How imporant is it REALLY to colleges if you play sports?

Question

I maintain a 3.6-3.8 GPA
I have volunteer hours in
(havent taken the SAT's yet)
(and no, i'm not a non-active nerd haha)

do you think I would be alright getting into an alright college if i did average on the SAT;s?

Answer 1

The dirty little secret of the college admissions process is that there are only 50 or so truly "competitive" colleges -- colleges that can be really selective about who they choose. You have to be something special to go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. Some of the public schools are really choosy too -- UCLA for instance or UVA.

Most schools accept the solid applicants. A 3.6 with average SATs will get you in to 90 percent of schools. For instance, the 10 campus University of California system guarantees admission to the top 10 percent of California High School graduates -- you might not get into UCLA or Berkeley, but you will get into one of the campuses, say UC Riverside or UC Santa Cruz.

There is a terrific article in U.S. News & World Report called "A Colleges for B Students" (It was about 6 months ago -- your library should still have it) which lists great private colleges for students who did well but did not excel in high school. You're not even a "B" student -- you're an "A-" student.

Play sports if you WANT to. But don't do it to beef up your resume. There's too much nonsense pressure on teen agers today. You'll go to the school that fits you -- don't try to fit yourself into some kind of mold that isn't you.

Carpe Diem!

Answer 2

Colleges like applicants who play sports because it demonstrates commitment and effort, as well as implying time management skills. Ultimately, they are more broadly interested in extra-curricular activities including sport and non-sport clubs, jobs, and volunteer work. So, I don't think colleges will turn you down just because you didn't play JV soccer or something like that. Your GPA is good, though you don't mention if you take any honors or AP courses. Colleges look favorably on students who challenge themselves academically, so that may be something to consider. Still, if you have good grades and at least some extra-curriculars, you can still get into a pretty decent school even with average SATs.

Answer 3

It's only important to play sports if you plan on using that to get you a scholarship to college. Otherwise, no one cares. Hey, I got into a state school with a 3.6 GPA and crappy SAT scores... no extra curricular anything. It can happen. You'll be fine, just apply to a few different schools so you can have choices to pick from. Good luck!

Answer 4

It depends on what sports you play, and how well. If you are candidate for a future in professional sports, some colleges will accept you, and offer you tuition scholarships to boot.

However, if you are an average athlete, then study for those SATs. The GPA you mentioned is sufficient - but a higher SAT will increase your chances of acceptance to a good college.

Answer 5

SATs are just one of the many factors colleges consider when admitting new students. Depending on the college you want to go to, you'd have to get really bad SATs to not get into even state schools. But if you're going for sports, they may overlook poor scores anyway.

Answer 6

i wouldn't worry about it. They look more to see if you have some sort of extra curricular activity, it doesn't have to be sports.

Answer 7

Well, based on the numerous errors in the title of your question, I would say it's pretty darn important for you to get yourself some education.