I have a kid with top athletics and top academics. He's not a senior, so still in the process, and we anticipate that the decision will be difficult to make.

Recruitment might not get him his first choice school. Also, at some schools the time commitment of sports can make the major he wants, and things like extracurriculars and internships really hard or impossible.

So, he's not at all sure he'll end up taking an offer.

Anonymous wrote:Most top athletes do not end up selecting lower tiered schools. Either they play at Ivys, or Hopkins, Chicago, military academies, or they play at Duke, Wake, W&M, UVA, Michigan etc.
Most top athletes are committing to top tier schools.

If the athlete is a nonstarter at club.. that's when this decision level comes in.

This person is talking out of their ass.

Anonymous wrote:Most top athletes do not end up selecting lower tiered schools. Either they play at Ivys, or Hopkins, Chicago, military academies, or they play at Duke, Wake, W&M, UVA, Michigan etc.
Most top athletes are committing to top tier schools.

If the athlete is a nonstarter at club.. that's when this decision level comes in.

That is a big generalization. The top athletes that were also top scholars got recruited to some top ivies. If they didn't have the academics for the top ivies it was a no-go. Some of those lower academic athletes, I saw go to the military academies.

Anonymous wrote:Most top athletes do not end up selecting lower tiered schools. Either they play at Ivys, or Hopkins, Chicago, military academies, or they play at Duke, Wake, W&M, UVA, Michigan etc.
Most top athletes are committing to top tier schools.

If the athlete is a nonstarter at club.. that's when this decision level comes in.

So the athlete will choose a lower tiered school to be able to qualify for club sport?

My DS wound up with 2 offers and had to decide to continue his sport at a school that wasn’t a good academic fit (much lower stats than he had, not perfect match for major) but very cheap because of the package he got, or be full pay at the better academic fit and give up his sport. Was a really hard decision. He chose the latter and struggled first semester with missing his sport. But ultimately it was the right decision, especially as he’s watched former teammates quit or get injured over the years. It’s a real grind to be a college athlete. At some point you have to move on and I’m glad he chose to start his future life. He’s at a school with better opportunities for his career, even though it had no opportunities for his sport.

Most kids would actually like to get a degree from a good college than play at some no name college and have to do sports lessons for the rest of their lives to support themselves.

My child declined D3 interest, went to an Ivy as a non-athlete, walked on to his sport.

Most top athletes do not end up selecting lower tiered schools. Either they play at Ivys, or Hopkins, Chicago, military academies, or they play at Duke, Wake, W&M, UVA, Michigan etc.
Most top athletes are committing to top tier schools.

If the athlete is a nonstarter at club.. that's when this decision level comes in.

Anonymous wrote:Learning a lot about recruiting and college process. Did anyone's child decide not to play based on where they were recruited? My kid is extremely bright and not sure the stars will align, especially having to commit before all acceptances come through.

I know several. Usually athletes with strong academics that get into a top college but did not get recruited to play at that institution. It is fine. It is a little tricky when they see all the teammates committing to play in college but once they get past that, all is well and they play club or move on to other things in college.

Anonymous wrote:My kid and many of her friends at UVA made the same decision. Is the grind really worth it, if they end up a lower academic universities just to play their sport?

UVA is full of kids who could have played D3 sports but didn't want to attend (or pay for) a liberal arts or lower ranked college. The club sport rosters are insane for this reason.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My daughter was recruitable at several top LACs but decided to ED to another school based on her broader interests. She was top 10 percent in her graduating class, high rigor, 1590 SAT, NMSF, strong ECs (besides sport). No regrets: got accepted and will play club.

Same. Academics allowed for an ivy, but sport ability was not at an ivy level for recruiting. Chose the former via ED and heading to an ivy.

My kid and many of her friends at UVA made the same decision. Is the grind really worth it, if they end up a lower academic universities just to play their sport?

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My daughter was recruitable at several top LACs but decided to ED to another school based on her broader interests. She was top 10 percent in her graduating class, high rigor, 1590 SAT, NMSF, strong ECs (besides sport). No regrets: got accepted and will play club.

Wow, congrats!

Yes. My daughter was recruitable at several top LACs but decided to ED to another school based on her broader interests. She was top 10 percent in her graduating class, high rigor, 1590 SAT, NMSF, strong ECs (besides sport). No regrets: got accepted and will play club.

Learning a lot about recruiting and college process. Did anyone's child decide not to play based on where they were recruited? My kid is extremely bright and not sure the stars will align, especially having to commit before all acceptances come through.