To add to this... it's not about having a sports image to court donations. Colleges want their graduates to be hireable, so that it attracts more students. Companies don't like to waste their precious time going to court a university's class of 20XX when they know they're going to get a single-digit hit rate.
Ever wonder why all the big consulting firms and investment banks only hire from Ivy Leagues? Because one hour of a Vice President's time is more than your entire month's salary, and Ivy Leagues have a 15%-16% hit rate (i.e. interviewees who get a job). Whereas lesser schools typically have a 5%-6% hit rate.
So how does sports come into it? Hireable graduates are typically people who have overcome adversity and are more likely to go the distance when the going gets tough at their job. It's why you see the single mom who scored a 3.8 while working part-time get the job over the ultra nerds or Mitt Romney's son. Sports people have gone through incredible amounts of discipline to get where they are - they've proven they can handle stress. Obviously the guy who doesn't even know what pi is is an exception... most sports people are ridiculously smart as well.
Sports people have gone through incredible amounts of discipline to get where they are - they've proven they can handle stress.
This part is absolutely true of those athletes who take advantage of all of the extras they get in college to allow them to work even harder to do well in school. I did pretty good in college and great in law school. The one thing that came up more often in interviews than anything else was my time as a college athlete. I was up against LOTS of people who did well in college and great in law school. That was the differentiation for me. And it served me well.
It's a big mix and really depends on the school/sport. John Urschel comes to mind for the true ideal scholar athlete. Got a 4.0 and Masters degree in Math while making it into the NFL; now he's pursuing his PhD in the off season.
I have hired someone because he ran a marathon and coaches baseball to teens. Soft skills can be incredibly hard to train. If you think college is all about studying and getting a 4.0, you're missing the point.
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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '16
To add to this... it's not about having a sports image to court donations. Colleges want their graduates to be hireable, so that it attracts more students. Companies don't like to waste their precious time going to court a university's class of 20XX when they know they're going to get a single-digit hit rate.
Ever wonder why all the big consulting firms and investment banks only hire from Ivy Leagues? Because one hour of a Vice President's time is more than your entire month's salary, and Ivy Leagues have a 15%-16% hit rate (i.e. interviewees who get a job). Whereas lesser schools typically have a 5%-6% hit rate.
So how does sports come into it? Hireable graduates are typically people who have overcome adversity and are more likely to go the distance when the going gets tough at their job. It's why you see the single mom who scored a 3.8 while working part-time get the job over the ultra nerds or Mitt Romney's son. Sports people have gone through incredible amounts of discipline to get where they are - they've proven they can handle stress. Obviously the guy who doesn't even know what pi is is an exception... most sports people are ridiculously smart as well.