Can a sport not played at college help me stand out?
Yes, absolutely! The highly selective colleges want their applicants to demonstrate passion, excellence and grit, so being good at a sport, even if the college does not play it will make you stand out in your application.
The colleges play a total of 45 NCAA and varsity sports for both men and women. The Summer Olympics offer 33 sports categories and the Winter Olympics offer 7 sports categories, totaling 80 sports for both men and and women. In addition, there are many more sports that are neither a part of the NCAA or the Olympics.
The universe of sports is huge, and there are likely many high school students who love a sport not played at the NCAA or varsity level, or are played by only a very small number of colleges.
While an athlete who plays a non-NCAA or varsity sport cannot be athlete recruited and leapfrog the admissions process, an athlete who excels in their chosen sport will still stand out in their college application.
Figure skating Olympic gold medalist, Nathan Chen attends Yale University, figure skating Olympic bronze medalist, Debi Thomas attended Stanford University, and freestyle skiing Olympic gold medalist, Eileen Gu will attend Stanford University in Fall 2022.
It is not only the Olympians who stood out and gained admission to the highly selective colleges, there are many more outstanding athletes in sports not played at the NCAA or varsity level who have gained admission through demonstration of passion, excellence and grit in the pursuit of sporting success at the national and international level.
Excellence in a NCAA or varsity sport that is played at only a small number of highly selective colleges can still make an applicant stand out to other colleges and help them in the admissions process. A top fencer who wants to attend the University of Chicago, for example, can still use his fencing excellence to stand out even though the University of Chicago does not have an NCAA fencing program.
What is most important is to follow your passion for the sport. Never start into a sport because you think it will help you get into college if you have no passion for it.
