[Mick]

My son is a senior in high school, and we just got over the hump to apply early decision at his first choice school.

One of his friends is a superb baseball player who was recruited by one of the prominent UC's, getting a partial ride.  Apparently, on the essay portion of his UC application (there are two prompts, minimum 250 words and max 1,000 words total) he is writing a single word "athlete."

On the one hand, I think it is scandalous that an athlete would get away with that.  On the other hand, as my wife points out, this is a school with more than 65,000 applications, so why waste an admissions officer's time reading an essay when the guy is guaranteed admission?

[Mick]

My son is a senior in high school, and we just got over the hump to apply early decision at his first choice school.

One of his friends is a superb baseball player who was recruited by one of the prominent UC's, getting a partial ride.  Apparently, on the essay portion of his UC application (there are two prompts, minimum 250 words and max 1,000 words total) he is writing a single word "athlete."

On the one hand, I think it is scandalous that an athlete would get away with that.  On the other hand, as my wife points out, this is a school with more than 65,000 applications, so why waste an admissions officer's time reading an essay when the guy is guaranteed admission?

[stupac2]

On the one hand, I think it is scandalous that an athlete would get away with that.  On the other hand, as my wife points out, this is a school with more than 65,000 applications, so why waste an admissions officer's time reading an essay when the guy is guaranteed admission?

If he's guaranteed admission why does he even have to fill out the rest of the application? Seems like a waste of everyone's time.

[stupac2]

On the one hand, I think it is scandalous that an athlete would get away with that.  On the other hand, as my wife points out, this is a school with more than 65,000 applications, so why waste an admissions officer's time reading an essay when the guy is guaranteed admission?

If he's guaranteed admission why does he even have to fill out the rest of the application? Seems like a waste of everyone's time.

[fullmetal]

250 words is about half a page.  Surely the applicant could just pound out a half-page's worth of words dealing with the prompt, and perhaps he could begin that half-page with the sentence "I have been recruited by <school name> to play baseball on a partial scholarship."

[fullmetal]

250 words is about half a page.  Surely the applicant could just pound out a half-page's worth of words dealing with the prompt, and perhaps he could begin that half-page with the sentence "I have been recruited by <school name> to play baseball on a partial scholarship."

[71Bear]

IMO, Mrs. Mick is right on the mark.  If the kid was recruited, it is a waste of time to fill out the essay portion of the app.  The transcript is what matters....

[71Bear]

IMO, Mrs. Mick is right on the mark.  If the kid was recruited, it is a waste of time to fill out the essay portion of the app.  The transcript is what matters....

[TreeWeird]

Allowing the athlete to apply without a good faith effort to complete the entire application sends the athlete the message from the very beginning that the school does not expect him to put more than minimal effort into academics.

[TreeWeird]

Allowing the athlete to apply without a good faith effort to complete the entire application sends the athlete the message from the very beginning that the school does not expect him to put more than minimal effort into academics.

[Mick]

IMO, Mrs. Mick is right on the mark.  If the kid was recruited, it is a waste of time to fill out the essay portion of the app.  The transcript is what matters....

That was made clear to us on both our UCB and UCLA tours...that the UC system is a numbers game, more so than the typical private institution, and with the large numbers of students admitted in any given year, it certainly makes sense to me.

[Mick]

IMO, Mrs. Mick is right on the mark.  If the kid was recruited, it is a waste of time to fill out the essay portion of the app.  The transcript is what matters....

That was made clear to us on both our UCB and UCLA tours...that the UC system is a numbers game, more so than the typical private institution, and with the large numbers of students admitted in any given year, it certainly makes sense to me.

[FarmBoy]

Allowing the athlete to apply without a good faith effort to complete the entire application sends the athlete the message from the very beginning that the school does not expect him to put more than minimal effort into academics.

TreeWeird makes an excellent point. Scholarship athletes at many schools are not integrated into the student body and one frequently hears report of their entitlement attitude. If writing one word for the min 250 word essay is is acceptable, what's acceptable to get a passing grade in a class? Just showing up? Completing the essay may not be a determining factor of acceptance, but it sends a clear message that you're part of the student body and need to meet the requirements.

