<p>yes, but at top tier schools that have DI programs (Duke, Northwestern, Vandy, Rice, Notre Dame) and Ivies, you have to be somewhat smart to be a recruited athlete there. Could the Duke basketball players make it into Duke if they weren’t recruited? most likely not, but they would be competitive in admissions. duke and other similar schools wouldnt recruit an athlete with a 800 on the SAT (out of 1600) even if they were amazing. yes they make exceptions, but they dont lower the bar very far. the average duke athlete is smarter than the average OU or LSU athlete (or student for that matter :))</p>