<p>“Once they identify a kid who they know can help them win AND can get in they recruit this kid heavily. If they are able to convince the kid to come to the school, they pressure the kid into applying Early Decision. Once the kid commits to apply Early Decision, there is no way in hell that admissions will ever turn the kid down. Think about how screwed the coach would be if admissions decides to turn the kid away.”
Oh, Chun King unfortunately it does happen. My S was recruited by a very selective NESCAC for football, had much higher stats than 1800 and 3.0 gpa, he was asked to apply ED and did and a week before official decisions came out was told by the coach that admissions didn’t like his 1st quarter grade in AP Physics and was deferring him until they saw midterm grade. Well, we verified all this with admissions, the coach felt awful and my son was very disappointed. Believe me when I say we were totally realistic and asked the coach to be honest. If they no longer wanted him to tell us. That was not the case. Admissions is tough and coach only has a certain amount of “slots” he can use. The rest of his recruits really do have to “get in on their own merits”. So Chun King don’t make it look like its a cakewalk . It certainly is not!</p>
<p>^^i agree, 1st quarter grades were required and I’m talking about the college admissions officer calling the high school daily to see when the grades would be out…That’s the “admissions” office making the final determination not the athletic department or the coach. And this is months after commitments from the coach, in writing. But it also said in writing that “admissions” admits student/athletes not coaches.</p>
<p>The NESCAC has to walk a slippery slope when it recruits its athletes. Almost all of the NESCAC recruits are good enough students to go Ivy, but they aren’t good enough on the field…so it is a subset of the Ivy recruits. </p>
<p>It may sound mean to say it, but if a coach conveniently discovers that a kids’ grades all of a sudden aren’t good enough, it just means they found a better player at the position. If the kid that gets squeezed out of a NESCAC slot was actually a really good player, he’d be in the Ivy league.</p>
<p>^^^^^ Sigh. Time to switch channels.</p>
<p>What is your problem Chun King? Based on your posts you are not involved in admissions, coaching, parenting or even being an athlete and don’t have the experience with recruiting or admissions that a number of us do. Yet you make bold pronouncements and put down others who are trying to get or provide advice. As shown by your postings in the past, you obviously have a grudge against athletes, though you did try to play football in order help with admissions but did not get in a game. (Interestingly, the post that referenced that was in November 2008 when you said you were senior who had applied to Cornell, yet in Spring 2009 you posted that you were graduating in 2010)</p>
<p>Earlier Chun King posts:</p>
<p>In November 2008:</p>
<p>“Will football help?</p>
<p>I am a senior at a competitive high school in New Jersey. I have a 3.96 GPA (unweighted) and scored 2230 on my SAT.</p>
<p>My extracurriculars are the Math Club, Science Club and I am a cellist in the school band which has won numerous awards.</p>
<p>In order to look “different” I went out for the football team this year. Our team has a “no cut” policy. We have about 90 kids on the team and the coach doesn’t even know my name. I haven’t played in any games this season and the season is almost over. </p>
<p>I know football helps a lot of students get into Ivy League schools. Do you think this strategy will help me? I applied ED to Cornell. I’ll be honest, the only reason I went out for the team was so it would help me get into Cornell. I don’t even like football or the kids on the team.”</p>
<p>And later, on your essay topic:</p>
<p>“I think football discriminates against Asians. There aren’t many Asian students who play football in our league. That was the subject of my essay.”</p>
<p>Then in April 2009</p>
<p>“Football…crazy advantage</p>
<p>I am in 4 AP classes at a very competitive high school and will graduate in 2010. I have a 3.9 GPA and have scored 2250 on my SAT. Like many students with my grades and scores, I am interested in attending an Ivy or LAC such as Williams, Amherst, Tufts, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Johns Hopkins, etc. I know my chances are pretty good…but certainly not guaranteed anywhere</p>
<p>I just got back from spring break and I heard about some kid in my school who has a 3.2 GPA and scored 1800 on his SATs. He said that he has already met with football coaches at several of the colleges I listed above and that each coach has already told him that if he chooses their school and applies early decision, he is guaranteed admission.</p>
<p>I find this to be ridiculously unfair. I mean this kid is a nice kid and all but he does not work hard at all in the classroom. How does this make any sense? I really would like to know.</p>
<p>What do you guys think of this? (I know he is telling the truth because I heard his parents were saying the same thing.)”</p>
<p>Followed by:</p>
<p>“I guess I should have asked my question in two parts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you think that this guy in my class(the football player) is telling the truth?</p></li>
<li><p>If he is telling the truth, why do these colleges lower their standards so much for athletes?? You’d think that they would at least require a 2000 SAT since no one with a 2000 ever gets into these schools anyway. I can’t believe an 1800 makes it in! I thought only the pot smokers scored that low!”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Then, this charmer a few days ago.</p>
<p>Feb 20
“I wanted to go to an Ivy but didnt get in because I was competing against Asian kids. Meanwhile the dumb athletes got in. Go figure.”</p>
<p>And I would hate to shock you but, if the stats you post are even real, your GPA and your test scores are lower than those of my “dumb” athlete child, who is also a leader of a number of student organizations and was all-state in her sport. </p>
<p>You should stop blaming others for your not getting into a particular school, stop calling athletes dumb, and stop making pronouncements about admissions policies and recruiting based on your limited experience. It is not helpful to readers.</p>
