Among the hundreds of thousands of people applying to colleges each year, many have an assumption that strong athletic abilities unfairly guarantee students admission to top-tier universities. However, the reality of the situation is far more nuanced.

In reality, a small percentage of high school athletes end up continuing their sport in college, as it is no easy feat. 

According to the NFHS Network, a leading high school sports streaming site, only 6% of high school athletes go on to play an NCAA college sport, and only 2% of high school athletes  getting recruited receive any kind of athletic scholarship. Out of approximately 2000 students at Paly, only 13 ended up getting recruited to play a college sport.

The recruitment process is arduous and stressful due to the limited number of slots available for athletes. The process is often competitive and time-consuming due to the number of phone calls, visits and decisions, with only a fraction of athletes getting successfully recruited.

Recruited athletes also have to spend hundreds of hours honing their skills, which in many cases, is more time than what regular applicants would spend on extracurriculars outside of school. For example, in a study by Verified Athletics, high school football players spent nearly 21 hours per week on their sport, which is almost three hours every day of the week, compared to the average of 1.5-2 hours of of homework per day that Palo Alto High School students recieve.

On top of this, recruited athletes must meet the minimum GPA standard of a 2.3 GPA given by the NCAA, as well as the minimum GPA and SAT/ACT score of their college.

Carrying the load of excelling at games every week while juggling extracurriculars and academic responsibilities can also be overwhelming. While most students face challenges throughout the college admissions process, playing sports adds another layer of challenges, especially when attempting to be recruited requires access to money, time and support. College coaches often go to high school matches to scout for athletes, and this can alos put a lot of pressure on athletes to perform their best. 

It is important to acknowledge that there are also biases within the recruitment process. According to The New York Times, favoritism towards athletes in niche sports in college admissions can prioritize certain racial groups and privileged applicants that have access to money over qualified athletes in more popular sports. 

In the 2019 Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, which had direct connections to Palo Alto, wealthy parents, college coaches,and admissions officers conspired to gain admission for students into prestigious universities.

 This scandal particularly targeted niche sports such as sailing and fencing and highlighted how the recruitment process for niche sports can be easily exploited by rich families.

These families should be punished for their actions rather than innocent athletes, and the recruitment process should continue to provide opportunities for high school athletes to play their sport on the collegiate level.

The misconception that being a recruited athlete is an unfair advantage in college admissions overlooks the complex realities of the recruitment process. While being a talented athlete can be an asset, the road to making it to a college team is met with vast challenges and rigorous standards. It’s essential to stop making assumptions about the hard work of others, as both recruited athletes and regular applicants invest substantial time and effort into the application process.