<p>“Id MUCH rather go to a school with mediocre sports teams made up of kids academically similar to me, than a school with strong sports teams made up of kids that I didnt think belonged there academically.”</p>
<p>I’d like to challenge you to think “outside the box” in terms of your definitions of “merit” and “ability”. Before that, I’d like to say that other than Track, Hc’s other sports teams are “mediocre”. </p>
<p>1) I believe HC is attracted to students rich in experiences and potential. I imagine you are referring to the TX student with lower GPA/SATs who was accepted over the Mass student. I just know what was written in the article, but I have to say that I am very impressed with the TX student. He probably has duel fluency both culturally and linguistically, has demonstrated determination and maturity by working odd jobs to achieve his goals, has done very well despite not having the resources available to students with college educated parents, and has the confidence to allow the NYT to publish his name with his obviously lower GPA/SATs from the known norms of HC. </p>
<p>2) I wouldn’t be too quick to assume that better athletes are lesser academically. In my class, I can think of at least 9 people who participated/led sports who also were accepted into Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Brown… not to mention the top LACs. This was also when Hc’s admission rate was 40% and not the 26% that it is currently. Two students who were key players on the basketball team from my year are currently in residency for orthopedics and neurosurgery at Harvard-Combined and Emory, respectively… and from what I remember, they didn’t graduate with honors from HC… which brings me to another point…</p>
<p>3) Book smarts and academics will help you only so much. From my experience, determination, social skills, discipline and common sense are what really drive eventual success… once a basic level of academic ability is reached. Sometimes these attributes can be measured by how well one does in class/on tests and many times it can be better demonstrated elsewhere.</p>
<p>4) Finally, this wasn’t implied anywhere in the posts but I think it’s worth stating when we discuss “diversity” with admissions. Minority students and students on full finanical aid are not at these top colleges to be “resources” or to “educate” white or affluent students. they are there for themselves. That being said, people can always learn and grow from interacting with people with different life experiences as it helps you see outside of your own experiences and allows you to maybe… think “outside your box”.</p>