University of Pennsylvania women’s volleyball commit Lauryn Lewis ’26 sits down at her first class of the day and begins pulling out her school supplies. As she digs through her backpack, she overhears her classmates discussing her recent college commitment. She listens as her classmates call her lucky, and discuss other students’ chances of attending the same college, now that she has committed. Lewis said many students believe being a student-athlete has given her a simple route to college, undermining the amount of effort she dedicates to volleyball and school.
“A lot of people think that being an athlete gives you an easy pathway to any school you want to go to, when in reality it’s the total opposite,” Lewis said. “You have to juggle both the athletic and academic parts of your life. There is a lot more weight on you and less time in your schedule compared to others, yet you still have to work hard and get good grades. People think I don’t have to worry about my grades, but that’s not the case at all. [These asumptions make] me upset because a lot of people undermine the amount of hard work, pressure and sacrifice I’ve put into volleyball and school.”
Seven percent of high school athletes continue playing their sport on a varsity level throughout college, according to athletic scholarship statistics guide Scholarship Stats. Collegiate athletic recruitment is difficult and rare because of competition and the need for proactive effort from athletes. Despite these hardships, Division III University of Chicago women’s tennis commit Sunny Lu ’25 said many view athletic recruitment as effortless, unaware of the similar standards that student-athletes are held to.
“A lot of the people here who don’t play a sport always say that it’s easier for the student-athletes because we get recruited and know which college we are going to attend before others,” Lu said. “People think we don’t have to do as much work and write all the essays that they do, but we do. The amount of time other students are spending studying, we’re on the court sweating and working hard. Athletic recruitment is simply another way to get into college, and it’s just as hard.”
Sports Psychologist Kat Scardino said students might view athletic recruitment as simple because it is different from standard college applications.
“Recruitment is different from what a regular student is doing,” Scardino said. “It might not seem as difficult. Although, I think if people who aren’t athletes took the time to realize how difficult it is to train, recover, practice, bounce back and also be a student they might realize that being a student-athlete is not easy.”
Lewis said she does not agree with the assumptions that athletes are academically unmotivated.
“The main stereotype is that people think student athletes are lazy and don’t have to try in school,” Lewis said. “All of the student-athletes I know are very smart people. Especially going to our school, we still have to be qualified for the work.”
Additionally, Ivy League institutions require a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 with most committed athletes averaging around a 3.5 or higher, according to academic advice experts PrepScholar. Lu said her peers are unaware that athletes must maintain high grades while improving their athletic skills in order to get recruited to highly ranked colleges.
“People don’t know that athletes have to keep our grades up while also playing our sports,” Lu said. “Top schools, such as Ivies or highly-ranked Division III schools, look at your grades. You have to be passing all of your classes, and your GPA has to be on the higher side while also being incredibly good at your sport. The admissions officers for top schools have to approve of your academic standings before the coach gets to make the final decision of offering you a spot.”
Athletes are under pressure throughout the collegiate recruitment process because they feel as though they are under constant evaluation by coaches, according to Ithaca High School newspaper The Tattler. Scardino said the recruitment process can be anxiety-inducing among athletes because of the lack of control throughout the process and ambition to play perfectly.
“It’s an exciting process but can also be anxiety-provoking,” Scardino said. “It can elicit more anxiety for people who are prone to it, particularly because there is a lot of uncertainty and there’s a lack of control over the coaches or their decisions. Even if you are playing perfectly and doing all the right things, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get recruited to where you want to go, and that can be really difficult.”
Duke University men’s basketball commit Nik Khamenia ’25 said although the high expectations set for him were nerve wracking, he has learned to use them to fuel his athletic growth.
“Seeing myself on top-twenty boards, I started to realize that there are people who come to games just to watch me play,” Khamenia said. “Every game, I felt like I had to perform to the best of my abilities, but the reality of playing a sport is that it’s not always going to happen. Although it can be difficult, learning how to silence out the [expectations of others] and staying true to the process and improving is important. A lot of people will look at themselves being high-ranked and stop working. I see my rank and look to the people above me and use them as motivation instead of settling with where I am.”
Lewis said she has been applauded for her commitment but that her recruitment status has come with added pressures from her community.
“I’ve gotten a lot of praise and respect from people since I’ve committed, but that also gives me a lot of pressure to be perfect to the core,” Lewis said. “I’m human, I’m never going to be perfect. I just want people to treat me like any other person. Everybody’s good at their own thing and hardworking in their own way.”
The average high school football team requires twenty-one hours of practice per week for their varsity players, according to athletic recruitment statistics site Verified Athletics. Football and rugby player Camilo Arroyo ’26 said he has to balance practicing between both of his sports while completing academic work.
“We just started the spring season of football, but I’m also in my final week ofrugby practice,” Arroyo said. “I have my [rugby] championship game coming up. I have rugby practice twice a week and football three times a week. On top of that, I have a lot of homework because May is a really busy month for school. I have my research paper and a lot of tests, so it’s very hectic, but I have to find time throughout the day to manage it.”
Lewis said she completes her homework before practice in order to make up for her late returns home, because she values her academics and athletics.
“I have to get my schoolwork done and go to practice while making sure I’m balancing everything correctly,” Lewis said. “I make sure to get as much work done as possible before practice because if not, I’ll get home at 10 p.m. with so much work left to do. School and volleyball are the most important pillars of my life.”
Khamenia said he missed out on opportunities to spend time with friends in order to develop his basketball skills, an experience that has allowed him to learn how to distribute his time properly.
“During freshman and sophomore year, I wasn’t outside a whole bunch because I had goals and aspirations that I knew would be tough to achieve,” Khamenia said. “I wasn’t going out to parties and hanging out with my friends as much as I wanted to. Sometimes my schedule had practice everyday from Monday through Saturday, and I would have Sunday to do homework and catch up on things. I’ve had to learn how to manage my time with basketball and hanging out with friends because social stuff is important for your mental health in order to make sure you aren’t over drowning yourself with your workload.”
Scardino said she tries to encourage her students to be understanding of their individual identities as well as their athletic identities, especially throughout the recruitment process.
“Being an athlete can be a huge part of your identity,” Scardino said. “What we try to do in sports psychology is accepting that sports are going to be a part of your identity, but not the only part. When you’re going through recruitment and it feels like the only part of your identity, it can be more rough. Whereas if you are aware of the other things that make you the whole person you are, it helps protect you.”