[FarmBoy]

Allowing the athlete to apply without a good faith effort to complete the entire application sends the athlete the message from the very beginning that the school does not expect him to put more than minimal effort into academics.

TreeWeird makes an excellent point. Scholarship athletes at many schools are not integrated into the student body and one frequently hears report of their entitlement attitude. If writing one word for the min 250 word essay is is acceptable, what's acceptable to get a passing grade in a class? Just showing up? Completing the essay may not be a determining factor of acceptance, but it sends a clear message that you're part of the student body and need to meet the requirements.

[Roberton3]

Unfortunately, that's not "the UCs vs everywhere else".  I'd bet most Division I schools work the same way.  Do you think Alabama football recruits write application essays?  Heck, do you think Duke basketball recruits write application essays?  I'd be surprised if they do.  My guess is that the only exceptions are Stanford, the Ivies, and a small handful of others.

[Roberton3]

Unfortunately, that's not "the UCs vs everywhere else".  I'd bet most Division I schools work the same way.  Do you think Alabama football recruits write application essays?  Heck, do you think Duke basketball recruits write application essays?  I'd be surprised if they do.  My guess is that the only exceptions are Stanford, the Ivies, and a small handful of others.

[sinclairchang]

http://gobama.ua.edu/wp-content/themes/g...p_2014.pdf

Many schools do not require essays for admission.

[sinclairchang]

http://gobama.ua.edu/wp-content/themes/g...p_2014.pdf

Many schools do not require essays for admission.

[Oasis]

He could say, "Really good athlete."  Maybe add, "Recruited by Stanford."

[Oasis]

He could say, "Really good athlete."  Maybe add, "Recruited by Stanford."

[Bruce Wang]

IDK maybe this one word essay is a Banksyesque piece of performance art satirizing the hypocrisy of college football.  If so, bravo. slow clap.

[Bruce Wang]

IDK maybe this one word essay is a Banksyesque piece of performance art satirizing the hypocrisy of college football.  If so, bravo. slow clap.

[Roberton3]

Many, probably most, states now have rules that the top X percent of graduates of any high school in their state are automatically accepted to the state university system. That makes the requirement of an essay fairly pointless.

Yes and no.  It's pointless for the students who are in the top X percent.  But very few of those state universities fill their entire classes with top-X-percent students, so they're still taking substantial numbers of applicants who weren't in the top X percent.  And those applicants still run through a standard admissions process.

[Roberton3]

Many, probably most, states now have rules that the top X percent of graduates of any high school in their state are automatically accepted to the state university system. That makes the requirement of an essay fairly pointless.

Yes and no.  It's pointless for the students who are in the top X percent.  But very few of those state universities fill their entire classes with top-X-percent students, so they're still taking substantial numbers of applicants who weren't in the top X percent.  And those applicants still run through a standard admissions process.

[FarmBoy]

If a student-athlete is in the top x percent of their class (meeting standard set by the state), then I would have no issues with them not submitting an essay for schools that admit based on that requirement.

Is it really that common though? I know Texas has it as a backdoor to affirmative action. And I've heard of other systems taking it up, but I didn't know it was prevalent. For example, Massachusetts where I live, according to what I've found on line, does not.

[FarmBoy]

If a student-athlete is in the top x percent of their class (meeting standard set by the state), then I would have no issues with them not submitting an essay for schools that admit based on that requirement.

Is it really that common though? I know Texas has it as a backdoor to affirmative action. And I've heard of other systems taking it up, but I didn't know it was prevalent. For example, Massachusetts where I live, according to what I've found on line, does not.

[Redrum]

To summarize the view of outsiders looking IN at K.al's athlete academics collapse:  K.al recruits academically unqualified or minimally qualified football players.  Then, more than half of those students either cannot succeed or simply won't succeed in graduating.  The conclusion from outside seems simple: recruit better students who can at least do the minimum quality work to graduate.

On (where else?) Bear Insider,  one of their saner posters put forward a different theory: the students aren't failing,  K.al might be making it too tough.

