I don't mean to belabor the thoughts re: athletes getting preferential admissions treatment at some of the HA schools, but since there's gonna be no collegiate baseball for my two guys this spring, what the hell.
I just want to confirm PA Baseballs thoughts on athletes who actually get in to these schools and add some details.
Even if the coach gets 5-7 slots each year the fact is only ONE of them is going to be in the 25%tile or lower statistically (for grades and test scores). The rest are all just as qualified, in the school's eyes, as any other top end admit. These schools could fill their classes by admitting only 1600 SATs and 4.0 students. But they don't just go after those kids because they're trying to appeal to a broader range of students. And those admitted kids-- athletes, musicians, theater kids, bonsai tree experts, and daughters of food truck vendors--are pretty sharp in their own right.
I am amazed at how talented my sons' teammates are when it comes to their academics. My older boy's fellow senior ball players include two future NASA scientists (one of whom is the team's leading hitter), a molecular spectroscopy and quantum chemistry scientist (starting pitcher), two guys landing positions with NYC financial firms older than the school (another starting pitcher and his battery mate) , and two other guys (both starters) ending up at top end private equity firms in Boston. They're a very tight group of guys all living in a big house two hours from campus, studying remotely and working out in the basement gym. Grinders all.
These guys were not admitted to Amherst (nor were players at any other school like it) just because of baseball.
I've been trying to understand why losing baseball is painful beyond its proportion. I'll get back to you on that.