<p>Hello,
I know the fact that coaches can dramatically increase one’s chances of being admitted to an ivy, but what are the perks of being an athlete once attending the college? in my case it will be cross country and track and field (if im recruited)… are there “perks” for my sport?</p>
<p>The MIT head football coach put it better than anyone I’ve heard yet when speaking to my son: “you get to play four more years of football”. He’s not an Ivy coach, but he’s got exactly the right idea.</p>
<p>^Right - no tutors, no athletic dining hall and no special privileges. It’s pretty much a ‘love of the game’ situation. Although in T&F you may get to travel abroad to compete during the summer once or twice during your college career. Plus you’ll get some sweet track swag, (bags, warmups, shoes, etc)</p>
<p>Three years after receiving her uniform, I still can’t believe I get to wash it at the end of the season.</p>
<p>Not an Ivy but similar,</p>
<p>Laundry services including a fresh t-shirt everyday</p>
<p>Varsity only facilities</p>
<p>All travel expense, equipment, and coach provided by school (individual sport that we had to pay for out of pocket pre-college: makes me very happy :))</p>
<p>I know the fact that coaches can dramatically increase one’s chances of being admitted to an ivy, but what are the perks of being an athlete once attending the college? in my case it will be cross country and track and field (if im recruited)… are there “perks” for my sport?</p>
<p>First, I would not say the coaches increase one’s chances of being admitted. I would say the athlete & academics increases one’s chances of being admitted. Let’s face it, coaches are loolking for the best athlete they can get by Admissions. It is up to you not them. </p>
<p>Second, I’m not crazy about the “perk” question as I think it implies a shallowness for Ivy student athletes. “Tell me what I get because I’m an athlete” doesn’t resonate very well with the general Ivy student population. I think you will find that most do it because they love their sport. I don’t know how else to say it. I know in my son’s case it allows him much more time to study his major if you consider that a “Perk”. He is an engineering major playing baseball…not an easy thing to do. If he had taken a the traditional D1 baseball offer, he would not be able to major in Engineering with 56+ games per year, lots of travel, and many practices during class time. Because son plays in the Ivy League, they will play 40-42 baseball games with very limited travel for mid-week games, and no practices while classes are in session. Also, he works just about every day with an outstanding position coach. Tutoring is available through the athletic department, but he has not used it to date.</p>
<p>I think if your looking for big time “perks” you need to go to a big time program but there will always be a price to pay in some way IMHO.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Playing your game at one of the nation’s finest univesities is its own reward. Period.</p>
<p>Old scarecrow for the win!</p>
<p>Thank you guys for the input, it wasn’t meant to be a selfish or shallow “what can i get” question… i was simply curious.</p>
<p>The perks you get are waking up early to lift, constant hunger or sleep because you can’t seem to do enough of both, practice getting in the way of study time, not having enough time to work in the work study program (if you’re on financial aid) [meaning you need to actually come up with more $$ than a non-athlete]; during season your partying time in adversly impacted because you are either at the activitiy, traveling to the activity, or preparing for the activity; for mid-semester breaks during your season, you can’t go to to an epic party with your new found college friends at the coolest beachside town in the world (or even go home if you are so inclined).</p>
<p>But as someone mentioned, you do get a couple of neat shirts and such.</p>
<p>Compare that to a power D1 where you get athletic $$, special academic help, better food, nutritionists, priority in course selection, better training facilities (generally), more coaches (the IVY’s have some strange rules in most sports where they are required to have fewer coaches than the NCAA allows), and better and more abundant swag. </p>
<p>Also, in most sports, but by no means all, the competition you face is better in more athletically inclined D1’s.</p>
<p>
“Most, but not all” is correct. In my kids’ sport the Ivy League is by far the strongest league in the country. Four Ivy league schools (Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Penn) were in the NCAA top eight this year.</p>
<p>So in this sport, the two real perks are admissions advantages, and getting to train and compete with the best.</p>
<p>Varska, no free tutors or priority registration for Ivies? Those are two key perks (along with some athletic money) for non-Ivy D1s.</p>
<p>going to an ivy?</p>
<p>Many (most?) permit athletes to register FIRST for classes. That could be a big deal, don’t you thing?</p>
<p>At our student’s ivy</p>
<p>no free gear
no scholarship money
no preference for housing
no preference for class registration
no special food
no special nutritionists
no special tutoring/study helps</p>
<p>Pretty much what Stemit said…
they are students like everyone else Plus a large commitment to a team, (lots of practices etc.)</p>
<p>For real “perks”, go D1/not ivy</p>
<p>If you want to compete at one of the best universities in the nation, that is someting else entirely. FWIW, our student feels they have an awesome group/team and likes them/is very happy.</p>
<p>At my student-athlete’s Ivy –</p>
<p>assigned teammate/roommate in specific dorm that the parents thought was superluxe, the guys liked a lot, and most of the other freshmen dissed as being too far away and not social</p>
<p>mandatory study hall for most players supervised by coaches, plus tutors as needed</p>
<p>shoes. shoes. shoes. and equipment (that we had to buy for him in high school), plus his jersey and helmet after graduation</p>
<p>trainer and nutritionist</p>
<p>some sort of strange pledge arrangement with a specific frat that did not involve pledging as it’s commonly thought of – and then the frat house dining plan that was built around the team</p>
<p>a home away from home on central campus (the locker room area)</p>
<p>what they did NOT get was graduation. He received his diploma, but the university couldn’t manage to actually have a ceremony for the 12 graduates on the team that were 2 states away, representing the university and competing at the national championships during the scheduled graduation. I understand that this “will never happen again.”</p>
<p>But the best perk was getting to play his sport at the very top levels for another four years after high school … that’s pretty awesome, especially when it’s at a top academic school as well … and the guys tap into the alumni network, both university, and team. There’s an additional alumni network of the sport + the league in general.</p>
<p>Our student is exactly where he wanted to be and really enjoying the instant camaraderie the team offers and rising to the challenge of the academics and training.</p>
<p>Our Ivy athletics brings in internship opportunities for its athletes and they say athletes can get into job recruiting events first. Haven’t seen it yet so can’t confirm.</p>
<p>Seems like schools/teams may vary quite a bit. Ours offers:
Minimal gear and you earn more based on performance
Set up in housing with a teammate freshman year and then apartment with teammates
Preference for class registration
No special food - this is a problem since he is having trouble getting enough calories
Wish there was supplemental food somehow. Just giving him smoothie money and a fridge so far.
Will arrange tutoring (not sure who pays) </p>
<p>Important for you or your parents to ask what it will cost extra to be an athlete in addition to a student. Our school claimed nothing than tried to strong arm us into buying school health insurance policy on top of our own to ease billing issues. We said no. School supplies money for meals when campus closed. </p>
<p>So far an exhausting unpaid 30 hour a week job he loves.</p>
<p>As a parent, the lack of athletic or merit aid is really sad. My athlete promises me I will get over this disappointment.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>:D Made me smile</p>
<p>NWRunner - what you are describing sounds more like an athletic-obsessed Division I school than an Ivy. At Ivies, athletes are supposedly more integrated into the general student population and academics are supposed to come first. If your son is getting preferential treatment for job recruiting and class registration, as well as separate housing, that’s completely against everything the Ivy League is supposed to stand for. m I’m curious which school this is.</p>
<p>^ I think NWRunner is talking about Columbia.
Interesting because that is very heavy support. Good for them ;o)</p>