All,
I'm building a "business case" to start a high school swim team at my daughters' charter high school. The school is very academically oriented (which I love) and has not had sports programs. However, I've got initial support from some teachers and parts of the administration to explore this. Being a lifelong swimmer, I know how valuable sports can be, but I need some external validation of this (school was founded by two, PhD economists).
I'd love any input on the following:
Does there exist academic research (or even strong case studies) that demonstrates the value of high school swimming relative to:
academic performance
college admission
Can anyone point me to a list (or lists) of the kinds of academic + athletic award programs that exist for high school swimmers that can then be further used to bolster their admission opportunities to top tier universities?
Thanks for any help.
Can anyone point me to a list (or lists) of the kinds of academic + athletic award programs that exist for high school swimmers that can then be further used to bolster their admission opportunities to top tier universities?
I doubt that most universities will pass up a kid with a perfect 4 year 4.0 with a full load of AP courses and nothing extra. But if your kid isn't that person, a 3.9, 1 or 2 AP courses + swim team captainship + hiker/biker club founder is probably more valuable to a university, who tend to be seeking "well rounded" individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Universities like to brag about their incoming freshman class' GPAs and accomplishments - and if all you've got is GPAs around a campus, it is pretty boring and no one will want to go there.
Try asking college professors (ie Mark Gill) and/or college deans what they're looking for in their students.
Can anyone point me to a list (or lists) of the kinds of academic + athletic award programs that exist for high school swimmers that can then be further used to bolster their admission opportunities to top tier universities?
I doubt that most universities will pass up a kid with a perfect 4 year 4.0 with a full load of AP courses and nothing extra. But if your kid isn't that person, a 3.9, 1 or 2 AP courses + swim team captainship + hiker/biker club founder is probably more valuable to a university, who tend to be seeking "well rounded" individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Universities like to brag about their incoming freshman class' GPAs and accomplishments - and if all you've got is GPAs around a campus, it is pretty boring and no one will want to go there.
Try asking college professors (ie Mark Gill) and/or college deans what they're looking for in their students.
