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[quote=Anonymous]I went to Duke on athletic scholarship. Graduated magna cum laude with highest honors in my major (had to apply to get into the honors program).  From a very poor single mother home with a mother with health and addiction problems. All of the anxieties of poverty. All American a couple of times.  Private school people were foreign to me, as were elitists, who I often found rather effete without much practical experience (I was a Teamster in a warehouse during summers). I was surprised at the prejudice against athletes like myself, where it was often assumed that I was not a good student. Despite very little study time, I routinely competed well against everyone and indeed did even better at the top ten law school I attended, finishing second in the class and a Law Review editor and so on. I had this level of achievement because of athletics. Competition and intense focus were second nature - I certainly was not that bright. I did have some extrinsic motivation. My union buddies really got after me for keeping high grades - many of them were working night jobs to send their kids to college and knew my situation.  My twin went to a highly regarded public university with big time athletic programs  and was a multiple All American.  Certainly the football and basketball teams had people who really shouldn't have been there. But athletes in the other sports were often very good students. My brother often experienced the same kind of prejudice as I did but he was such an intimidating intellect it didn't last  long. 4.0 in math and a world recognized Phd in economics. Lots of motivation to take care of our mother.  Considerable chips on our shoulders against elitists.

I am sure being ranked third in the country in my sport helped me get into Duke. At the same time, I was in the top 25 percent in terms of stats so matriculating made sense. No private high schools, no test prep, no parents hovering or even caring if I went to college. My mother had no idea whether I obtained A's or D's - she just wanted me to stay out of trouble. Just a few simple rules. Don't drink - not compatible with big time athletics. Don't do drugs and especially pot - I needed to embrace my reality and not use anything to cope. I got tested in competition anyway. And treat women with respect and at the same time cautiously  - unlike rich kids, I had no margin  for error from dumb mistakes. From about 15 on, the objective was to satisfy the face in the mirror. This DCUM board is foreign to me. Who the heck would pay for private high school? And why such obsession over kids' college admissions? They have to own their work and future. I was not a careless parent, but never checked on my kids homework (they were girls with a higher maturity level than most). They went to public high school, and got in in their own to Princeton and Duke and did well there. Not good deals for me financially but I felt I had to pay my free education forward. They would have done well virtually anywhere. To those prejudiced against top level college athletes, be glad to have a discussion. [/quote]

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