Dear College Admission Expert,

I am currently on my high school’s varsity basketball team, and have done well, but want to quit in order to have more time for academics. I hear that colleges are constantly recruiting high school athletes, and will often give them great scholarships. Should I just stay on the team?

Dave
Lansing, MI

Hi Dave,

There are many colleges with very strong sports teams that are constantly and actively recruiting talented high school athletes, and they do often give them terrific scholarships in order for them to attend and compete for the school, however, this is not to negate the importance of academic success as well. If you are your team’s star player, but your grades are slipping, chances are, the recruiters won’t be terrifically interested in you. They are looking for students that are not only terrific athletes, but terrific students as well. It also depends on the schools you are applying to. Usually, large state schools with large sports programs such as IU and OSU are the ones who actively recruit, however, some smaller schools looking to boost their sports programs are beginning to recruit as well. The bottom line is, if you think by quitting the team you can get your grades way way up, then you might be better off quitting. However, if you think you can just work a bit harder to get your grades up and still stay on the team, then that might be a good option. Ultimately though, it’s up to you!

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