Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 13:01     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?


I agree and as to the time commitment it is no more than that of students with major roles in plays and musicals and those also don't magically result in college admissions. Much of this thread just sounds to me like parents who steered their kids towards sports expecting a college outcome and now have a bit of sour grapes when they realize that other than the few who are good enough to be recruited by colleges for a sport it doesn't have the impact they expected.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:44     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?


My kid played 3 varsity sports in hs, captain of 2, mvp, all-state, all-met, but only had room on activities list to list 1 and that was at the bottom.Yes, sports was important to him, but not the most important thing he did during hs


WTH were his other activities?


Internship, robotics team, math team, STEM camp counselor, president of honor society, physics tutor....A bunch of stuff that related to his intended major (engineering) and showed his interests outside of school.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:42     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
My kids played a club sport since age 8; same sport in HS (varsity-all district awards), also an individual varsity sport (for fun). They were also rec coaches for a few seasons. Summer lifeguarding jobs with leadership positions. We are not sure if sports helped them at all in admissions, but they did learn a lot, and their essays dealt a lot with specific instances they experienced while playing/coaching. No, they did not write about getting over an injury, or winning the big game, or coming back from behind! One of my kids is at UVA, and she has been able to make a lot of new friends through club sports connections throughout her k-12 “career” in NOVA. She was recruited by small colleges, but that was not her “journey”!
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:31     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here


Is this the same sports-obsessed poster who keeps spamming DCUM?

Just stop.


Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:31     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Went to Duke football game this past week where they celebrated the seniors on Football team, cheer team, and marching band (early poster noted equivalent of varsity sport😀). I have a kid applying to Engineering this year. Fully 50% of the seniors in the marching band had an Engineering or computer science major from my rough count. So, think that supports time effort in a skill likely valuable. My kid did sports, one of them crew which I did in college. It was almost always asked about when I did interviews for grad schools, fellowships, etc. Sports are also valuable mental health activities for our kids.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:30     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?


My kid played 3 varsity sports in hs, captain of 2, mvp, all-state, all-met, but only had room on activities list to list 1 and that was at the bottom.Yes, sports was important to him, but not the most important thing he did during hs


WTH were his other activities?
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:29     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?


My kid played 3 varsity sports in hs, captain of 2, mvp, all-state, all-met, but only had room on activities list to list 1 and that was at the bottom.Yes, sports was important to him, but not the most important thing he did during hs
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:23     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team


Sometimes it really amazes me that in DCUM land, the only reason a child would ever do anything would be to help with college admissions. Do you guys really go through life like this?
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:21     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Why is it extremely hard to make high school teams? My kids played club soccer and club lacrosse before high school. None of their teammates had problem making high school teams. Some chose not to play high school to avoid the risks of getting injured.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 12:13     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 10:15     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The main arguments in this thread are ones I have made before: I wish colleges rewarded the kids who make contributions to their high school community through long-standing activities, whatever that looks like (varsity athlete, marching band, lead in the, play yearbook editor etc) because those roles really help the community. Like it or not, a high school benefits when they have a great team, marching band, or a play worth seeing. And, being the lead, varsity captain or newspaper editor is significant time and provides kids with a lot of skills (running for office, extra training, meeting consistent deadlines, leading a group). Also, say the team makes the state tournament: a playoff run increases season length, requires skill, and a level of dedication that a random JV kid never has to make. That feels more significant to me than the kid who started up a “pointy” club to deliver period products to Africa a few times a year or list a hobby on their activities list. The kids who do the school clubs are generally also vetted through a selection process and probably have decent social skills. I am also very much for service work in a kid’s home community (if a kid is going to the local homeless shelter every day after school in lieu of practice that is great too).

I also think a kid who manages to take electives rather than study halls should get a bump yet colleges don’t seem to care. My kids have always needed the study halls should but the kids who do studio art in all their free periods manage a lot more, imo, because they have to take their homework home.


THEY DO.

But you still have to present a great academic profile. Show that you have the right priorities. Can buckle down and be a good student while also being involved. This isn't rocket science.


+1 you can’t sacrifice grades for sports.

We had an “academics first” policy in our house. We didn’t miss school for club sports and were asked to do so a lot. Grades had to be kept up. My kids excelled in sports (recruited low level sports schools), but had the grades and scores to be admitted unhooked to an Ivy. It shows time management and dedication.


And what happens if your kids doesn’t give their full effort for the sport to the point where they fail tryouts?


They find another activity that is fun to do. They should know that the #1 priority is school. Then comes activities.


It’s very hard to do that for sports when they expect 30+ hours of work per week to maybe make JV

Are you saying they have zero interests or hobbies outside of the sport and are incapable of finding one or two? That's kind of...sad?


