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The fact that people can get into top academic institutions by putting their academics to the side. I knew several people who neglect studying to practice their sports because that's what's getting them into college.
While this is certainly a problem, it's not at all exclusive to Garden City or Long Island or lacrosse players. In my opinion there are far more academically unprepared athletes playing other sports and getting into top colleges although they are barely literate. It doesn't make it right but the problem you are describing as it exists here seems mild in comparison. An overemphasis on sports exists in many communities across the US, and to a much greater extent in Florida and Texas (football) and in some parts of the Midwest (football and basketball).
There are kids who are not academically inclined in almost any school and at least sports are a structured outlet for their energy. Even at magnet schools in NYC you will see that when academics are the focus, there is incredible pressure to study and get good grades. Some kids end up cheating and there is definitely bullying over test scores. If you swap out one thing, another jumps into place, because wherever you go there is a pecking order and kids are always trying to navigate the pecking order.
. An overemphasis on sports exists in many communities across the US, and to a much greater extent in Florida and Texas (football) and in some parts of the Midwest (football and basketball).
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Those people aren't paying the exhorbitant property taxes that Garden City-ites are. And we all know the schools suck outside of LI, right? So you aren't really making a valid comparison. These LI kids are supposedly getting a good enough education to make top dollar when they graduate from the college they got into. Kids in Florida and Texas are more focused on making a career out of sports.
The unfortunate trickle down of all this is many of these parents didn't care about academics because they expected their child to step into a cushy Wall St job (just like they did) but that's not happening so much anymore.
Oh I get how that might sting, but for better or worse these schools exist for reasons that are not limited to academics. There's no shortage of top students with stellar test scores and impressive extracurriculars. There is, however, a shortage of top flight athletes who can manage a B average.
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Originally Posted by 85dumbo
I think the "lacrosse-stick-swinging-kid" is a Long Island phenom. There were plenty of those kids too growing up in Great Neck too. Most of them are probably Best Buys salesman now, however.
top athletes as in div I basketball players or athletes aiming for the pros is a diff category.
As noted, there are tons of student with great academic resumes. A well rounded student in academia, community, athletics is always something top colleges keep an eye for.
I played lax in a nyc public school system and I feel I did tad better than best buy . I actually declined a scholarship to continue playing & went to a university that didn't offer athletic scholarship. Sports help me mold into becoming a better student.....and even a better person. Even now as middle aged person, I founded new sports to keep me quite fit & happy
Colleges will not enroll a lot of students from the same geographical area. You will never see 10 kids from one high school or town all getting into Harvard.
Sports scholarships are easy to give out to high school athletes. What's tough is for that athlete to maintain their athletic edge up against all the other scholarship kids during freshman year. It's even harder for them to keep up their grades when sitting in an Ivy League classroom that actually demands they know and do something!
You might be surprised to find how many students end up dropping their sport and thus the scholarship in order to concentrate on class and actually have a chance at graduating from that Ivy League school. Parents end up funding the next three years that they didn't expect to do!
Or you will find that students who can't keep up with grades and sports, end up transferring out of that elite school to one that actually fits with their abilities. However, districts only let you know how many of their graduates went to Ivy Leagues, they don't have to let you know how many actually STAY there after one year.
Just buying a house in a wealthy area with a good district doesn't guarantee success once your child is off on their own in an expensive and competitive college/university.
As noted, there are tons of student with great academic resumes. A well rounded student in academia, community, athletics is always something top colleges keep an eye for.
Agree that well rounded is the best. I played football from 7th grade all the way to varsity level until I graduated HS. I was a mediocre athlete and Great Neck South isn't exactly a football powerhouse, but the discipline from team sports definitely helped me academically and having sports on the resume no doubt helped me get into a competitive school.
many top students who never played sports also get to college and "can't do the work".
I find this more reflective of the minority than the majority of instances. The one instance I think this may happen if these so-called "top students" came from mediocre schools that offered them little challenge. Think of the biggest fish in a small pond. It helped them enough to stand out and get admitted but once they are in they struggle. Another instance is a top student even from a strong district who gets into a highly demanding academic program like engineering where it's sink or swim.
Apart from those two (and probably a few more cases), top students from top school districts are amply prepared for college and if they choose a relatively easy major even in an ivy school (as many often do by choosing to major in "humanities") they can graduate without stress.
I always wondered why Garden City students were absent from the Intel competition (not that its a big deal in the grand scheme of life).
They did try to make a push, maybe 10-15 years ago, to get a "specialist" in there to head up a program but it was met with resistance. With more Asians moving in, you might find a small group of kids entering the competition....but GC was built on Wall Street money and those people don't know STEM from a hole in the wall. The other big employers for GC residents are as attorneys and civil servants (mostly teachers and FDNY).
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. I actually declined a scholarship to continue playing & went to a university that didn't offer athletic scholarship. Sports help me mold into becoming a better student.....and even a better person. Even now as middle aged person, I founded new sports to keep me quite fit & happy 
