jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
With the Ivy’s and D3s,tennis just helps an already academically qualified student gain acceptance. How does tennis and admissions work with selective D1s? I am not talking about Virginia, NC, Stanford, Duke, etc but other fairly selective D1 colleges-ones with admissions in the 30%-50% range.
Are coaches allowed a certain number of special admits that may have either SAT scores or GPA lower than the average regular admit? If a recruited player (4 or 5 star) has an acceptable GPA but just average test scores, is he/she likely to be admitted to the selective college with the coach’s support? There is such a range of selectivity; a player could qualify for merit and athletic aid at a couple schools, but be below the median SAT score at others. Of course players can take SATs or ACTs multiple times or take a lengthy expensive course to try to improve scores. However, with the new SAT coming out in March and with those scores not even coming out until May or June, this year’s juniors and seniors are somewhat screwed if they decided to study on their own for fall tests and did not get the scores they hoped.
Here is another question. Even if players gain admission to schools with lower scores than the average student, is it a good idea? On the one hand, the players would have access to academic support and tutoring if needed. On the other hand, the players would have a large portion of their time dedicated to practice and competition, so if they got behind, it might be hard to catch up. This is all relative as lower academics credentials may mean a 3.5 in college prep and some honors vs As in mostly APs of the regular applicants. Also the SAT may not be a good predictor of college success for all students. I am not talking football players with 800 SATs and 2.3 in basic courses. We know of some players at very selective D1s that were either homeschooled or did not go to the best high schools who are doing OK in college but they chose the easiest majors at those schools.
I was reading an article about the NLI yesterday. The author was describing how a coach could void the NLI. If a player with lower academic credentials signed an NLI with a college due to the coach promising admission support, but later the coach decided he wanted another player more, all the coach would have to do is withdraw the admission support, the player would not be accepted and the NLI would be void. Players and parents better trust the coaches if they decide to sign with schools they would not get in without tennis.
Should recruits just seek out colleges where they fit or exceed the median GPA/SAT/ACT profile? Or should they be open to universities which might be an academic stretch if the teams have high graduation rates and the coaches seem supportive?
Are coaches allowed a certain number of special admits that may have either SAT scores or GPA lower than the average regular admit? If a recruited player (4 or 5 star) has an acceptable GPA but just average test scores, is he/she likely to be admitted to the selective college with the coach’s support? There is such a range of selectivity; a player could qualify for merit and athletic aid at a couple schools, but be below the median SAT score at others. Of course players can take SATs or ACTs multiple times or take a lengthy expensive course to try to improve scores. However, with the new SAT coming out in March and with those scores not even coming out until May or June, this year’s juniors and seniors are somewhat screwed if they decided to study on their own for fall tests and did not get the scores they hoped.
Here is another question. Even if players gain admission to schools with lower scores than the average student, is it a good idea? On the one hand, the players would have access to academic support and tutoring if needed. On the other hand, the players would have a large portion of their time dedicated to practice and competition, so if they got behind, it might be hard to catch up. This is all relative as lower academics credentials may mean a 3.5 in college prep and some honors vs As in mostly APs of the regular applicants. Also the SAT may not be a good predictor of college success for all students. I am not talking football players with 800 SATs and 2.3 in basic courses. We know of some players at very selective D1s that were either homeschooled or did not go to the best high schools who are doing OK in college but they chose the easiest majors at those schools.
I was reading an article about the NLI yesterday. The author was describing how a coach could void the NLI. If a player with lower academic credentials signed an NLI with a college due to the coach promising admission support, but later the coach decided he wanted another player more, all the coach would have to do is withdraw the admission support, the player would not be accepted and the NLI would be void. Players and parents better trust the coaches if they decide to sign with schools they would not get in without tennis.
Should recruits just seek out colleges where they fit or exceed the median GPA/SAT/ACT profile? Or should they be open to universities which might be an academic stretch if the teams have high graduation rates and the coaches seem supportive?