15 Best Sports For College Admissions

What are the top 15 best sports for college admissions? Which sports are best to take part in when applying to colleges?

Many high school players are concerned about how playing sports will influence their ability to get into college, whether playing sports will provide them with an edge, and whether they may continue playing sports while attending college or not.

We will discuss the best sports for college admissions in this article, along with how your involvement in athletics may affect your chances of admission and what you can do to get ready for the recruiting process.

Being in a sports team won’t always increase your chances of getting into college.

In fact, relatively few students’ athletic accomplishments are taken into consideration during the admissions process.

Having said that, it could provide a sizable edge to students who perform well in their chosen sport.

The various routes that students can follow to become collegiate athletes and learn which sports are best for college admissions will be covered.

In addition to recruitment, normal walk-ons and preferred walk-ons are also available ways to get you into the sports team.

Read on to discover this list of the best sports for college admissions.

Various Categories of Athletes

The various categories of athletes are recruited athletes, preferred walk-ons, and walk-ons.

Recruited Athletes

An athlete is said to have been recruited when they are given the opportunity to sign up for a university sports team on a scholarship.

To decide if a student has met the academic requirements for admission to the institution, the student-athlete, his or her parents, and the team’s head coach work together.

Because there are so many top-tier athletes on the field, even recruited individuals must face intense competition.

The admissions offer will be issued to the athlete with the superior grade point average, test scores, and overall candidacy where there are two athletes with essentially equivalent abilities.

Preferred Walk-Ons

Because there are a limited number of athletic scholarships available at universities, those institutions frequently have to make tough decisions about which students will receive financial aid.

Sometimes, when coaches do not have enough scholarship money to offer a place to an athlete they believe to be desirable, that athlete is given a slight admission boost and remains eligible to earn a scholarship in the future.

This happens when coaches do not have enough scholarship funds to provide for an athlete they deem to be desirable.

Preferred walk-ons who have stronger applicant profiles have a higher chance of being accepted to the university they plan to attend, just like it is the case with recruited athletes.

The chance to take part in the squad is available to preferred walk-ons, but there is no assurance that their involvement will result in a scholarship being given.

Walk-Ons

Coaches and athletic departments are often not involved in the application process for walk-on athletes at universities.

They are required to take part in open tryouts after they have begun their freshman year so that their athletic potential can be assessed. The coach will next make a decision regarding whether to provide the student an offer to play for the squad.

Athletes that place a high value on their sport’s continued participation might also choose to play in a club or intramural team.

Most schools give students the chance to play sports outside of their official teams through extracurricular activities.

Can Playing Sports Get Me Into College?

Today, selective universities receive far more applications from students who meet their academic requirements than they can accept.

Even students with outstanding GPAs, excellent standardized test scores, and a long list of academic accomplishments find that these factors are insufficient to secure admission to many competitive universities.

Instead, participation in extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations is becoming more and more significant in the admissions process for colleges.

If you take part in sports as a student, you might wonder how your participation and achievements in those sports will be considered when you apply to colleges.

Maybe you’ll be concerned about whether your sports accomplishments will be sufficient to get you into college.

Sports can be a useful extracurricular.

They often require a large time commitment and serve as an effective gauge of a student athlete’s time management skills.

If you manage to become the team captain or take on another significant job on your team, they can also showcase your leadership abilities.

Finally, by consistently taking part in sports, you may show your ability to keep your word and your devotion to pursuing your passions.

Outstanding athletes may occasionally even receive special consideration when applying to colleges.

They might be selected for recruitment, receive athletic scholarships, or even be admitted in major part because of their athletic prowess.

As a great extracurricular that shows your abilities outside of the classroom, participation in athletics may frequently be a significant asset in your college application.

That being said, it is uncommon for sports alone to be the deciding factor in your college admissions decisions, and it is even more uncommon for athletics to be the only thing that gets you into a college.

The List Of 15 Best Sports for College Admissions

Below is the list of the best sports for college admissions.

1. Gymnastics

When student-athletes are aware of which institutions will best suit their athletic needs, they may make a realistic list of their top choices and increase their chances of getting in touch with college coaches.

Where should we begin? Levels and abilities in gymnastics.

Gymnastics is one of the best sports for college admissions.

Gymnasts who can contribute right away to the team receive priority when it comes to scholarships from college coaches, who have a list of required criteria.

2. Fencing

While there are several benefits to taking part in the sport of fencing, the most obvious benefit is the possible priority it gives fencers in the college admissions process through athlete recruitment.

