What sports look good on a college application?
Sports. Joining a sports team is a great way to develop the teamwork skills that many schools look for in strong applicants. Common sports programs at most high schools include track, basketball, hockey, volleyball, tennis, football, soccer, baseball, and softball.
Swimming is an equivalency sport for NCAA limits, so partial scholarships can be awarded as long as the combined equivalent awards do not exceed the limit. For example, an NCAA I school can award 21 women swimmers each a 2/3 equivalent scholarship and not exceed the limit of 14 per team.
It may be helpful for students to know that admission committees at highly selective colleges generally don't value athletic involvement over participation in other extracurricular activities unless an applicant is a recruit.
Swimming: 7.0% chance of earning a scholarship. Of the 500 colleges that offer swim, 143 are NCAA DI and offer 9.9 scholarships per team. There are 58 NCAA DII teams offering 8.1 scholarships per team. There are 200 NCAA DIII teams that do not offer any athletic scholarship monies.
Good grades, a challenging high school curriculum, standardized test scores, extracurriculars, and a strong essay are a few key factors admissions officers assess. Each university may emphasize different elements of the application process.
Today, the Ivy League has numerous athletic opportunities for men and women in sports, including football, baseball, basketball, golf, ice hockey, soccer, squash, wrestling, and tennis.
Swimming can help your college application, because of the strong values swimmers universally show. Don't forget why you go to college…to learn! So at the end of the day, admissions will take a good hard look at your grades and test scores from high school. They will also look at your activities outside of the pool.
College coaches look for recruits who are goal-oriented and passionate about swimming. Passion is often what drives a strong work ethic and this is exhibited through determination, drive, and mental toughness.
NCAA Division 3, NAIA and Junior College swimming recruiting can happen at any time and is year-round with no limitations. According to NCAA research, most initial recruiting contact from coaches took place during the student-athlete's junior year of high school.
| Degree of Difficulty: Sport Rankings | ||
|---|---|---|
| SPORT | END | RANK |
| Boxing | 8.63 | 1 |
| Ice Hockey | 7.25 | 2 |
| Football | 5.38 | 3 |
Do athletes get into college easier?
Research has shown that recruited athletes receive the largest admissions advantages independent of academic merit. The advantage varies by sport and athletic division but is almost universal within higher education.
Being an athlete will not boost college applications in all cases; indeed, it is only a deciding factor in a very small number of college admissions. That said, it can provide a large boost to students who excel in their chosen sport.
For men's sports, lacrosse, ice hockey, and baseball have the highest percentages of high school athletes receiving collegiate scholarships, and the same goes for ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer in women's programs.
The first striking feature is that, on average, swimmers don't improve much during their collegiate careers. To put a 0.3% improvement in perspective, a 50.00 second 100 yard freestyler who improved 0.3% would have swum a 49.85 the next season.
| Event | Tier 1 Standards (Elite Power 5 D1) |
|---|---|
| 200 Free | 1.36.3 and faster |
| 500 Free | 4.23.3 and faster |
| 1650 Free | 15.26.1 and faster |
| 100 Fly | 47.4 and faster |
- Have a diverse list of extracurricular activities.
- Challenge yourself.
- Go beyond the norm in a college essay.
- Show grades trending up.
- Demonstrate interest in the college.
- Schedule an interview if possible.
Most colleges will ask for the fourth year, but they typically use the grades from the first three years to determine admission. Arguably, the most critical year for grades is the 3rd year, or junior year, because these grades are the most recent and will give colleges the best picture of a student's abilities.
At the end of the day, good grades and impressive test scores are still key to college acceptance. "Applications that instantly get accepted are well-rounded students — high GPA, extracurricular involvement (and leadership roles within those activities ideally), and strong short answers and essays," said Murray.
For men's sports, lacrosse, ice hockey, and baseball have the highest percentages of high school athletes receiving collegiate scholarships, and the same goes for ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer in women's programs.
- Blogging. Blogging can be a great way to practise your writing skills. ...
- Learning a language. ...
- Volunteering and fundraising. ...
- Coding and other web skills. ...
- Sports. ...
- Play in an orchestra or music group.
What will make my college application stand out?
- Have a diverse list of extracurricular activities.
- Challenge yourself.
- Go beyond the norm in a college essay.
- Show grades trending up.
- Demonstrate interest in the college.
- Schedule an interview if possible.
Every prestigious college looks for well-rounded student-athletes who show exemplary academic performance, including a high GPA, outstanding test scores, and challenging high school courses on their transcripts.
Boxing. The Sweet Science. That's the sport that demands the most from the athletes who compete in it. It's harder than football, harder than baseball, harder than basketball, harder than hockey or soccer or cycling or skiing or fishing or billiards or any other of the 60 sports we rated.
For females, the sport that offers the most scholarships is Rowing which offers 20 scholarships. This is followed by Track and Ice hockey which offer 18 scholarships. However, the sport with the best ratio of scholarships to roster spots is basketball.
At the other end of the spectrum, of the official NCAA sports for which data was provided, the three least-common sports are gymnastics (99 combined men's and women's teams), bowling (68 women's teams), and sand volleyball (56 women's teams).