Athletic Recruiting at MIT

The Visionary · 05-09-2008, 05:40 PM

Hi guys,

Is there such a thing as athletic recruiting at MIT? If yes, how do MIT adcom see MIT's athletic recruits when compared to other adcom of their own athletic recruits? And, what sport (Division 3) at MIT that you can join without having any experience in it at all?

molliebatmit · 05-09-2008, 07:28 PM

It is called athletic recruiting at MIT, but anyone can sign up to be recruited, and it does not carry much weight in the admissions process. Excellence in a sport is considered the same as excellence in anything else -- being a talented athlete will not get you further in the MIT admissions process than being a talented musician. In other words, being an athletic recruit at MIT is not much of a tip (if it's a tip at all), and an athlete won't get into MIT unless he or she is highly qualified academically first.

You can join many sports at MIT without high school experience, though some have rather rigorous tryouts. If you really want to join a sport without experience, you may consider joining a club sport, many of which are explicitly instructional for new members.

The Visionary · 05-09-2008, 09:01 PM

@ molliebatmit: Please forgive me since I am new here (MIT boards) but can you tell me who you are? I guess you work at admissions (MIT), right?

molliebatmit · 05-09-2008, 09:36 PM

No, I'm an alum (class of '06), and I'm currently a biology PhD student at Harvard. When I was at MIT I was an admissions blogger, but beyond that I'm not affiliated with the admissions office.

The Visionary · 05-10-2008, 12:25 AM

@molliebatmit: Thanks for the reply! I am a little confused here...You said "being an athletic recruit at MIT is not much of a tip" and "Excellence in a sport is considered the same as excellence in anything else -- being a talented athlete will not get you further in the MIT admissions process than being a talented musician."
Then, what can you consider as a tip if "Excellence in a sport is considered the same as EXCELLENCE IN ANYTHING ELSE" (Emphasis added)?

molliebatmit · 05-10-2008, 10:42 AM

Well, I'm not saying it's not a nice thing to have in an application, just like anything else, but it's only going to make a difference at all if an applicant is already strongly in contention because of academics.

Excellence in sports is almost certainly not as helpful to an application as excellence in science is.

The Visionary · 05-10-2008, 04:04 PM

Do you know how competitive it is to be recruited in basketball?

WS17 · 05-11-2008, 11:32 AM

There are athletic recruitment forms on the web sites. You can get coaches' contact information from the web sites also and ask to schedule an appointment with a coach when you visit. They may ask for game tapes, coach's references, etc.

If you did not play at the HS level, you should look into how competitive it is to be a member of the sports team of interest. Ask the coach about it. I believe all the basketball players played varsity in HS, and were also the best players on their HS teams. The basketball commitment can be daunting, esp if you have no experience with things like double sessions (practice at 7AM and 5PM), practice drills, game travel schedules during 2 terms, etc.

Currently the Womens basketball team has about half the roster of the Men due to coaching changes and players deciding not to continue for whatever reasons, so the odds are better.

dbc9todd · 05-14-2008, 10:44 PM

how competitive is the baseball team in terms of recruiting?

dillo89 · 05-20-2008, 10:40 PM

how hard is it to get a spot in the mens soccer team? do a lot of the players have previous HS experience and how good were they?

The Visionary · 05-21-2008, 12:28 AM

@WS17: How do you know "I believe all the basketball players played varsity in HS, and were also the best players on their HS teams."?

molliebatmit · 05-21-2008, 05:53 AM

Quote:

how hard is it to get a spot in the mens soccer team? do a lot of the players have previous HS experience and how good were they?

Men's soccer has somewhat stringent tryouts, as far as I know. I knew a guy who played varsity in high school (and who was pretty good, to my understanding) who was cut after trying out his freshman year.

WS17 · 05-21-2008, 10:47 AM

The Visionary: I recommend you contact the coaching staff, as their answers are more reliable. There is a saying "you recruit yourself at D3 schools". Some of the MIT team web sites include biographical information about the players, so you can get some insight about their HS accomplishments.

tofergo · 05-22-2008, 11:02 PM

If you are accomplished at a sport and want to potentially participate in competitive athletics at MIT, is it necessary to contact the coach before you are admitted to the college? Or is it just helpful in admissions?

Thanks : )!

Mikalye · 05-23-2008, 03:25 AM

It is just helpful in admissions. Though if you are serious about playing a sport, it never hurts to contact the coach after you are admitted and chat about what is involved.