One thing I will add as a former D1 Ivy League athlete, is that the difference between being a D1 athlete and a club athlete is significant in many ways. Setting aside the opportunities, commitment, etc, for the moment. If you the parent, are as prestige obsessed as you say, I’ll try to put it in terms that connect with that from an athlete perspective. As an athlete, a club team athlete trying to talk to a D1 athlete as if they are on the same level re sports would get a lot of side eye and skepticism with at least an undertone of superiority. I can’t imagine the other Yale athletes think of the water polo team as being on their level. Thus, if your son wants to be an actual D1 athlete and loves Brown more which appears to be the case, then Yale club team is a poor substitute for that. Period. And no amount of parental perception of Yale’s fundamental superiority as an institution or whatever (which I don’t buy, but that is beside the point), can make up that gap. He’d be giving up a real shot at being a D1 athlete (I do think the Brown coach’s thumb would still matter for a kid with excellent stats like yours), for a chance to be a club team athlete (and I think the club coach opinion, even if he’s one of his top 3 would matter less to admissions). I’d choose the D1 Ivy option over the club team one every single time! And if I didn’t give the D1 one a shot, I’d regret that choice for life. Especially if I ended up with a successful club sport career in college, I’d always wonder what could have been. Like for the rest of my life wonder. No brainer to me. Brown is the right answer as an athlete. Trust your son on this one.
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