NCAA March Madness Boosts Applicants - Page 3

schnork · 03-23-2008, 04:19 PM

wow this will certainly help davidson...small LACs never get this kind of publicity and rarely have the resources to sustain such good athletic programs.
proud to say it was my 3rd choice

this is an interesting idea, however, i doubt that quality applicantions are obtained because of one year's NCAA basketball performance. intellectual applicants probably do not base their applications based on one year's performance of a basketball program.

aaron981 · 03-23-2008, 04:22 PM

^ True, when a person applies only due to athletic success it manifests the quality of the actual applicant.

madlaxer · 03-23-2008, 06:25 PM

"well that may be the worst way to determine which college you go to."

^wow, i think alot of people on this thread are getting the wrong idea.

remember, a superb athletic program serves as A REASON to go to a school, not THE REASON. Being a fan, going to games, and talking sports are things many Dungeons and Dragons junkies will never understand. if youre so career/gpa obsessed that all you do i stay in your room and study, thats fine...theres allways U Chicago.

somedumbnoob · 03-23-2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

if youre so career/gpa obsessed that all you do i stay in your room and study, thats fine...theres allways U Chicago.

Really? You mean career and gpa obsessed people would choose to go to one the least pre-professional and most grade deflated schools in the country? I don't think so.

madlaxer · 03-23-2008, 06:42 PM

lol.

clearly im over my head here. i meant no offense. i just said U chicago because it was the only school i can think of with: a high admissions standard, little to no athletic prowess, and the whole "where fun comes to die" reputation.

im sorry, i mean, are u goin to U Chicago or something?

VectorWega · 03-23-2008, 06:47 PM

Quote:

however, i doubt that quality applicantions are obtained because of one year's NCAA basketball performance. intellectual applicants probably do not base their applications based on one year's performance of a basketball program.

The primary reason there would be an increase of applications due to a march madness run is the huge amount of exposure the school gets. It's like free advertising with greater reach than many schools' entire advertising budget could yield.

It's not like a ton of people are like "Hmmm, that Drake had a huge upset, I GOTTA GO THERE!" The more likely scenario is people decide to find out more information about the school and in doing so decide that it is a good fit for them.

DSC · 03-23-2008, 06:54 PM

vector - exactly.

And it really only increases yield due to final decisions that are close. If you are 50/50, or close, a good sports team suggests a better campus atmosphere and better school spirit, tipping the tide in favor of x school.

notthatgood4 · 03-23-2008, 08:13 PM

It's no accident LSU can offer some of the best merit scholarships around...

pmalone224 · 03-23-2008, 09:47 PM

I totally agree with this. The quality of Villanova's applicant pool since their incredible season a couple years back has sky-rocketed. The school is no longer "BC in Philadelphia", but rather it's own entity.

schnork · 03-23-2008, 10:32 PM

I'm not disagreeing with you Vector. It's been very beneficial for many schools in the past and it's definitely ongoing in the present. Gtown was put on the map in the 80s by Ewing and the boys and its now one of the most difficult schools to get into.

salamander · 03-24-2008, 10:32 AM

I can attest to this with UConn. Fifteen years ago, it was a safety for a lot of people, and nobody had heard of it outside our little state. A teacher told me that when her daughter moved west and told people she went to UConn, people thought she'd gone to school in the Yukon Territory in Canada.

Then both the men and women started winning in the mid-to-late 90s, and suddenly UConn's loaded with cash and attracting out-of-state applicants like crazy. The nice part is that a lot of their facilities are new (and really great), but it's become a lot harder to get into, and I think some kids kinda resent that. Central Connecticut State University's competitiveness is going up as well, since kids who would have gone to UConn in the 90's are going there today...and Central's starting to get pretty good at sports, too...

dukie123 · 03-24-2008, 03:42 PM

My mom went on a tv show to talk about this...

sorry... just a little random ( i know

SarahsDad · 03-24-2008, 05:46 PM

InsideHigherEd.com posted a NCAA bracket here based on the academics of the teams' students.

In their bracket, Davidson wins it all, and Davidson plays UNC in the final four (actually, that could happen...).

They also picked Belmont's upset over Duke.

Go Davidson!

Roger_Dooley · 03-24-2008, 08:14 PM

When Big 10 doormat Northwestern had their Rose Bowl run some years ago it really helped.

I'm sure the effect is greatest for Cinderella teams that are getting their first blast of sports publicity in years. At the same time, there's something to be said for being on TV and in the news year-in and year-out.

westsidewolf1989 · 03-24-2008, 08:29 PM

notthatgood4 you're right. LSU gave people i know with OK stats like half tuition. its insane, they really want people to go get drunk there.