Do colleges care about sports?Answered
I'm wondering how much/if playing a sport at a varsity level will help me. I'm planning to apply to colleges like UMich, UIUC, and Georgia Tech for CS.
Definitely. I agree with the previous response; sports will generally give you an advantage. But with that being said, getting into a school solely based on your sports interest is quite difficult and highly selective. If a sport is your "deciding factor" on your application, you would have to be the best of the best or be highly esteemed (Win important awards).
Agree with above... I think doing a sport is a great opportunity to show characteristics/personal qualities like teamwork, perseverance, performance, and dedication! If you solely put science fair/spelling bee awards on your app no matter how impressive they are, you're still missing a shot to demonstrate other qualities that sports can. Unless you're a like a state level athlete, your actual athletic talent won't likely have any weight in decisions. Still, enjoy them-I did!
Thanks for the responses!
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Not necessarily. Colleges care about the quality of your essays, your grades, and your ecs. When I applied to colleges, I didn't play any sports and still got accepted to many great colleges, like Grinnell College. I think AO's really want to see what you have done during high school and how that impacted your community, not how many sports you have played. Most of my ECS was volunteering and helping those in need in my community, and I firmly believed that was why I got accepted. These AO's from top schools want to see and imagine, "how will this student make XYZ college a better place?" because as we all know that colleges like Harvard & Stanford want students who will contribute to their community & help make the college a "nationally recognized" college. Hope this helps! And please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Also, because you will major in CS, I'd recommend participating in ECs that involve around that.
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I definitely think it is a good EC. How much they care about it depends on the school. For example if a school is known for its sports teams and you have two very similar students I read they will likely pick the one who participated in sports over the other that didn't. This is because the first level of admissions is usually academic based. If you make it into the second level they will be evaluating if they think your morals/personality fits in with the school's.