Excelling in sports can get you into a great college

‘Sports do not build character. They reveal it.’ – Heywood Broun.

When it comes to getting admission in good colleges across the country, sports can give you a great helping hand. Athletics is not an easy task, something which is valued even by the education system; in pretext to this fact good athletes are given special places in a number of college admissions. Academic excellence alone is not the only ticket to land in a good college, something which has been proven over and over again by the admission of excelling sportsperson in leading colleges of the country. Athletics offers disadvantaged students a chance at gaining better college education, something which cannot be ignored in a country where many hardworking students lack behind due to the dearth of chances.

Excelling in sports can give you a chance that you might have missed in the academic arena. It gives students a chance to prove their mettle, although in a slightly different manner, yet with the same spirit. Just like a rigorously academically inclined student, a student who excels at sports also indulges in daily practice sessions and grilling preparations.

Excelling in sports is revered not only in India but also in countries all across the globe. Citing one of the countless examples of globally revered colleges where sports is taken very seriously, 17 Princeton University students successfully represented their country as well as their college in the London Olympics, 2012. The recruitment of elite athletes from grade schools is not something which happens by chance, it requires years of practice, determination and strength on the part of the students. A number of selected colleges value this very fact and their sports quotas speak of the sentiment that excelling in sports isn’t something which could be ignored as a passé. But there is something serious which should be kept in mind. Education in itself is an arena quite different from athletics; therefore one cannot completely deny the importance of academic excellence. You might get a relaxation but that will be limited to an extent which is acceptable.

The special mention given to sports is due to the fact that certain universities understand the real worth of students who have excelled at sports; but at the same time they cannot completely ignore the importance that is traditionally given to grades and academic performance. One needs to overcome the bar of minimum required academic stature for getting admission into a good college using their sports skills.

The athletes admitted are themselves a part of the student body at large, something which cannot be ignored. It really depends upon your skills and your overall performance in the academic showground as well. Every admitting body knows the rigor of the courses it’s offering to its students and also evaluates the profile of the students in the light of the fact whether they’ll be able to balance their academics with the sports activity. The final decision is taken according to the previous performance of a student in the academic field and the level of their excellence on the sports field!