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24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

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21–30 of 38 posts

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#21
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's great background information. I wonder what the primary driver of switching out is

There were some earlier news articles & spinoff discussions in the recent past (NYTimes, etc). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-scien... Wish I had the link to discussions about it, they were better than the actual article.

Here you go:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3196377

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3239815

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#22
post #13

Based on my (perhaps limited) understanding of where they get their data set, isn't it possible that the percentage of athletes interested in engineering be overrepresented by the source? I would imagine an online social network for recruiting student athletes would be just sort of thing that would skew towards people who had computer access and savvy? Wouldn't someone like the NCAA be a better place to derive this s…

While there might be a slight amount of skewing due to the fact that we're an online service, we have a very large data set relative to the population we're speaking about. Also, given the process of college admissions today, its fair to say that most people applying to college have access to a computer.

In addition, there is more than the NCAA, such as the NAIA and Junior Colleges. We take all that into account.

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#23
post #11

Sadly this seems unrealistic given the constraints placed on student athletes and the time consuming nature of engineering studies. It's really hard to find blocks of time to work on CS projects when you're spending 6+ hours a day outside of classes training for any given sport.

I was a CS major / D1 athlete and I'd have to say it's not entirely unrealistic -- while there is the dumb jock stereotype, a lot of college athletes have a pretty good work ethic due to a good training ethic. Though some end up with just a party ethic Just before my senior year, I was able to help co-found a startup as well (which is now 4 years running), while competing at a national level But yes, there were only…

That's awesome to hear. Would love to hear more about your experiences. We hear from student athletes all the time asking for advice on how to manage school and sport. Drop me a line at vish AT berecruited DOT com.

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#24
post #5

I can't tell if this is supposed to be surprisingly high or surprisingly low. Either way, it is worth pointing out (perhaps to the choir) that the stereotypes of dumb jocks and fat nerds are not realistic, if they ever were. Strong minds correlate with strong bodies. Which reminds me, I need to get back in my routine, and go out there and run today after work. :)

...it is worth pointing out (perhaps to the choir) that the stereotypes of dumb jocks and fat nerds are not realistic... Within a given college, it is likely to be realistic. Take U-Mich, for example (since they are the only school to reveal their point system) - being a student athlete is worth +1.0 on GPA. I.e., a student athlete with a 2.5 is on equal footing with a non-athlete having a 3.5. This means that the in…

"This means that the intellectual average of student athletes is highly likely to be lower than the average of non-athletes"

This applies to Michigan specifically. They are willing to make academic sacrifices for the sake of their athletic programs and (maybe) a well-rounded student body. Not all schools operate this way.

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My impression at a state university in the US was that CS was one of the least demanding majors in terms of time spent on coursework outside of class. Sadly I do not have any data about this.

Perhaps that is due to the curriculum at that particular university.

[deleted]

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#27
post #9
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calculus II is my guess.

I think it's the lack of basic algebra mastery in high school that makes college math so frustrating.

I'm 100% with you on that one. That was my biggest stumbling block in college, simply remembering basic algebra. The online resources were more effectual than my professors on teaching a subject.

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#28
post #13

Based on my (perhaps limited) understanding of where they get their data set, isn't it possible that the percentage of athletes interested in engineering be overrepresented by the source? I would imagine an online social network for recruiting student athletes would be just sort of thing that would skew towards people who had computer access and savvy? Wouldn't someone like the NCAA be a better place to derive this s…

While there might be a slight amount of skewing due to the fact that we're an online service, we have a very large data set relative to the population we're speaking about. Also, given the process of college admissions today, its fair to say that most people applying to college have access to a computer. In addition, there is more than the NCAA, such as the NAIA and Junior Colleges. We take all that into account.

Interesting. If I were interested in the current recruiting landscape for high school athletes, do you happen to know of any good survey or review-type sources? I'm curious about the context surrounding your company's service.

Re: 24% of High School Student Athletes Want to be Engineers, Scientists

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...it is worth pointing out (perhaps to the choir) that the stereotypes of dumb jocks and fat nerds are not realistic... Within a given college, it is likely to be realistic. Take U-Mich, for example (since they are the only school to reveal their point system) - being a student athlete is worth +1.0 on GPA. I.e., a student athlete with a 2.5 is on equal footing with a non-athlete having a 3.5. This means that the in…

"This means that the intellectual average of student athletes is highly likely to be lower than the average of non-athletes" This applies to Michigan specifically. They are willing to make academic sacrifices for the sake of their athletic programs and (maybe) a well-rounded student body. Not all schools operate this way.

Many schools do it. Michigan is the only one who's point system was made public. But you are right, there are some who don't do this.
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