Both top-ranked fencers and committed fencers who aren’t even on the Junior National Points List have the chance to be recruited by NCAA-approved college fencing programs. It all depends on the college you wish to be admitted to.

Fencing can undoubtedly help you get past the intensely difficult college application process.

Many institutions with fencing programs in the NCAA’s Divisions 1, 2, and 3 actively seek out fencers to join their teams.

3. Ice Hockey

Hockey is one of the best sports for college admissions.

Hockey talent alone won’t get you very far in the recruiting process.

To play for an NCAA hockey program, prospective college hockey players must complete the NCAA’s academic eligibility standards.

Recruits must create academic objectives that will enable them to fulfill the NCAA eligibility standards by the start of their freshman year.

Student-athletes who are interested in competing in a Division 3 program and who want to be considered for an academic scholarship to help with college expenses can also benefit from using this goal-setting method.

Student-athletes should thoroughly investigate the academic requirements at the institutions on their short list of potential colleges.

4. Football

With more full-ride scholarships than any other sport, football is the most popular sport for college scholarships.

Over 80,000 college football players are now playing in one of the over 850 college football programs.

Getting recruited is the first step in receiving a scholarship.

Contrary to popular belief, recruiting does not begin for most athletes and their families until their senior or possibly junior year.

Coaches are looking at athletes as early as their freshmen and sophomore years in high school, and occasionally earlier, in an effort to get the best players from each recruiting class.

Early in high school, coaches are not allowed to get in touch with you, but they are allowed to look at your web profile and, if there is any available, watch your video. We advise all football players to register for a free online profile so that coaches can access their data.

5. Golf

Golf is one of the best sports for college admissions.

A student-athlete needs strong grades and test scores, substantial tournament experience, qualifying scores, and the mental toughness to handle the challenge of college courses if they wish to be recruited by college golf coaches.

In order to be successful, recruits must actively promote themselves to these coaches by developing a web biography and swing video that showcases their leadership and athletic prowess.

6. Skiing – alpine

Skiing athletic scholarships are available to both men and women.

University recruiters scour the globe looking for the top candidates. They are, however, unable to be everywhere at once. For this reason, you must make sure to get in touch with the colleges you’re considering to improve your chances of receiving a scholarship. If no one is aware of you, even if you are the best skier in your region, you won’t be given a scholarship.

You can promote your expertise in a variety of ways. You have two options for doing it: either go it alone and film and upload footage from your competitions, or use a recruiting service.

If you want to handle everything on your own, you will save money, but you might have trouble getting into too many schools. Although hiring a recruiter may initially be expensive, you will recover more than your costs through scholarships. They simplify the approach to the school process. You will have more time to focus on your education and polish your talents.

7. Rifle

Due to the fact that rifle is one of the best sports for college admissions and an equivalent sport for NCAA scholarship limits, partial rewards may be given in any amount as long as it doesn’t go over the maximum of 3.6 per institution.

Although some schools have separate men’s and women’s teams, most rifle teams are coed.

Shotgun/shooting sports are different and distinct from rifle competitions.

8. Basketball

Thousands of student-athletes across the nation aspire to play college basketball.

Basketball recruits that are successful in the recruiting process put in the time and effort to develop a list of realistic colleges, an internet profile, and a highlight video, as well as to get in touch with college coaches and perform in front of coaches at tournaments and camps.

If you can fulfill all the prerequisites, basketball is one of the best sports for college admissions.

9. Baseball

It is only a process, but that is the recruiting procedure for collegiate baseball. Nothing can be rushed.

However, the more information student-athletes have about each stage of the process, the better they will navigate its turns and tribulations and understand just how difficult it is to be recruited for baseball.

Despite being one of the best sports for college admissions, baseball scholarships are less common than those in other sports.

10. Soccer

More than a thousand universities provide the opportunity to play college soccer.

The resources needed to identify and assess every suitable athlete are not available to coaches.

Coaches expect you will make the first move and get in touch with them.

It’s not always easy to invite college coaches to attend high school games.

A good deal of soccer coaches wants you to come to them because they have limited recruiting expenditures.

In fact, attendance in summer soccer camps is required for further consideration by the top colleges in the nation for athletic talents.

11. Swimming & diving

Swimming & Diving is one of the best sports for college students.

Regardless of where they are currently studying and practicing in the world, swimming scholarships in the USA are one of the greatest possibilities for high school students.

