I just noticed that at my school, teachers an advisors have a pretty easy time telling kids that are really good at sports that they have slim chances of getting recruited and that they should have a back up plan. (Even though our school has competed at state and regional championships and had several students recruited for soccer).
These same teachers and advisors however have no problem pushing our top students to apply to colleges they have little chance of getting into and conditioning them to expect high merit aid and an easy time even though their test scores and achievements don’t support that attitude.
I’m seriously confused by this double standard. Is it the same for anyone else? Any idea why?
Probably cause these teachers simply favor academic achievement over athletic achievement, which is because they are teachers and they teach academics for a living. They aren’t involved in the athletic world. However, they are right to some degree. Athletes who think they’ll be recruited (but likely won’t) may slack off in school and end up going nowhere. However, there is absolutely no harm in applying to highly selective schools as long as you are applying to ones you’ll likely get into as well.
Nobody on here can reliably answer questions about your school teachers and advisors’ intentions or motivations. If you want to vent, I get that, but you’re not going to get satisfying insights here.
I guess you guys are right. Btw I’m not really an athlete, it’s just something I noticed and was wondering if it was exclusive to my school.
@EKolin I think my issue wasn’t really the fact that they encourraged kids to apply, but that they gave them unrealistic expectations. But you are right and I guess it’s better than discouraging them from applying.
I haven’t found that is true for my student athlete. My son is a top student as well as a good lacrosse player. He has good grades, good ECs (not just lacrosse) and good test scores. If teachers at your school are telling student athletes that they are giving bad advice.
My son has been encouraged by his coaches to seek exposure to coaches at schools where he is recruitable for lacrosse. For him that has been the selective LACs. He committed to apply ED at a school where he had coach support and was accepted ED. He had a much better chance of acceptance than other applicants even though he applied to a school that is well known for not accepting 100% of recruited student athletes.
Maybe teachers shouldn’t be advising students on college selection and they should leave it to the GCs.
As the parent of a recruited and now signed D1 athlete, I can tell you from my experience that there are just as many athletes out there that are encouraged and delusional about their ability to be recruited by top schools. The percentage of high school athletes that go on to play in any level of collegiate sports is so small, but everyone has the dream. What’s sad is when the students do not have good academics to fall back on.
At many schools the GCs know nothing about athletic recruiting and most athletes don’t rely on the GC for anything but sending transcripts. At my daughter’s school, it was the athletic department secretary who dealt with the NCAA forms, anything the colleges needed that involved athletics.
You need to explore athletic scholarships with your coaches and on your own. the GC can help you get accepted academically to the school, but have no contact or influence with coaches.
Strikes me that there are a lot more spaces for top students than there are for recruited athletes. The harsh truths are simply truths. If you are counting on your athletic ability to get into college, you are facing steep odds. I don’t think there is any ignorance or antagonism to athletes at play here.
If they are counting on athletics to pay for a college education, most kids are in for a rude awakening. However, there are more spots at little D3 schools for high school athletes than you might expect. But, kids who want those spots can’t overreach on their athletic or academic abilities or their ability to pay.
@marvin100 I know that no one on here is going to be able to read my school staff’s mind :)) I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the issue is general, or if they didn’t see it as one.
Maybe they tell students that they have a slim chance of being recruited because that’s what they actually see? And, some of that recruiting is for schools that are academically a mismatch for the student.
10th grade students/parents have a strong belief that being recruited is likely. Seniors see a different picture.
Fair enough. My answer: I’ve never seen this or heard about it before. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem at your school, of course, but I doubt it’s a pervasive one elsewhere.
At our small prep school, over a dozen students get into the super elite Ivy-type colleges every year, and a couple of those were really reaching to get in but got lucky. However, the school never has more than one or two athletes recruited, even at the DIII level.
Athletic recruitment is a pipe dream for the overwhelming majority of athletes, but getting into a top tier college is not a pipe dream for students with excellent academics. Of course - the perfect situation is to have both.
Top students have backup plans (their matches and safeties). They don’t need to be encouraged to have one. They may need to be encouraged to aim high, which doesn’t affect the rest of their applications. There’s no harm done.Teachers and counselors will also recommend that the top student who is applying only to Ivies also have a backup plan.
Athletes, on the other hand, usually don’t have those matches and safeties (the “backup plan”). They’re shooting for the stars without a net. If they don’t get recruited, then what? Or if they get injured and can no longer play?
That’s why teachers and counselors advise as they do. They give the advice that the student needs and may not be hearing.
Athletic recruiting is a lot more transparent than college admissions/merit scholarships. Colleges - namely the coaches - are more honest about your chances than AOs are about your chances for admission. So from the high school side the coaches are more knowledgeable of what the colleges are looking for whereas academically the high schools have a vague idea but not nearly as solid of what colleges are looking for in a prospective student at the top schools.