What Are “Country Club Sports” And Should Students Partake?
If you’re looking for a way to get a leg up for your student when it comes to selective college admissions, you may consider enrolling your student into a niche sport, sometimes referred to as “country club sports.” While it may sound like strange advice, you might be surprised by the results. Over the years, Ivy Link has worked with many students involved in country club sports including squash, rowing, and fencing.
If you follow the New York Times, you may have seen a recent article about fencing. Fencing, a popular country club sport, grabs the attention your student is looking for when it comes to college admissions. According to Yury Gelman, founder of the Manhattan Fencing Center, “Parents realize that fencing is one of the best sports to put your child in a good university, because each good school, especially Ivy League schools, have fencing.”
The main reason why fencing is the niche sport that it is: fencing costs quickly add up. In addition to the roughly $2,000 dollars for equipment (that needs to be replaced often) the fencers (or more realistically, their parents) are expected to pay for the cost of travel to competitions. And many of the top competitions take place in Bucharest, Cairo, Istanbul, among others. Parents spend anywhere between $40,000 and $100,000 a year for their student to partake in the sport. Nonetheless, many parents find the cost worth the benefit of Ivy League admissions.
Fencing isn’t the only sport that can work in your student’s favor. There are other sports such as squash or rowing that look as appealing on your student’s transcript. And just as importantly, they grab the attention of athletic recruiters. Athletic recruiters have faced some controversy lately in light of all the bribery scandals, but they do play an important role in admissions at the more selective schools. Take Harvard, for example. The general acceptance rate for Harvard applicants is less than 5%. On the other hand, recruited athletes have an 83% acceptance rate.
So no matter what country club sport your student wants to join, it can improve their chances of admission by up to almost 80%.
For more in-depth and ongoing guidance regarding extracurricular activities, contact Ivy Link today and schedule a complimentary Admissions Advising consultation.
