowadays for lacrosse. They are the two best programs in the area and their program's reputation recruits prospective applicants naturally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the IAC schools are recruiting now. Look at Episcopal's nationally ranked soccer team. They have 2 players from Cameroon and 1 from Zimbabwe. Looking at Landon's basketball team now a days, its completly different then what it looked like 10 years ago.

Bullis appears to be heading back to its old days, pre Farquhar, and letting in some athletes. Their football team is much improved with their new coach. Prep has always been recruiting for years for football and basketball. They are the largest IAC school by a long shot.

As for lacrosse, Landon and Prep don't really need to recruit nowadays for lacrosse. They are the two best programs in the area and their program's reputation recruits prospective applicants naturally.

You cite no actual proof of "recruiting:

Episcopal: I don't see how having players of African origin means you recruit.
Landon: If the team "looks different", what do you mean exactly?
Bullis: Letting in athletes doesn't mean compromising its standards. It just means a different approach via the admissions office.
Prep: Being the largest school does provide an advantage, but again that doesn't mean they recruit.

Just because a school is successful in a sport doesn't mean it has to be because of recruiting. Coaching, institutional support, trendiness of the sport and school, and just a few good athletes can go a long way.

[Anonymous]

I do agree that Landon's LAX program does attract a certain type boy and they don't have to recruit. However, I have seen first hand that many Landon athletes get academic passes. Those same kids are allowed to push behavioral bounds way beyond what is reasonable. This lack of accountability has ruined the school's general reputation and the school is making an attempt to get some control. There are lots of great boys at Landon and this is bad beyond measure for them. Personal experience here.