Is Being A Varsity Athlete Worth It?
I am an upcoming sophomore who is going to recruit for IB and go to a small school in New England, think Middlebury/Colby/Babson/Tufts and am a two sport varsity athlete and am trying to decide whether I should quit or not to fully focus on recruiting. I have made pretty strong progress so far but don’t know whether the pros of doing a sport outweigh the cons and how much it actually helps in recruiting.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, being a varsity athlete can provide significant advantages in investment banking (IB) recruiting, especially at small liberal arts colleges (LACs) like Middlebury, Colby, Babson, or Tufts. Here's what you need to consider:
Pros of Being a Varsity Athlete:
Cons of Being a Varsity Athlete:
Key Considerations:
Ultimately, the decision depends on your ability to manage both commitments and how much value you believe athletics adds to your personal story and recruiting profile. If you can maintain strong academics and progress in recruiting while being an athlete, it could be a significant asset. However, if the time commitment is too overwhelming, stepping away to focus on recruiting might be the better choice.
Sources: Going to Amherst College next year... why are all the LinkedIn IB profiles former athletes????, Comparison of College Athletes to Investment Banking, Q&A: International Student Full-Time IB Recruiting - Class of 2020, UVA Undergrad for IB Recruiting, [Very Long Post] Stepping Off the IB Train
Do not quit sports.
Second this. Enjoy sports while you can!
Nice try, Tony
hurts my heart that some people won't understand this... the spirit of Junior lives on
The kids these days are too young to know what it's like to eat grilled cheese off a radiator
He’s here for the rent, the rent!
nice try, gabagool
What is the point of obfuscating, think hiding/obscuring, your school, think college/university/uni, by saying “small school in New England, think Middlebury/Colby/Babson/Tufts” if your name is “Babson Student”?
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At the D3 level, it comes down to how much you love your sport. I was a D3 athlete, and it opened so many doors for me. It teaches you discipline, teamwork, how to multitask and be a hard worker and grind and be results oriented, which are all things you want out of an analyst. I had so much fun being an athlete, made a ton of friends, and had a fantastic college experience.
However, if you don’t love the sport, it’s not worth it at the D3 level. There’s nothing glamorous about being an athlete at the D3 level, you spend every weekend in season on a bus going to some other small random D3 school, you spend your in season breaks practicing instead of seeing your family or going on vacation, and “sorry, I have practice” is your go to phase for missing every social event.
If you’re considering being an athlete, would recommend trying it out, if it doesn’t work, you can always quit - it’s easier to get off the team than get on. Make sure you love the school without being an athlete, your life can change and you never want to be in a position where you’re stuck being miserable without athletics (career ending injury, academic probation, scandals etc). At some of the smaller schools, a significant portion of the students are athletes, so would also take that into consideration (can be as high 50%)
All true. I owe my current role to a strong relationship with a D3 teammate. However, it was a huge time and energy suck. if you do year-round sports, waking up 530/6am every day (including weekends!) and getting smoked will see you crawling into bed at 9/10am when everyone else is waking up and going to the library to study on sat/sun. Social clubs may go easier on you, but it will feel like burning a candle at both ends. I was a year-round athlete and in a social fraternity, could've done way better in networking and studying had I just hung up the jersey. The time & energy investment is huge.
Professors will sometimes go easier on you but don't count on it. ex. I couldn't stay awake freshman year for an 8am comms class and made an effort to sit in the front to try and keep myself awake, the professor was livid, thinking I sat in front to drowse on purpose until we talked and he learned it was due to sports, he then started handing out caffeine mints to the class every morning and was more gentle in his efforts to wake me. If you don't tell professors why you are behaving a certain way, they will assume the worst. Best to make an effort to talk to them about challenges in your schedule that may impact your work, sports or otherwise.
Congrats on Babson
commit to 2 years and see what happens. thats what i did, though injuries, kinda made the decision for me too. it was good to experience athlete and "civilian" life in equal doses. Purely focusing on school, recruiting, and boozing was really fun in measured doses. Not sure i would have enjoyed all 4 years of it though.
Source: 2 years of D1 of major sport
Recruiting from those types of schools heavily skews towards athletes anyway, you're putting yourself as a disadvantage by quitting both teams. Quit the less connected one or whatever.
extremely valid point for these NESCAC type schools. in my case, i replaced sport with leadership positions in clubs and student government. i was able to tell a story and dont feel like quitting hurt me. my 4 year former teammates certainly didnt see any major advantage by sticking with it. exceptions might be a very involved booster, looking to take care of athletes from a specific program maybe...
It certainly helps in recruiting. If I interview you, I'll already be inclined to give you a shot. I might even be biased towards you. The correlation between student athletes and top performers in finance is one of the strongest - more so than achieving high grades at university.
Reflects not just own experience in IBD for >10 years but Francisco Partners did a comprehensive internal assessment on this. The grit, determination, discipline and teamwork skills that come as a byproduct, if not a necessary condition, to do well in sport, sets you up well for succeeding in finance.
My summer intern never had the makings of a varsity athlete
Makes no sense to quit for recruiting reasons… at any of those schools being an athlete will give you a significant boost in recruiting
This may be one of the hottest takes I’ve ever seen: “Should I quit sports for IB”. The fact you would even consider throwing away four years of the best memories and times of your life…I would suggest pumping your breaks a little and enjoy college
I would maybe quit one sport if it is really draining your time/you don't like the team culture. But most of my best hires have been ex-athletes (football, swimming, wrestling, and even a gymnast).
After being forced to quit sports (nothing to do with recruiting/finance or anything related), there is almost nothing I wouldn't do to get back on the field. Simplest answer to your question from my POV is that you can sit at a desk and build models until your 80, but you likely won't ever get a chance to be competitive in your sport again.
Ask almost anyone that was dedicated to a sport and I would be willing to bet their advice would follow suit.
Congrats on Babson
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