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What Is a Personal Statement? NCSA Personal Statement Examples

A personal statement is your chance to show college coaches who you are outside of your academic and athletic life. It provides an opportunity to showcase your character, extracurricular activities, and anything else you would want a coach to know about you that they can’t get from stats or video. 

As a student-athlete, you should include your personal statement in your NCSA athletic profile. You can also use the information from your personal statement to help formulate introduction letters or emails to college coaches . 

4 Steps to Writing a Personal Statement

Step 1: be yourself..

When writing your personal statement, be honest and be personal. This is something to keep at the forefront of your mind as you write and revise the statement.  

There is no need to write this like an academic paper; instead, tell everything you want your recruiter to know about you. Don’t be ashamed to “boast” your achievements. At the same time, share your passions and what motivates you when it comes to your college future.  

Be specific.

Being specific in your personal statement means answering questions like “So what?” and “Why me?” when describing what you bring to your dream college team. This includes:  

• Awards and accolades  
• Academics (beyond what is displayed on your athletic profile) 
• Experiences, hardships, and lessons learned 
• Motivations 
• Future goals 
• Leadership roles 

When writing your personal statement, use these questions as a guideline, but make sure your personal statement is unique to you. It should highlight what is impressive about you and your life, such as: 

• What details of your life have influenced who you are? 
• When and how did you become interested in your sport? 
• What have you learned about yourself through playing your sport? 
• What are your academic goals for high school? For college? 
• Have you had to overcome any obstacles to get where you are? 
• What unique characteristics or skills do you possess? 

Step 3: Edit and proofread for spelling and grammar.

Once the first draft of your personal statement is written, review it and focus on: 

• Spelling and grammatical errors  
• Specificity    
• Relevancy    
• Clarity with simple, concise language  
• Active voice (rather than passive voice)    

Then, read the essay aloud to help catch additional mistakes and hear how the writing flows to identify areas of improvement. If you have family or friends who can proofread your personal statement, that will only make it better. This is your chance to shine and make a good impression on a college coach, so give your full effort.  

Step 4: Rework your opening sentence.

Lastly, make sure to work on and rework your opening sentence to grab the reader’s attention. It should be personal to you, not using any clichés or quotes. This is arguably the most important part of the statement! 

NCSA Personal Statement Examples

Seeking some inspiration for your NCSA personal statement? Review the two examples below from real student-athletes. What makes these statements flourish is that they do not simply repeat the baseline information in the players’ applications and athletic profiles. 

Personal Statement for Women’s Basketball

Here is a personal statement from basketball player Laura Marx , hailing from Menomonee Falls, WI. 

What did Laura do well here? For one, she provides plenty of specificity with detail on the exact basketball skills she brings to a team followed by her involvement in other sports clubs. This underscores her dedication to the sport.  

Throughout the essay, her statements are clear and concise, staying on-topic to her personal passions and accomplishments.  

Additionally, she emphasizes her involvement in academic organizations and the community, tying it all together with her desire to thrive both on the court and in the classroom.  

Personal Statement for Men’s Football

Check out this personal statement from football player Cormac Shanoff of Little Falls, MN.

This personal statement begins strong by sharing his involvement in two other sports aside from football. This helps highlight his dedication and well-roundedness as an athlete.  

He does an especially excellent job at keeping the statement truly personal, with the first section displaying a sense of authenticity and vulnerability. Cormac highlights life lessons he has learned from playing on a team, such as the importance of teamwork and camaraderie.  

However, he doesn’t forget to be specific by addressing his sports awards, leadership skills, and academic goals.  

FAQs about personal statements

How long should a personal statement be .

As a very general rule of thumb, the word count range for a personal statement is about 500 to 650 words. Ultimately, this depends on the specific requirements provided the university—so, pay attention to your application instructions.  

For college sports, a personal statement length requirement might range anywhere from 200 to 650 words, for instance. 

Does a personal statement matter? 

Including a personal statement with your application is always a good idea, particularly if it’s a college you would really like to attend. If coaches are between two applications, a strong, well-written personal statement will help set you apart.  

For student-athletes, meeting the college’s athletic standards is only the first step. Studies have shown that coaches place high importance on athletes’ character and coachability over pure athletic ability. Thus, demonstrating humility, patience, and willingness to learn is key when you are trying to stand out. 

Get Recruited with more NCSA resources

Now that you’ve got a grasp on writing a sports-centric personal statement for college coaches, check out our College Recruiting Guide for more about the recruiting process. 

If you’re ready to build a free online athletic recruiting profile (including a personal statement) to tell coaches who you are, join NCSA College Recruiting today ! 

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Ncsa: tips for your college personal essay, share this article.

USA TODAY High School Sports has a weekly column on the college recruiting process. Here, you’ll find practical tips and real-world advice on becoming a better recruit to maximize your opportunities and play at the college level. Joe is a former college athlete and coach at the NAIA level, where he earned an NAIA National Championship. Joe is just one of many former college and professional players, college coaches and parents who are part of the  Next College Student Athlete team. Their knowledge, experience and dedication, along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community, have made NCSA the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.