In the United States, there are currently over 500 swimming programs, each of which provides its student-athletes with an Olympic-sized pool and top-notch training facilities.

In the United States, the lifestyle of a college swimmer is very similar to that of a professional athlete.

You work out frequently more than once a day in first-rate facilities, and you have access to nutritionists, athletic trainers, and fitness coaches to ensure that you provide your best effort at all times.

Many college teams fly to competitions, where you stay in hotels and compete against the greatest young swimmers in the United States.

12. Tennis

Consider using your talent and desire to help pay for your education if you are a high-achieving high school tennis player who has high ambitions to continue your sport in college.

Tennis can serve as a second way to use athletic scholarships to assist pay for your pricey college tuition when it is viewed as the well-known, competitive, and high-stakes activity that it is.

Of course, the quality of play demanded at a college is higher than that at a secondary school, but that improvement is only a part of the experience.

Attending a few college games at your nearby university may be the greatest method to determine whether you and the other college players are on the same page.

You can learn more about the competition by visiting a few of the schools you are interested in and checking out the tennis facilities.

Once you have done this, you can start to comprehend both the tennis game itself and the “sport” of scholarship acquisition.

13. Lacrosse

Native Americans invented the sport of lacrosse, and Jesuits living around the Great Lakes region in the 17th century wrote down accounts of the game in action. The U.S. is home to many tribes that compete as teams. S. played some sort of lacrosse, and three distinct game styles—the southeastern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian—emerged.

Lacrosse is one of the best sports for college admissions.

Your best chance of receiving a lacrosse scholarship for college is to stand out in high school competitions and establish early relationships with college coaches.

Keep in mind that there are approximately 200,000 lacrosse players competing for just 500 team places at Division One institutions each year.

You can improve your pre-college lacrosse CV by attending sports camps and clinics.

14. Cross country

Many people enjoy running, whether for fun, fitness or to help them prepare for and maintain their health in other sports. With about half a million male and female runners taking part, cross-country is a high school sport that is becoming more and more popular.

Similarly, many college students take part in cross-country teams.

It is among the best sports for college admissions.

Cross-country programs are offered at over 1,500 schools at all levels and associations.

15. Track & field

There is no “normal” track recruiting procedure, which makes track and field distinct in the world of collegiate sports. Track and field recruits must be informed of the laws in their area of residence and the schools they plan to attend.

Every track event is also recruited and scouted differently; for example, a distance runner will need to meet different requirements than a shot putter or hurdler. Learn the latest in college track and field news.

No matter when or where you begin, or what competitions you take part in, all prospective recruits should be proactive and in command of their own recruiting.

Since college coaches can’t find every one of their recruits on their own, student-athletes must decide which colleges to focus their recruitment efforts on, narrow down their list of preferred institutions, and work diligently to boost their athletic performance and academic performance.

FAQs

What sport looks best on a college application?

There are a variety of less popular activities available for you to take part in outside of what your school offers, including dance, cycling, climbing, swimming, martial arts, fencing, and hiking.
Additionally, not all sports are team-based, and that’s acceptable too!

What sport gives the most college scholarships?

Football is a fantastic example because it offers the most scholarships of any collegiate sport, but there is also more competitiveness to make the team (and receive a scholarship) than in most other sports.

What sports do Ivy Leagues like?

The Ivy League schools and institutions stand out because they have all competed against one another in athletic competitions for the past 60 years.
Because there were established leagues for ice hockey, baseball, basketball, and swimming, each was seen as an ally in college sports.

Do colleges care if you do sports?

Indeed, for a tiny percentage of high school students, being recruited to play intercollegiate sports because of sporting success can and often results in amazing college prospects, including, in some circumstances, scholarships.
It might be worthwhile for those students, after all.

Is it easier to get into college if you play a sport?

Although it’s rare, taking part in athletics could be the deciding factor in your admission to college.
If you are a standout athlete in your sport and compete at the national and state levels, Division I institutions may be interested in you and may even give you a scholarship.

Conclusion

We know that participation in athletics can affect your chances of being accepted into a college.

In summary, having the coach’s backing or receiving a scholarship to play a sport might be one of the largest advantages for any applicant in getting into even the most selective institutions.

In any situation, coaches will find it easier to recommend you as an athletic admit the stronger your transcript.

Check through our list of the best sports for college students provided above to help navigate your path into college.

15 Best Sports For College Admissions | 2024 Ranking

Various Categories of Athletes

Can Playing Sports Get Me Into College?