<p>
</p>
<p>LOL. Nobody said we wanted to see them try. That might be awful. Nobody suggested their jealousy made them want to change places on the court or track. What WAS said is that they wanted to change places on the preference list. But you knew that , didn’t you? I sure hope so. 
Jealous of the admissions advantage athletes are given at some but not all selective schools NOT their court time. They wouldn’t want that . Sheesh.</p>
<p>midmo, Yet there have been quite a few posts suggesting that athletes bring down the school, or do not contribute in the classroom. </p>
<p>Maybe it’s something else, not JUST being an athlete, that makes a candidate attractive. Someone spoke before about why football players get hired over cello players. Maybe it’s not the FOOTBALL per se, but the fact that, through years of discipline, courage in the face of adversity, and the cover-your-back-teammanship required in football, the athlete has acquired many personality traits that an employer (substitute admissions committee) finds attractive. Maybe athletes tend to be more extraverted than brainiacs. Maybe they tend to be more assertive. Maybe they have more confidence.</p>
<p>I’m gonna get a backlash for this, but I have to say it anyway. Through my own observation (during my hs years, and the hs years of my kids), it does seem that taken as a group, athletes were more likely to be outgoing than the very studious kids. That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions, but I’m talking “on average.” </p>
<p>This might come into play in a situation where personable-ness matters (like in a college essay or interview).</p>
<p>“why football players get hired over cello players”</p>
<p>Sorry can’t resist… What’s the difference between a musican and a large pizza? </p>
<p>One can feed a family of four. </p>
<p>I’m a baaad boy today. 
I must be a sterotype. :)</p>
<p>I like them all personally. I’d have a school of jugglers, and acrobats, and clowns, and ball players, and actors, and debaters, and musicians, and short story writers, and cheerleaders, and Harley riders, and URM’s, and internationals, and killer robot makers, and those kids who make the highest mileage vehicles out of gossamer and gum , and <em>whew</em> I could go forever but I’ll stop. Interesting kids who will add to the fabric. </p>
<p>And yup. I’d give every stinkin’ one of them a boost over the kid who sits in his dorm room and let’s everything but the academic part of college go by without tasting it. Even if the dormroom kid had higher stats. I think that’s the way it should be. How about y’all ?</p>
<p>"“why do football players get hired over cello players”</p>
<p>On Tuesday nights, I play squash; on Wednesday night I play the violin in an orchestra. I’m now old enough that I have to make sure that I take the right stringed instrument to each. </p>
<p>Relative to good football players, “brain-in-a-jar” folks (I being one) are a dime a dozen. There are an awful lot more nouns in the language than verbs. ;)</p>
<p>s much as you try to explain the concept of building a class or making a quilt, some just want it to be about SAT scores and GPA’s and they think of that as “the way it should be”. Telling the colleges what to value or more precisely to value what THEY value over all else.</p>
<p>people just want to know what to expect and I htink that they want to have clear guidelines as to what will “happen”</p>
<p>Like with “parenting”
I know a few people- who have children- that might have emotional-behavioral- or even physical concerns- enough that it becomes a problem- for example</p>
<p>When others- learn about these issues, the parents are “grilled” as to what methods they use to cope, what they did to prevent it or even what they did to “cause” it.
( I am exagerating for emphasis.</p>
<p>It seems important- to some- to feel that the parent group A ( & the child), caused or deserved- the situation in some way- because since they did- that means that parent group B, can avoid the situation, if they avoid similar behaviors. ( of course we can’t control everything- & only hindsight is 20/20)</p>
<p>Students and parents who desperately want admission to a certain school or select group of schools,
( and come to CC to learn such )
*And it seems like the whole point of this forum is to help people get into the college that they want *,
want clear predictable guidelines on how to attain admission to those schools.</p>
<p>When the process seems* unfair* i.e. when they had been operating under the belief that academic achievement and related EC, were the main criteria for consideration, they are shocked- appalled and even angry, when it seems more complex and less predictable than they thought.</p>
<p>Some people, who have an especially narrow view, may even feel that if Student Q was admitted- then they took what rightfully was * their* place.
