What would you do if someone told you that you could gain admission to one of the top universities in the country even though your GPA was less than a 3.0? If you are a standout athlete, this could happen to you.

Being recruited to college for athletics may be an exciting and surreal experience for many high school athletes. Students all over the country each year coordinate with college coaches trying to secure an admissions ticket to the most prestigious and elite universities. Many recruitment coaches have the ability to admit athletes to their universities, often overlooking the athletes’ high school academic history and ability.

Although a great deal of these students have the athletic ability to play on a collegiate team, they have shown to be far below the average prospective applicant. When committing, these student athletes are unaware of the rigorous and high academic standards these schools demand.

Many of these athletes are being recruited to elite schools, such as UC Berkeley, UCLA and more. UC Berkeley has ranked among the lowest in athletic graduation rates.

According to the NCAA and SF Gate last October, “Cal football and men’s basketball – the primary revenue-producing sports – had the worst graduation performance of any major college program in the country. In addition, a new study by two Cal scholars suggests lenient admissions policies for athletes contributed to those substandard rates.”

I question whether or not this current practice is fair to both the athletes that gain admission, as well as those students that are accepted or rejected based solely on academic achievement. Regardless, there are still many athletes who embrace a new academic lifestyle when recruited, as well as recruited athletes who have already shown to be academically suitable for an elite university. These are the students that coaches need to acquire.

It is important for schools to have a range of diverse students with different academic abilities and skills. However, recruiting coordinators must select recruits based on academic standards that are closer within range of the university. This change in criteria for recruiting will benefit the student as well as the university and programs. It will also level out the playing field for applicants who have had to work extremely hard to gain admittance through their own achievement and dedication.