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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow, it's fascinating how mean spirited this has become - I'm always curious about the athletic recruiting hate, particularly toward NESCAC schools it seems. Is it because people are mad that there are fewer spots for their kids to go to those schools? But why do you want them at those schools if you don't like the culture or priorities?

You should probably not look to closely at, for example, medical school admissions. Or hiring at elite firms. Both look very favorably at varsity athletes because they know the traits that go along with that- the determination, teamwork, resilience, commitment, even physical fitness needed to play at that level - and they are not fielding teams. For similar reasons, they like military experience. The reason colleges need to recruit athletes instead of just taking the luck of the draw is because you need to actually fill positions - the same way a French horn player has a big edge when the orchestra at a college  needs one.

If I were an admissions officer looking at applications from two kids - with one being a varsity athlete in a tough sport, and the other not, I would not care if the athlete had slightly lower grades - because depending on the sport, it is an enormous time commitment, requires great mental energy, and is just frankly exhausting.  I have one kid who played 3 varsity sports in HS, and one who didn't play any - the non-athlete kid was super involved in HS and outside of school. Rehearsals after school, a pt job tutoring, various clubs and leadership positions. Straight As, high rigor, 1580 SAT. She was not nearly as busy as her sibling - she actually had weekends, she didn't get home exhausted (often bruised and sore, sometimes injured) 5x week from practice, have to shower, eat dinner, etc., before touching homework.

Yes, they want the teams, the school spirit, to play other schools in their conference. But they also want and need kids who can perform at that level, not athletically, but at life. [/quote]

The athlete-haters on DCUM are next-level crazy. Don’t take them too seriously. [/quote]

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