Question: What’s the current minimum number required to meet the Ivy League Academic Index (AI)?
Answer: 184
AI calculations are different this year as a result of the pandemic and optional test scores, so this may change again when (if?) things get back to normal. Still, it’s good to know what the minimum is, even if the calculations are more convoluted than ever.
Question: Given that the Ivy League is test-optional for applicants this year, is the league still requiring test scores for athletes as part of the Academic Index?
Answer: No, they are not required for athletes as part of the AI.
On the surface, this appears to make it easier for some students to be admitted who wouldn’t have been admitted if a test score were required. (The case for removing what is generally perceived as a socio-economic barrier.) There’s certainly some truth to that. However, as a result of removing the test scores, transcripts, classes, etc. are getting closer scrutiny, so the reverse could also be true. While meeting the AI minimum was never an automatic pass, if you hit the numbers, your chances were very, very good. You didn’t have much else to prove. Without the test score, it seems to be more subjective. Therefore, it’s possible that it won’t be any easier, and may even be harder, for athletes, especially low band, borderline ones, to be admitted.
Bonus Question: If you have a test score, can your AI be calculated using the test score? In other words, can it be calculated the old way?
Answer: Yes, and the higher of the two AI calculations (with and without the test score) will be used to make the determination.
Question: What were the %s (approximate) of college and HS baseball players taken in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft this year?
Answer: 75% college, 25% HS
Bonus Questions: What were the %s (approximate) 10 years ago? 20 years ago?
Answers: 65% College, 35% HS; 50% college, 50% HS
What’s driving this? Statistical analysis (Moneyball) and $.
Here’s a link to a good Baseball America article containing that data and more.
True or False? Student loan amounts of under $10,000 are more likely to be paid off than those over $10,000.
Answer: False. Although it would seem that the lower amount would be easier to pay off, there are other factors involved.
Here’s the link to the complete Washington Post article on student debt. The section titled Myth #2 contains the information used in this quiz.
Question 1: What percentage of the US population is African-American?
Answer: 13% (Approximately)
Question 2: What percentage is Hispanic or Latino?
Answer: 18% (Approximately)
Bonus Question: What percentage of the US population knows the answers to both questions, or can even come close with a guess?
Answer: 10% (Approximately)
Given all the discussion about race in this country, this last answer is a shocking number. Only one out of 10 can come close to accurately guessing the correct answer. If we don’t know this basic information, how are we going to have some of the intelligent conversation about race in this country.
Numbers from 2010 US census.
(Please don’t quibble with me on the year, or variations in the numbers. The point is much bigger than that.)
Question: What was the median family income of Yale College students in 2016? (This is presumably similar for most Ivy League schools.)
Answer: $193,000
The Patriot League has an academic index (a minimum academic requirement) that athletes must meet to be admissible and eligible to compete. Army West Point and the Naval Academy have fairly unique admissions processes that are much more involved/stringent/difficult than the rest of the Patriot League.
Question: Do Army West Point and Naval Academy athletes still have to meet the Patriot League Academic Index, or is admission to the Academy enough?
Answer: Yes. It’s possible to be admitted to the Academy and NOT be eligible to compete in Patriot League sports, although that would be a rare occurrence.
Bonus question: Do athletes have to meet the AI even if they come through the Academy prep schools?
Answer: Yes, there’s no difference between being admitted directly to the Academy vs entering through the prep school.
Question: What % of all men’s basketball players who enter Division I directly out of high school depart their initial school by the end of their sophomore year?
Answer: 40%
Here’s the link to the complete article on the NCAA website.
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/tracking-transfer-division-i-men-s-basketball
True or False: The Ivy League allows athletic redshirting.
False: The Ivy League does not allow redshirting, ever for injuries.
The NCAA uses a sliding scale to determine D1 eligibility and will be using one in the future to determine D2 eligibility. Today’s quiz regarding these eligibility requirements has two parts.
Part 1
Question: What year do the new eligibility rules go into effect for D1 basketball?
Answer: For students entering college beginning in August of 2016
Part 2
Question: What year do the new eligibility rules go into effect for D2 basketball?
Answer: For students entering college beginning in August of 2018