Anonymous wrote:Not upset that recruited athletes are getting into Ivies. I have a son at an Ivy who is a student athlete. He didn't waltz in as a recruit. He had the grades, scores and of course his sports all covered. Kids who don't get denied admission. It is true that kids who are being recruited for a sport will get a preference and will get in IF they meet all three criteria. Ivies obviously have enough qualified applicants, and more than enough sports recruits who are also top students.
I think prep schools that recruit for sports are pathetic. Sure, there are some esoteric preppy sports like crew where the better programs are at prep schools but in general a kid is who he is. It is just as easy to get recruited as a football player, baseball player or swimmer from any public HS as it is from a IAC or WCAC school. The only compelling thing I see in it is if there is a sports scholarship involved, are the preps better at placing kids into colleges than our local public HS? Long ago when my son had a chance to consider Gonzaga, Landon and Bullis, the easy answer was no, no and no.
So you realize that the kids at gonzaga, Landon and Bullis (not sure why you picked those 3 but... okay) that go to Ivy have the grades and scores. I am not sure why people wish these schools have "horrid... on the academic side" These schools (and many others) absolutely prepare kids for Ivy school admittance... so do public schools for that matter, if the kid is motivated to go to an Ivy. (not everybody is/some would never go)
Have you ever thought that a child just liked the school, is it always about the end game with you? Do you do a cost benefit analysis on everything in your life? Except for football, HS teams are not close to as competitive as their club teams. Kids don't go to HS for the coaching. They go for the environment. Most the recruited kids don't even get a scholarship just the phone call, 1 week before the rest of the kids get their letter.
Most these kids are choosing private anyway, but the coach would love to tip the decision in their favor.
I don't think there should be HS recruiting either, but there is. I don't think colleges (Ivy's included) should recruit 8th graders, but they do.
But the idea that only the sports school recruit is wrong and the idea that WCAC schools can't prepare a child for an Ivy is wrong.
I have been through the HS recruiting and the college recruiting.. in the end my kids were lucky enough to pick the school they liked the best, it was the school they would have gone to without sports/arts. Sports (and arts for 1 child) is a passion. The world needs more people with passion.