To the Editor:
The main premise of Stefanie Lazow's article ("Ivy League recruiting practices: Does Dartmouth lower its standards?", Jan. 12) is that athletes applying for admission to Dartmouth are expected to the meet the same rigorous academic standards as other applicants. This is simply not true. While it is certainly true that some of the highest academic achievers at Dartmouth are recruited athletes, the fact remains -- supported by all available evidence from college admissions experts and the Ivy League itself -- that athletes granted admission at Ivy League schools are not held to the same academic expectations as other applicants.
Lazow writes that "athletic recruits have to meet certain academic qualifications calculated by the academic index," without explaining exactly what these standards are, and how they compare to standards (or averages) for non-recruits. A 2003 article in the Harvard Crimson notes that the minimum acceptable score for Ivy recruits stands at 171, whereas according to college admissions consultant and former Dartmouth admissions officer Michele Hernandez, the average for all Ivy League acceptees is around 211 (on a 1-240 scale).
Furthermore, the Council of Ivy Group Presidents mandates that the AI of recruited athletes be no more than one standard deviation below the average of all current undergraduates. So yes, there are minimum academic standards for recruited athletes -- decidedly lower ones than for non-athletes.
In all, Lazow's article dishonestly portrays the treatment of athletes in the college admissions process. I might suggest that in the future The Dartmouth do some actual investigative reporting by interviewing more people than the Director of Admissions Recruitment and Communication and team coaches, whose opinions on athletic recruitment are predictable and one-sided.
Dylan Kane '09