<p>chung: 2290 here for my d. and “looking different” doesn’t mean a thing. becoming excellent because you work hard for years is what matters. you shouldn’t be bitter towards kids who worked harder athletically and academically…they are not bitter towards you.</p>
<p>you need to move on with your life.</p>
<p>I could tell from C-K’s posts that it’s a student–and a bitter one at that or an emotionally disturbed “adult”…
the question is WHERE did he end up if he was applying 08-09…he’d be a frosh now, right?</p>
<p>C-K=■■■■■</p>
<p>C-K wrtoe
“I wanted to go to an Ivy but didnt get in because I was competing against Asian kids. Meanwhile the dumb athletes got in. Go figure.”</p>
<p>and
My hook is that I am Asian, play a musical…</p>
<p>My hook is that I am Asian, play a musical instrument and am also on the football team (I joined so it would help me get into college…I am not any good and really don’t even like it). </p>
<p>so is CK and asian or not–
a student or not
a ■■■■■…YES</p>
<p>■■■■■ or not, the way to deal with the Chun King’s of the world is to ignore them.</p>
<p>Chun King - there’s more to a person that his/her “stats.” Standardized testing favors certain groups, as many studies have shown. GPA is mostly relevant in the context of the school. And this is coming from an athlete who has higher “stats” than yours.</p>
<p>If any of the attitude you displayed here came through in your app, then it shouldn’t be any surprise you didn’t get in.</p>
<p>Also just wanted to add that admissions standards may be relaxed for some students, and those students have an exceptional EC. But beyond those few, most athletes have comparable academics to the rest of the student body. The schools want kids who will succeed academically, graduate, and make meaningful contributions to their communities. Additionally, they would not risk significantly diluting the quality of their student body.</p>
<p>I was trying to give you people some facts. You people know nothing.</p>
<p>Ah, “You people” …</p>
<p>Whenever I see that now I am reminded of those great lines in Tropic Thunder:</p>
<p>Kirk Lazarus: [to Tugg Speedman] What do you mean, “you people?”
Alpa Chino: [stares at Lazarus, and then gets angry] What do YOU mean, “you people?”</p>
<p>^^^^^^^too funny. I was thinking the exact same thing. My kids love that movie and I got a chuckle out of it.</p>
<p>Thank you Columbia, now we see the real story behind CK’s posts.
Time to move on…</p>
<p>LOL
rolling eyes…guess “you people” won’t know if CK is a student and where CK went to school…</p>
<p>I have never seen this…here it is
<a href=“http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/tropic-thunder-clip-you-people/7f52d035bf4e168515c77f52d035bf4e168515c7-1593891291580[/url]”>http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/tropic-thunder-clip-you-people/7f52d035bf4e168515c77f52d035bf4e168515c7-1593891291580</a></p>
<p>+++
on to other things</p>
<p>Was realizing I think one of our clan here is on an unofficial with the student–and I am wodnering if the big storm in the NE has made it a slumber party kind of thing…given travel conditions etc…
hummm</p>
<p>Spoke to a mom today --a coach gave some speech at an event and told the parents that an athlete from the midst (last yr or so) was "heavily recruited " blah blah and got into UPENN, full boat shcolarship etc…</p>
<p>had to explain to her that UPENN does not give merit nor athletic money and its possible the student got a full ride however it would have to be need based…</p>
<p>why do coaches to that–thats disinformation…</p>
<p>As for stats…I have been hearing from most folks of kids who got in–that 700s across the board is normal
…and yet and mom told me yesterday that her athlete got into Georgetown on sports perfromance as the B+/A- student had mediocre SATs…</p>
<p>fogfog
Please remember that your student is a junior and you have a long,long road ahead of you which will only get more stressful. We only started the recruiting process in later spring of last year and that was to first respond to recruiting letters son had received via his coach at school. (Which you can’t get too excited about because sooo many letters and inquiries go out to so many student athletes. ) After speaking with our son about playing at the college level (and my h was giving him the real story, since he also played in college) we first determined the size and academic level which we realistically thought he could succeed at. Then we pursued by having a highlight film made, filling out prospect questionnaires and attending some camps. But all the while we tried not to spend too much time talking about it with our son because although they may not show it, it’s an enormously stressful thing to add to their college prep (tests, application, essay) .
To compare stats is helpful but you can only support your child to do the best that they can. It’s not easy to go from 1900 to 2200 unless you can spend every moment in prep.
I believe that a good coach will look for athletic strength of course and academic strength but will also look for a prospect with strength of character, one who exhibits team spirit and someone who they also see growth potential in. Most of the time they are not looking for you to be all that you can be as a freshman but they are looking to see how coachable you are as well.
I think you will be well prepared and I wish I had seen some of these posts before we were almost done with our son’s recruiting process but just remember to keep it all in perspective.</p>
<p>Missswan
you are so right, it is alot to take in and to know what a coach writes in an email vs whats real…
Our friend retelling that story from the other night–about the coach and UPenn just illustrates how a parent can think they hear something and then if they do not know what is being said, can misconstrue it altogether…kwim…</p>
<p>here! here! missswan! best post of the thread. a suitable epilogue and good advice to all. we are in the middle of it all now and appreciate what you have said. think about the pressure these kids are under! it’s just not natural any more. thanks to all on this thread. we learned a lot. good luck to all, each and every one…</p>