College Recruiting at Elite Institutions
July 14th, 2008 - byI never thought I would be accepted to an Ivy League institution. As an overly cautious high school student insistent on finding a place to play college hockey, I applied to twenty colleges and universities throughout the Northeast and Midwest. I was a very good student, but not a great one. I worked hard in high school, but did not take AP classes. My SAT and ACT scores were above average, but I was not a merit scholar. I was a member of a few high school clubs, but most of my time was spent playing hockey.
Little did I know that my skates would bring me acceptance letters from several of the top colleges and universities in the country. If I were an average high school senior I would never have picked up a brochures for Princeton University, and I may never have even heard of Colby College. Yet my athletic abilities made me unique and I fielded calls from Ivy League and NESCAC coaches every week.
Each year, hundreds of student-athletes like my self use their athletic talent to gain acceptance to elite colleges and universities. NCSA’s Recruiting Coaches recently studied our last 285 students who went on to play their sport at a college or university deemed to be in the top twenty five according to the US News & World Report. We compared the average SAT and ACT test scores of the student-athletes to the average test scores reported by the institutions. Since 2004, NCSA student-athletes have been admitted to the most selective institutions with test scores considerably lower than their non athletic counterparts.
NCSA athletes who are accepted to elite institutions average a 28 on their SAT, while the schools report 31 as their average score. Most students who attend these colleges and universities score over 1400 on the math and reading portions of the SAT, yet the NCSA athletes average under 1300 on their math and reading scores. While a 28 ACT and 1250 SAT is not shabby, most high school students with these marks do not anticipate an Ivy League future.
Hockey opened up many doors for me that I could never have anticipated. My Yale diploma represents much more than essays, Spanish lessons and problem sets. I was able to combine my intelligence and work ethic with the sport I love, and use all of these factors to gain acceptance to a special university. I encourage all student athletes to take hold of their academic and athletic careers; opportunities will follow.