Do you know how to read? My point is sports requires a lot of effort to just make the team. It’s extremely hard to play at the high school level in the DMV area. I never said anything about other hobbies or activities
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 10:09     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The main arguments in this thread are ones I have made before: I wish colleges rewarded the kids who make contributions to their high school community through long-standing activities, whatever that looks like (varsity athlete, marching band, lead in the, play yearbook editor etc) because those roles really help the community. Like it or not, a high school benefits when they have a great team, marching band, or a play worth seeing. And, being the lead, varsity captain or newspaper editor is significant time and provides kids with a lot of skills (running for office, extra training, meeting consistent deadlines, leading a group). Also, say the team makes the state tournament: a playoff run increases season length, requires skill, and a level of dedication that a random JV kid never has to make. That feels more significant to me than the kid who started up a “pointy” club to deliver period products to Africa a few times a year or list a hobby on their activities list. The kids who do the school clubs are generally also vetted through a selection process and probably have decent social skills. I am also very much for service work in a kid’s home community (if a kid is going to the local homeless shelter every day after school in lieu of practice that is great too).

I also think a kid who manages to take electives rather than study halls should get a bump yet colleges don’t seem to care. My kids have always needed the study halls should but the kids who do studio art in all their free periods manage a lot more, imo, because they have to take their homework home.


THEY DO.

But you still have to present a great academic profile. Show that you have the right priorities. Can buckle down and be a good student while also being involved. This isn't rocket science.


+1 you can’t sacrifice grades for sports.

We had an “academics first” policy in our house. We didn’t miss school for club sports and were asked to do so a lot. Grades had to be kept up. My kids excelled in sports (recruited low level sports schools), but had the grades and scores to be admitted unhooked to an Ivy. It shows time management and dedication.


And what happens if your kids doesn’t give their full effort for the sport to the point where they fail tryouts?


They find another activity that is fun to do. They should know that the #1 priority is school. Then comes activities.


It’s very hard to do that for sports when they expect 30+ hours of work per week to maybe make JV

Are you saying they have zero interests or hobbies outside of the sport and are incapable of finding one or two? That's kind of...sad?
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 10:03     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Are there anecdotes of girls getting into T20s or T5 Slacs with non-recruited sports as their primary EC?
I’m guessing it works out better for boys, esp at SLACs, who need boys. SLACs already have to fill so much of their class with recruits that it’s not going to be a big plus to be a non-recruited athlete (unless they need you as a walk on) because they need to fill rest of class with musicians, journalists, actors, artists, etc.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 10:03     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is frustrating when the time commitment is enormous. I would hope that schools would give some "credit" to a kid who plays a varsity sport and manages to do well academically because that type of work ethic will get them far in life, even if it may not help with college admissions.


It does help with college admissions. Who says it doesn't?

Ignore the ignorant posters here. They know nothing. Their kids are nerds so they think sports are pointless. They know nothing.


Nerds are the ones who are going to actually make scientific and medical breakthroughs. Your kids sound like they’ll just be PE leeches on the world.


Well in admissions, plenty of straight A students in like 15 APs get denied from places like Virginia Tech
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 09:58     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The main arguments in this thread are ones I have made before: I wish colleges rewarded the kids who make contributions to their high school community through long-standing activities, whatever that looks like (varsity athlete, marching band, lead in the, play yearbook editor etc) because those roles really help the community. Like it or not, a high school benefits when they have a great team, marching band, or a play worth seeing. And, being the lead, varsity captain or newspaper editor is significant time and provides kids with a lot of skills (running for office, extra training, meeting consistent deadlines, leading a group). Also, say the team makes the state tournament: a playoff run increases season length, requires skill, and a level of dedication that a random JV kid never has to make. That feels more significant to me than the kid who started up a “pointy” club to deliver period products to Africa a few times a year or list a hobby on their activities list. The kids who do the school clubs are generally also vetted through a selection process and probably have decent social skills. I am also very much for service work in a kid’s home community (if a kid is going to the local homeless shelter every day after school in lieu of practice that is great too).

I also think a kid who manages to take electives rather than study halls should get a bump yet colleges don’t seem to care. My kids have always needed the study halls should but the kids who do studio art in all their free periods manage a lot more, imo, because they have to take their homework home.


THEY DO.

But you still have to present a great academic profile. Show that you have the right priorities. Can buckle down and be a good student while also being involved. This isn't rocket science.


+1 you can’t sacrifice grades for sports.

We had an “academics first” policy in our house. We didn’t miss school for club sports and were asked to do so a lot. Grades had to be kept up. My kids excelled in sports (recruited low level sports schools), but had the grades and scores to be admitted unhooked to an Ivy. It shows time management and dedication.


And what happens if your kids doesn’t give their full effort for the sport to the point where they fail tryouts?


They find another activity that is fun to do. They should know that the #1 priority is school. Then comes activities.


It’s very hard to do that for sports when they expect 30+ hours of work per week to maybe make JV