"The bottom line is that Cal should not be making it more difficult on their football players than at other rigorous D1 schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, UCLA, Duke and Northwestern. If they are, there will be no progress towards a solution regardless of who becomes AD. "  That sounds to me like a call to dumb it down for athletes. 

"Cal has a reputation to uphold academically, but if they are stubbornly demanding standards that are unreacheable, they will actually do the opposite. They will continue to create an embarrassment for themselves."

[Redrum]

To summarize the view of outsiders looking IN at K.al's athlete academics collapse:  K.al recruits academically unqualified or minimally qualified football players.  Then, more than half of those students either cannot succeed or simply won't succeed in graduating.  The conclusion from outside seems simple: recruit better students who can at least do the minimum quality work to graduate.

On (where else?) Bear Insider,  one of their saner posters put forward a different theory: the students aren't failing,  K.al might be making it too tough.

"The bottom line is that Cal should not be making it more difficult on their football players than at other rigorous D1 schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, UCLA, Duke and Northwestern. If they are, there will be no progress towards a solution regardless of who becomes AD. "  That sounds to me like a call to dumb it down for athletes. 

"Cal has a reputation to uphold academically, but if they are stubbornly demanding standards that are unreacheable, they will actually do the opposite. They will continue to create an embarrassment for themselves."

[Kathy]

To summarize the view of outsiders looking IN at K.al's athlete academics collapse:  K.al recruits academically unqualified or minimally qualified football players.  Then, more than half of those students either cannot succeed or simply won't succeed in graduating.  The conclusion from outside seems simple: recruit better students who can at least do the minimum quality work to graduate.

On (where else?) Bear Insider,  one of their saner posters put forward a different theory: the students aren't failing,  K.al might be making it too tough.

"The bottom line is that Low APR U should not be making it more difficult on their football players than at other rigorous D1 schools like Stanford, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends, UCLA, Duke and Northwestern. If they are, there will be no progress towards a solution regardless of who becomes AD. "  That sounds to me like a call to dumb it down for athletes. 

"Low APR U has a reputation to uphold academically, but if they are stubbornly demanding standards that are unreacheable, they will actually do the opposite. They will continue to create an embarrassment for themselves."

... weenies think athletes are spoon-fed easy courses at Stanford. That's the only way they can fathom how our athletes graduate and theirs do not. That the disparity might have something to do with the quality of student each school recruits never enters into their reasoning.

[Kathy]

To summarize the view of outsiders looking IN at K.al's athlete academics collapse:  K.al recruits academically unqualified or minimally qualified football players.  Then, more than half of those students either cannot succeed or simply won't succeed in graduating.  The conclusion from outside seems simple: recruit better students who can at least do the minimum quality work to graduate.

On (where else?) Bear Insider,  one of their saner posters put forward a different theory: the students aren't failing,  K.al might be making it too tough.

"The bottom line is that Low APR U should not be making it more difficult on their football players than at other rigorous D1 schools like Stanford, the University of Dead Fake Girlfriends, UCLA, Duke and Northwestern. If they are, there will be no progress towards a solution regardless of who becomes AD. "  That sounds to me like a call to dumb it down for athletes. 

"Low APR U has a reputation to uphold academically, but if they are stubbornly demanding standards that are unreacheable, they will actually do the opposite. They will continue to create an embarrassment for themselves."

... weenies think athletes are spoon-fed easy courses at Stanford. That's the only way they can fathom how our athletes graduate and theirs do not. That the disparity might have something to do with the quality of student each school recruits never enters into their reasoning.

[Mick]

He could say, "Really good athlete."  Maybe add, "Recruited by Stanford."

He could certainly say the former, but he can't say the latter.  The sense that I got is that other athletes in his sport dropped out of the recruiting process by this large UC, so he was a recent add when most of their other commits happened four months ago.

[Mick]

He could say, "Really good athlete."  Maybe add, "Recruited by Stanford."

He could certainly say the former, but he can't say the latter.  The sense that I got is that other athletes in his sport dropped out of the recruiting process by this large UC, so he was a recent add when most of their other commits happened four months ago.

[Oasis]

If truth is a constraint on his essay, then good for him.

[Oasis]

If truth is a constraint on his essay, then good for him.