Jess Calarco
138d ago
"What parent wants to have a child who’s going to be playing for a bottom-tier school with bottom-tier academics in the armpit of the United States? I want to be polite. But there’s no way in hell.” -- The unfiltered entitlement of affluent white parents.
95
“It’s more about status maintenance, by any means necessary.” A deep dive into the expansive niche sports endeavors among wealthy, mostly white families to get their kids into highly selective colleges. @JessicaCalarco @allison_pugh
To anyone outside of the USA, the weirdest thing about this story is the idea that being good at sport should ever have any connection to university admission
“Over the past decade,” Ruth S. Barrett writes, “the for-profit ecosystem that has sprouted up around athletic recruiting at top-rung universities has grown so excessively ornate, so circular in its logic, that it’s become self-defeating.”
The 9 most chilling words you will ever encounter: "determined lacrosse families from New Canaan, Greenwich, and Darien..."
The comeback of the writer formerly known as Ruth Shalit has entered a new phase, with this long Atlantic feature under the byline Ruth S. Barrett
"The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents" long.fm/ZZY3zYc (Ruth S. Barrett, @TheAtlantic) pic.twitter.com/gKoG0FoyCK
"Of Princeton’s 5,300 undergraduates, approximately 930—or 17.5 percent—are recruited players"
I've never understood why American colleges care so much about admitting athletes, much less so from niche sports, except perhaps as an income screener...
ANNALS OF MERITOCRACY: What do you do when you're an upper middle class Connecticut parent and your kids are crowded out of good colleges by “environmental dashboards” and “adversity scores"?
Great (funny) piece from Ruth Barrett
@rlmcelreath Apropos of high-strung students and sports, this @TheAtlantic article blew my mind this morning. Hits very close to home...
It’s time to admit that Fairfield County was a mistake and shut it down and try again
Random but timely item in my feed. This is what you're escaping by leaving the US: the neurotic obsessions of the upper-class precariat, projected on their children.
In Europe, your child's outcomes aren't an either/or between gig worker or Google PM.
This is an excellent look at an incredibly unhealthy environment & set of norms. One thing it doesn't cover: how many of these young people quit their sport after a year or two at college, either from burnout or because they never wanted to play at all.
“Hunger Games for the ruling class”: @TheAtlantic theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… #inequality #fairfieldcounty #squash pic.twitter.com/8DZZMKUvEy
"fencer received a 'likely' letter from an Ivy. Shortly thereafter, the university … began to get letters saying that the athlete … faked competition results. … correct[ed] the falsehood … 'nothing to worry about. This actually happens all the time.’ ”
America is weird, but nothing strikes me as quite as weird as the college sports obsession.
“Over the past decade,” Ruth S. Barrett writes, “the for-profit ecosystem that has sprouted up around athletic recruiting at top-rung universities has grown so excessively ornate, so circular in its logic, that it’s become self-defeating.”
Holy shit, this story.
Signed,
Former very unsuccessful niche sport D-1 athlete
Thanks fucken god my parents completely ignored me when I was a kid & didn't unleash this kinda mishegas...
The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… @DylanMohanGray @susystruble @TrineeshB
This paragraph! “Where the desperation of late-stage meritocracy is so strong, you can smell it” is an understatement. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… pic.twitter.com/TPaoUCVffc
at last! actual reporting on 43-Man Squamish 43-mansquamish.weebly.com/rules.html theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
Devastating account of the high school sports racket and college applications.
The special boost for recruited athletes, known as preferential admission, can be equivalent to hundreds of SAT points.
The admission process at elite colleges is deeply problematic and the parents who try to game the system are insufferable.
Damn. What a piece. Should be handed out to every parent in certain zip codes at kindergarten orientation.
If you’ve think niche sports will get your high schooler into an elite college, fascinating (and cringy) read from @TheAtlantic
"only to discover that they’d built the 80th- or 90th-best lacrosse midfielder in the country"