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My child is in 10th grade and is a fencer. She just made the switch from recreational athlete to competitive over the summer, but to me seems to be making very little progress. Coach assures me she's advancing in skills, etc. but she has yet to place very high in a tournament or earn a rating. We are in the Dallas area and the competition is keen. It is hard to break into the elite cadre of fencing here unless you're very, very good.
This is my question - how will a mediocre sports career look to a college admissions panel? She spends 4 days/week fencing and is participating in tournaments 3/5 weekends a month. Besides belonging to one school club and National Honor Society, she isn't involved in any other school activities due to fencing commitments. I am worried she'll never advance and have nothing to show for all her hard work, such as winning X tournaments and having a Y rating, come college application time.
So, would a college admissions panel see her fencing career as foolish and quixotic, or as an example of her "stick-to-it-ness" and depth of character? Should I encourage her to give up fencing which she will never be great at for something she might be able to excel in (although I have no idea what that "something" is?)
She will be fine. Fortunately, grades still trump athletic prowess in college admissions.
Very few high school athletes fall into the elite category anyway. Her current level will still show dedication. If she has to write an essay she can concentrate on that aspect, and how she worked to improve. Nobody in the admissions office will care about her trophy count.
My child is in 10th grade and is a fencer. She just made the switch from recreational athlete to competitive over the summer, but to me seems to be making very little progress. Coach assures me she's advancing in skills, etc. but she has yet to place very high in a tournament or earn a rating. We are in the Dallas area and the competition is keen. It is hard to break into the elite cadre of fencing here unless you're very, very good.
This is my question - how will a mediocre sports career look to a college admissions panel? She spends 4 days/week fencing and is participating in tournaments 3/5 weekends a month. Besides belonging to one school club and National Honor Society, she isn't involved in any other school activities due to fencing commitments. I am worried she'll never advance and have nothing to show for all her hard work, such as winning X tournaments and having a Y rating, come college application time.
So, would a college admissions panel see her fencing career as foolish and quixotic, or as an example of her "stick-to-it-ness" and depth of character? Should I encourage her to give up fencing which she will never be great at for something she might be able to excel in (although I have no idea what that "something" is?)
It really depends on why she is so focused on fencing. If she is doing it because she has a passion for it, then that will probably come through on the application and look good. Even if she doesn't achieve much in the sport, if it's something that is a big part of her life and she plans to continue practicing it, then that is desirable to an admissions committee. They like passion. Also, one doesn't have to be great at a sport to achieve a leadership position or to show initiative.
However, if she's doing just to have something to put on the college application, then that will likely also be obvious. If she is planning to plod through the next three years just to show she can stick with it, but has no real passion for it, then that's not something an admissions committee will be impressed by. There's a lot of that going around - students doing all kinds of things to get into college, but without any real interest in any of it.
It really doesn't matter what the student does or how good they are at it - it's all about the level of motivation, passion and initiative that they bring to the college. For example, years ago I was on an athletic team with a very poor athlete who nevertheless became team captain every year, every semester. She was passionate and was a natural leader - but she was also physically talentless. She went to an Ivy League school and today she's unimaginably successful. That's the kind of person admissions committees hope for.
My child is in 10th grade and is a fencer. She just made the switch from recreational athlete to competitive over the summer, but to me seems to be making very little progress. Coach assures me she's advancing in skills, etc. but she has yet to place very high in a tournament or earn a rating. We are in the Dallas area and the competition is keen. It is hard to break into the elite cadre of fencing here unless you're very, very good.
This is my question - how will a mediocre sports career look to a college admissions panel? She spends 4 days/week fencing and is participating in tournaments 3/5 weekends a month. Besides belonging to one school club and National Honor Society, she isn't involved in any other school activities due to fencing commitments. I am worried she'll never advance and have nothing to show for all her hard work, such as winning X tournaments and having a Y rating, come college application time.
So, would a college admissions panel see her fencing career as foolish and quixotic, or as an example of her "stick-to-it-ness" and depth of character? Should I encourage her to give up fencing which she will never be great at for something she might be able to excel in (although I have no idea what that "something" is?)
My son was similar with soccer. He played on a traveling team and his high school team. He did not start. He did not have a job in HS and was not active in any other school activities. I tried to push him into other sports and activities, and was unsuccessful.
He was accepted to two Ivy League schools and will soon be graduating from medical school. He is still playing soccer and organized an intramural team with med school students. If your daughter is doing something she enjoys, that is what is most important. With three children soon to be graduated from college, extracurricular activities did not make any difference in being accepted to the colleges they attended.
As mentioned grades will be the most important thing. I know when my son was in martial arts (TKD) it was 5 days a week. After he hit his blackbelt level his interest dropped off. We went on into regular high school sports and JROTC. He participated in 3 sports a year because he enjoyed it.He is now in college and did get some scholarship money for his activities. Is your daughter happy with what she is doing?
I'm the OP. Wow! These are great answers to my questions. I'm happy to hear that perseverance trumps achievement. To answer your questions, yes, she really enjoys her sport and she gets good grades.
So, would a college admissions panel see her fencing career as foolish and quixotic, or as an example of her "stick-to-it-ness" and depth of character? Should I encourage her to give up fencing which she will never be great at for something she might be able to excel in (although I have no idea what that "something" is?)
99% of the time it won't matter one way or another.
Say she wants to go to UT-Austin. Over 30,000 apply every year for freshman admissions. No one has enough time to go through every single application, so metrics are set up. Sometime something like X points for GPA, Y points for test scores, and Z points of intangibles (legacy student, Texas resident, under represented Texas county, etc). X+Y+Z = Q. If Q > some admissions floor, they are admitted. If Q < admissions floor, they are denied. However is Q < floor, but within a certain range, they might be put on a waiting list, or looked at closer. That's when stuff like extra curriculars are looked at (unless they are on athletic scholarship, then everything goes out the window to accept sub-standard students for football...) If she is a great student, it doesn't matter one way or another if she fences. If she is a horrible student, same. If she's just hanging on (in comparison to the freshman cohort), then it might matter.
That's how most STATE schools work. Private schools have a whole different thing. But if you take someplace like Baylor, they still get 25,000+ applicants. They have to do some initial screening or else no one would ever get accepted because it would take so long! Or it would be even more expensive, cause you've got to hire a tonne of admissions councilers just to make admissions decisions
In Texas it is the top 10% rule for state schools. For UT-Austin, it is more like the top 5% depending on how many applicants they have. All of these state schools are going to go off of her grades and scores (GPA, SAT, ACT, etc) and not pay much attention to her EC's. Even Baylor did not ask my D to fill out the regular app (IB/AP student, good grades and scores). They sent her the short version and accepted her with a $34K scholarship. They did not have much to go on when it came to her EC's but still liked her. My D will be going out of state (OOS) this coming Fall. To a great SEC school that is very academically competitive and had much to offer and is great with merit awards.
For the best college info there is a great site called College Confidential. GET ON THERE!!!! There is a section for every school as well. If she wants to still pursue fencing in college you can find out on CC what schools have it and such and all kinds of great info.
ROLL TIDE
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