Chances for a Pro Athlete?

siserune
Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:11:36 +0000

Some of the comments here are mind-bogglingly off base. The supposed negatives are not serious issues, if what the original poster says is correct.


Harvard has admitted several ex-athletes well past the age of 22. I don’t recall all the names but there was some retired player from the Boston hockey team near age 40 who was advised to apply by the Harvard hockey coach, and got in (Harvard College, not extension-school courses). Some Olympic medalists in their mid-20s were also admitted.
Three years of sports outside the US is comparable to the 2-4 year delay for foreign applicants who perform military service in their countries.
Chances sound rather good for this guy. Three years out of high school the transcript (which was OK if not stellar to begin with) becomes less important than what happened after and the current state of ability as could be documented by test scores and AP exams. Conceivably even the GREs could be submitted (if scores are good) to show comparability with Harvard seniors of the same age. Language skills beyond English, if they include writing, would be a big plus.
Freshmen in special situations (local, married, older, celebrity, etc) are not necessarily required to live in the dorms. If admitted and, for whatever reason, forced to rent a dorm room, there is nothing to stop the OP from also renting an off-campus room and living there.
Volunteering as a coach and then negotiating admission has a serious potential to backfire. Any dealing with the sports teams should go directly through the coach or athletic directors, or through an introduction via some person in the European football leagues. The admission is separated enough from the sports that there isn’t the possibility of horse-trading for an admissions slot — not by the candidate himself, at any rate. The soccer coach can probably advise on how cases have been handled of elite athletes who show an interest in training the college team. I know of some grad students who did this but have no information about undergraduate cases.
It being an unusual case, the interview, which is usually a formality, would become more important, and might happen with admissions people in Cambridge.