57special posted:2019&21 Dad posted:Update: 2019 got accepted at Caltech on Saturday. Very happy for him after all his hard work and sacrifice, although not sure if he will end up going there or not. If it wasn't clear across the country it would be a slam dunk for him. But it's one of his top 2 schools, MIT is the other and he'll hear from them this coming Saturday.
I can say that baseball was most probably the differentiator that got him into Caltech, which beyond the love of the game, was his primary goal for his post HS playing. Grades, test scores, awards, honors, STEM extracurriculars are all pretty much table stakes there. I think the coach's support on his app probably made a difference. Hopefully the same with MIT. He and I know you dont' go to Caltech to win ball games and that's fine. If he can play ball to balance out the stress of all night problem sets in college and hopefully graduate from a place like that he'll be happy and hopefully well on his way to standing on his own 2 feet and not in my basement!!!
I'm actually surprised to hear that you thought baseball had an impact when it came to Caltech admits. I thought it was one of the few schools that gave no weight to sports.
Just my 2 cents - I don't know for sure. Of course the grades and test scores all have to be there first and they have to be at a level that could get anyone admitted--there's no compromising on that. Then the EC's that demonstrate interest and aptitude in STEM are also absolutely required, as are some of the holistic rounding out factors. Then, all things being equal, I think athletics can make a difference.
For example, my son said that at Headfirst this summer he approached the Caltech coach to express his interest. The coach was receptive, but first question he asked was what were his SAT's and GPA like. When son told him, demonstrating he could potentially get in on his own, then the conversation shifted into recruiting gear. I know for a fact the new coach advocated for him, and in my opinion, the fact that he is a new coach just coming on board may have influenced admissions to try to give him some support in admitting a recruit. Again, just my opinion.