[OCcardinal]

Non-athletes can be quasi-recruited to Stanford too. They just don't get scholarships. My daughter was one of the nation's top high school musicians on her instrument. She was able to schedule a lengthy (free) private lesson with a Stanford music professor, who then gave a favorable recommendation to admissions. This is standard for high-level musicians. She did the same thing at 5 or 6 other top universities too. (Regular applicants are only allowed to submit recorded arts portfolios.)

The same daughter was also a recruited athlete and participated in ID camps at several colleges.  The processes were not all that different, though she was a higher-level musician than athlete so got a lot more personal attention through that.

[OCcardinal]

Non-athletes can be quasi-recruited to Stanford too. They just don't get scholarships. My daughter was one of the nation's top high school musicians on her instrument. She was able to schedule a lengthy (free) private lesson with a Stanford music professor, who then gave a favorable recommendation to admissions. This is standard for high-level musicians. She did the same thing at 5 or 6 other top universities too. (Regular applicants are only allowed to submit recorded arts portfolios.)

The same daughter was also a recruited athlete and participated in ID camps at several colleges.  The processes were not all that different, though she was a higher-level musician than athlete so got a lot more personal attention through that.