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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a kid going through this right now. Potential to "commit" to an Ivy.

The people saying it's not a done deal are totally right. From the athlete's perspective, it's a commitment to prioritize the school over others. From the coach's perspective, it's a commitment to support the athlete. It is not binding. Neither wants to break it off though - not a good look for either party, but consequences aren't necessarily severe. For each, it means having to start over having somewhat exclusively dated someone for a period of time.

For Ivy League, academic standards are generally upheld. That is based on the academic index, which is unique to the Ivy League. An individual athlete might fall below the average for the class, but the team and/or all athletes need to average the same as the class. So you can't have people way below it. Non Ivy League schools will have wider variance from the average.

I used to think this was all unfair. And I still do in that it takes place Junior year vs. Senior year (although again it's not a done deal until Senior year, so in reality it's just a longer process). But, I also feel a little differently having watched my DC over the past many years. They have worked very hard in both athletics and academics. They have had to give up some things, especially their time, and not do some things other teens do. If they get into an Ivy League school, they're not simply getting in because they're an athlete. Academically they're in the pool - they're  eligible for the "lottery ticket." The fact that the school needs someone for their position gives them an advantage, yes, but they're not unqualified.

I do recognize that this is a major equity issue though. We were able to pay for the athletics. DC was also able to not work (except in summers) in order to pursue the athletics. DC didn't have to use time after school to work part time or take care of siblings the way many teens do. This part is not fair. Some sports are worse for this than others - sports heavily supported by school districts are more equitable in this regard.  [/quote]

With the transfer portal...there really is no "bad" look anymore.  Ivy coaches are looking at the portal just like anyone, so you will see some high academic D3s who performed well in college transferring over to Ivy schools.  Ivy league schools at least generally have the luxury that their players are probably not strong enough to play at say Duke or Stanford...and their players are not generally going to transfer to a D3 (no remotely serious athlete transfers from D1 to D3) or even another D1 like Georgetown because they know they aren't going pro, so their overall career prospects are better staying put.

In my kid's sport (baseball), we are seeing commits and de-commits constantly.  I don't think anyone thinks it is a good or bad look.[/quote]

It really depends on the sport. I'd expect Ivy teams in sports where other D1 schools offer scholarships to get raided on occasion. [/quote]

Maybe...but remember the Ivy is meeting all financial need and your aid is not dependent on playing the sport.  In that instance, the athlete may get more aid from an Ivy than another D1 school that is offering merely a partial sports scholarship (which is also tied to continuing to play).[/quote]

Remember that a lot of families whose kids play for the Ivies are UMC and receive minimal or no financial aid. [/quote]

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