Yes. One of the 3 . I don’t want to say which one in case college coaches work out who I am ! I have one of those 3 but there are some senior year academic performance criteria attached. It’s quite complicated because I’m also being recruited by 2 other Ivy Schools and some other high level academic ( top 25 US News academic rankings ) that are strong tennis schools . Vanderbilt being an example. Pretty much all the schools including Stanford and the other Ivies are looking for me to make a commitment in the next month or so because they have filled most of their tennis spots. So there’s a risk attached to delaying to meet senior year academic performance criteria.
Also, in answer to CALSimon I have not ruled out playing pro tennis after graduating . I think it would be ruled out if I went to an Ivy school. But obviously nobody can guarantee that will work out so I want to graduate at a high level college.
It still strikes me as unusual to fret among S and other tippy top colleges. If pro is a possibility, feasible, then cover that base. Pick the school that preps you best for that. It’s not like you’re choosing between one top notch, academically intense school and Podunk.
You do realize S is at the top of the heap, too, right? You seem to think it’s inferior. In fact, a greater issue is how you’d fare there, academically.
But recruiting is an equation. It’s not only you committing to them. I’d want to see their actual commitment to you.
I agree with looking forward. All those schools are excellent. Try to do those official visits if you haven’t already, as I said before they will tell you a lot. My son chose his school after doing OVs, the choice was clear to him after doing the OV (i.e., he got that ‘feeling’). And to add to that, he’s third year now doing well and living with teammates, his “bros”. He said even if he didn’t do his sport he’d still love the school. It’s hard as heck sometimes but it has stretched him in a good way and has grown him.
The other Ivies’ aid is unilkely to be as good as S, HYP. HYPS are all 100% grant aid vs combination grants and loans. Unless one of those is a far superior fit (academics, sports, feel), I’d simplify the equation and just focus on Stanford and the one of HYP that is recruiting you. Not enough info on the other top 25’s you mentioned to have any opinion there.
Go to Stanford if you want to turn pro. Go to Harvard if you want to do something outside of tennis when you graduate. That’s assuming all things are equal which can’t be the case in reality. I’m familiar with the tennis scene. At Stanford, you’ll be an athlete first and student second. At Harvard, you’ll get more balance.
@dannythomas I think Stanford fully surpassed Yale and Princeton in terms of academic/research prestige and started being widely recognized as such at least ~10 years ago. (Look at yields, rankings of departments and international rankings which actually measure strength in specific fields, fundraising, among other metrics, the various articles debating whether Stanford has surpassed Harvard as the nations top school etc etc).
The main rivalry now is between Harvard and Stanford for top spot, but pretty sure Harvard still wins in terms of lay prestige (i.e. among average, not-so-well-educated people).
Of course this is beyond splitting hairs and anyone would be insanely lucky to get into any of HYPS.
I’m actually quite IMPRESSED that, in a thread like this, a sophomoric comment hasn’t come out until the THIRD page into it, LOL.
I weighed all four campuses, and I discovered that despite the dense granite that forms the geological foundation of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, the overall size of the Stanford campus meant that it outweighed each of the others by a good margin, despite the lower density of its sandy, loamy geological foundation. Therefore, I must conclude that Stanford is more than an equal of HYP: It is the true heavyweight amongst the four.
Of course, if your query about “equality” actually concerns something as nebulous as “academic quality,” then the answer must be that there can be no objective, one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on what you want to study, who you want to study with, how the general environment of the campus will inspire or detract from your passion and ability to learn, etc. Such matters will vary with the individual prospective student.
If, by contrast, you are talking about “prestige,” then things are a bit clearer. If you are Asian, or if you fantasize about being the next gazillionaire tech entrepreneur, then Stanford is “the best” university in the land. If you are are a bit more old school, then there is Harvard . . . and Harvard is and always will be “the Harvard” of American universities. If you are a budding man or woman of letters (a rare species these days) who loves learning for the sake of learning, then you’ll get a buzz from “the best” quality of undergraduate teaching that you’ll receive at Princeton or Yale, and you’ll look down your postmodernist nose at the hot-tub programmers of Stanford and the self-absorbed Thurston Howell III wanabes at Harvard.
So crazy close, if you can get in and love one of them, and can afford it, go. Seriously it’s almost splitting hairs.
I take issue with the comment above that one should go to Harvard if they want to do something outside of tennis. The vast majority of Stanford tennis players go on to very successful careers outside of sports…Some examples include: Mark Z. Jacobson is Director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and very prominent alternative energy scholar, Alex Clayton, venture capitalist who appeared on Forbes 30 under 30 list, Craig Johnson, former vice chair at JMP Group, Geoff Abrams, highly regarded orthopedic surgeon, and Jim Hodges, Delta pilot.
All of these players played on NCAA championship teams, but they were worked hard in the classroom too. Please don’t perpetuate the “dumb jock” myth that every athlete except those at the Ivies coast through. Simply not true.
There are recent examples of exceptional Harvard athletes: Jeremy Lin (NBA) and Gabby Thomas (NCAA Indoor champ and collegiate record holder in 200m T&F)
OP, idk if the Ivy school recruiting you is Harvard but if they are, they seem to have a decent men’s team making it to NCAA tourney:
https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/mten/2017-18/releases/20180503hfsyrn
My son’s team (Cornell) had two athletes compete at 2016 Olympic Games for T&F.
Ivy League may not be a P5 conference but they do attract good coaches that can take an athlete to the next level. It just depends on the sport. It also depends on what the student athlete wants out of their collegiate experience.