College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions from applicants and their families about college admissions. Each week he will pick a question and share his response. This week's question is about athletic scholarships.

Q: Can a sports scholarship get you into Harvard?

A: No. There are no sports scholarships at Harvard or at any other Ivy League college. Harvard, and the other Ivies, provide need based aid, only.

Recruited athletes, who are quite a talented group, are measured differently in admissions, though. They are not expected to have had the same sort of out-of-classroom accomplishments as non-recruits, having spent so much time excelling in their sport. As a group, their academic credentials are not as robust as non-athletes, but some individuals are equally qualified as the main applicant pool when measured by GPA, academic rigor, test scores, etc. This process of admitting recruited athletes is monitored by the Ivy League through a system called the Academic Index - a longer topic for another time and place.

Good luck.

Larry works with students of all academic profiles and extracurricular interests. If you have questions about college admissions or would like to learn more about our services, please contact him at larry@learningassoc.com.