Academic Requirements for Ivy League Athletic Recruits
What academic standards does a student-athlete have to meet for an Ivy League coach to be interested in them? Here is the most informative article to date about the secret formula used by the Ivy League schools to determine if an athlete is academically acceptable: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/sports/before-athletic-recruiting-in-the-ivy-league-some-math.html.
This article explains how each Ivy League school calculates a number called the academic index representing the overall academic value of a potential athletic recruit. The schools then have a range of numbers they will accept, and so in order to be accepted a recruit has to achieve an AI (academic index) somewhere in that range.
The AI combines a students’ GPA, SAT score, and both SAT 2 scores. The big change recently in the academic index is that they have dropped a student’s class rank from the equation.
This is important for parents of athletes to know because if your child is a strong athlete who may want to play for an Ivy League school, and you are making the decision of choosing a high school, now you know that as long as your child can get at least a B average, with decent SAT and SAT 2 scores, they can be considered for admission.
I know several athletes that have been told by coaches that the minimum SAT scores for each section was 600, and that there better not be any “C’s” on the student’s transcript. “C’s are cancer.” No matter how strong of an athlete your child is, he must achieve this minimum academically in order to be considered at the Ivy League schools. This article does point out that the top 3 Ivy League schools, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, have a higher standard for admission than some of the other Ivy League schools like Brown and Dartmouth.
Also note that the minimum GPA the article mentions, 3.0, and the minimum SAT score for the 2sections on the SAT, 1,140 or 570 on each, are the absolute lowest allowed. But in reality, unless your child is ranked in the top 5 in the nation, literally the best player in the country, and plays one of the “bigger” sports (football, ice hockey or basketball), those minimum scores will not be enough. I’ve heard from many athletes that while the minimums for most of the Ivy league schools were 600 on each section, at least a B average, and no C’s on the transcript, the top 3 schools (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton) require scores closer to 650 on each section.
For more tips on getting into an Ivy League, check out Secrets and Tips from a Harvard Mom.