Understandably to them- they are determined to show that the process was wrong and they are in the right- instead of putting their energy toward finding more choices, they are still focused on the “prize”, that is now slipping from their grasp.</p>
<p>In my view CC is most useful, not as the poster asked as a “blueprint” to getting into the school you want, but in sharing information between families and students to discover schools that will be challenging, affordable and a good opportunity.</p>
<p>As well as helping to prepare so that your opportunties are broadened, by the financial, curricular and extracurricular choices you may make.</p>
<p>There are in fact many colleges- where organized sports aren’t a huge part of campus life.
Reed for example, would easily be considered in the top 100 or even 50 schools where academics were a highlight in and out of the classroom & if you are someone who shies away from schools where sports dominate, you might care to consider it.
Club sports, like rugby and ultimate, and individual sports like rock climbing and biking, attract many students.
Instead of focusing on why the school that you think that you should attend, isn’t * quite* what you think it should be, why not take that time and energy to find a school that is?</p>
<p>
ek4, I could kiss you. What a beautiful post . Sums it up quite nicely. Truly brilliant. Great job. I hope I’m done on this. I’ll just cut parts of your post out and show it to people from here in.</p>
<p>curmudgeon, I’d welcome everybody but the clowns. I really hate clowns.</p>
<p>Honestly midmo, I didn’t mean to inflame. I just thought your observation was truly incredible. High-calibre athletes are envied and idolized by a large portion of the world’s population. Brilliant students are not immune. (“Revenge of the Nerds” and Columbine also come to mind…)</p>
<p>well thanks curmudge- :)</p>
<p>I don’t like clowns so much either
[url=<a href=“http://www.jppatches.com/”>http://www.jppatches.com/</a>] but I love JP Patches*
he transcends clowndom</p>
<p>ek and curm</p>
<p>Couldn’t agree more. My son placess a low value on sports so he’s applying to schools that also de-emphasize them. Saves everyone a lot of angst.</p>
<p>Come’on people. Not like clowns? Did y’all watch too many Fellini films while <em>altered</em>? Now those were some scary people. And we do have that whole John Wayne Gacy thing – O.K… So maybe not a lot of clowns. We’ll add more calypso dancers.</p>
<p>
Thank you for seeing. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be at a place for 4 years where the ethos isn’t similar to their own. And there are many great schools with no -cut athletics or who otherwise de-emphasize sports. For example , New Mexico Tech has no club sports and no varsity sports (at least as of last year). I’d say that’s de-emphasizing sports. LOL. Grinnell has no-cut bball. I’ve already mentioned CalTech. Hmmmm. Olin. Pratt. Cooper. I don’t think any of those 3 have any sports, either. From what I saw about Bard and the conversation I had with an assistant coach , that ain’t much of a sports crazy enviroment.</p>
<p>Yes, I happily admit I was a patches pal. Actually got to meet JP. A real thrill for a 1st grader back then. (when dinosuars ruled the earth.) </p>
<p>JP, Captain Puget and Brakeman Bill… much simpler times. (it’s a Seattle area thing)</p>
<p>Emerald thanks for the link. You brought back about 40 years instantly. I saved that to my favorites and guess what my D the hopeful vet will get? Ketchacan the animal man.</p>
<p>
I will refrain from comment.</p>
<p>If they were 300 pounds and GOOD athletes, they’d be Div. I. 300 pounds and willing to put in the time, and wanting to play, would get them very far in Div. III or many of the Ivies.</p>
<p>Once I asked my son why he wasn’t more aggressive about getting the ball when playing soccer. He said, “Actually, Mom, I don’t like kicking other kids.” Oh.</p>
<p>Athletes just will not/cannot believe that some people just do not care. I actually got into a fight about this with some people way back on the Duke lacrosse thread last year. They will not/cannnot believe that every single human is not envious of their prowess on the field/court/slopes/court/diamond/rink/track/ etc. What this says about them, I don’t know; but that’s just the way it is.</p>
<p>LOL. Yep, bethievt. D in 3rd or 4th grade bball explained to a perplexed me that she didn’t want to guard that girl “too hard” because “she’s real popular at school”. She got over it.</p>