Admission into college can be an overwhelming process, particularly when it comes to writing your first personal essay. As a student-athlete, in addition to developing your sport skills, you should start thinking about your academic eligibility when you begin freshman year to ensure that you’re eligible for the schools on your target list. No matter your athletic skills, college coaches usually won’t recruit students who they believe aren’t qualified academically for their schools.

Academic Eligibility Requirements for Student-Athletes

Since your courses, grades, and standardized test scores are set factors in your application process, you may want to view your personal essay as an opening to tell your story, display your interests, talents and motivations. The tips below will help you prepare and write an essay that might land you in your dream college.

• Choose the right essay topic. Since there are no restrictions, take your time to choose a topic you are passionate about—one which you can explore extensively. Ideally, pick a topic that highlights aspects about yourself that make you a great addition to a team’s roster.
• Be concise. Be sure to follow guidelines provided for the length of the essay.
• Be honest and use your voice. Genuine work is easily detected. Your essay is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from other applicants with similar tests scores and GPAs, so it’s important to be original and authentic, rather than relying on generic or overused ideas.
• Avoid grammatical errors and weak sentence structures. An essay filled with misspellings, poorly placed words and irrelevant clauses will stand out for the wrong reasons. The admissions board might perceive you as careless.

Application deadlines and processes

Write an essay that shows your character

NCSA’s 2019 State of Recruiting report examined major themes in college athletic recruiting based on results of a national survey to student-athletes, parents, club coaches, high school coaches, and college coaches.

One of the survey’s key findings was that college coaches value a recruit’s character more than athletic ability. While colleges typically only reach out to student-athletes who meet their athletic standards, coaches want to make sure they clear the character test before making an offer. By using your personal essay to showcase your character (things like leadership, values, work ethic, overcoming adversity, respect, and honesty), you can set yourself apart from other potential recruits.

While college coaches aren’t directly involved in the overall college admissions process, writing your personal essay with the coach perspective in mind can be great practice for thinking about and learning how to express your best qualities, and that can help boost your confidence in conversations with coaches.

2019 NCSA State of Recruiting Report

Keep in mind to work closely with your college counselor. Should you decide to tell a sports story in your college essay, let it be something powerful to grab the attention of the college’s admissions committee. Writing an impressive essay won’t occur overnight. Therefore, you might need to write several college essay drafts until you finally craft the message that best represents you as a potential student-athlete. Closely review the application instructions for schools you’ll apply to – at some schools, you may be able to submit a video instead of a written essay.

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Personal Statement: What Should a Student-Athlete Write about?

Your personal statement is an important component of your college application. As a student-athlete, you have a unique story to tell. The personal statement is your opportunity to share it with admissions committees

Your personal statement is an important component of your college application. As a student-athlete, you have a unique story to tell. The personal statement is your opportunity to share it with admissions committees. So what should you write about? Here are some tips…

Think about why you want to play the sport in college

Writing a college essay can be intimidating. But if you think about why you want to play your sport in college, it can help jumpstart the writing process. Is it the competition or the camaraderie? Do you like pushing yourself to reach higher goals? Do you want to honor an influential coach? Maybe it’s the thrill of trying something new and challenge yourself along the way?

Everyone has different reasons as to why they want to be student-athletes. So everyone should take some time to acknowledge what those reasons are. Doing so even just in an internal dialogue will provide insight into who you are as a person. It will help guide your process when writing your personal statement.

What kind of person you are on and off the field/court?

Being a student-athlete is more than just hours of practice and rigorous physical training. It requires a steadfast individual, purposeful in their actions, and disciplined in their habits both on and off the field or court. Writing your personal statement gives you the opportunity to showcase your talents and skills. It also helps you tell a story of who you are outside of sports.

Reflect on yourself in regards to your passions, values, strengths, and experiences. If there is something special that sets you apart from other athletes, now is your chance to demonstrate why they need to know it! Use this as an opportunity to present yourself honestly! This will allow coaches and scouts get an authentic glimpse into the person you are, living both on and off the court or field.

Professional help with personal statement

When it comes to a college essay, student-athletes may find themselves writing about the adversities they have faced. They can write about those obstacles that have prepared them for the rigorous demands of college life. It may seem daunting, but there’s no need to face this task alone – a professional personal statement writing service is available to lend a helping hand. This service can provide invaluable support as student-athletes explore their unique perspectives and experiences on paper. They offer professional insight and advice that takes into account their individual needs and goals. Ultimately, with professional assistance, the lengthy task of crafting an engaging representation of one’s values and background will be greatly simplified.

Think about a time when you had to overcome a challenge

Writing about overcoming a challenge can be an effective way to stand out in a college application. Doing so demonstrates your resilience, determination, and creative problem-solving skills. This is what college admissions officers like to see in prospective students. Reflecting on a challenging formative experience can also reveal important insights into your character. It can also teach you how you respond to obstacles.

As you think back to this experience from your past, determine how it shaped you as a student athlete. Consider how that particular growth will make you endure as an individual during college. Did the challenge lead to success? How did it affect the choices you’ve made since then? Explore these questions in your essay for college! It will add depth and help the readers understand who you are as an applicant beyond scores and grades.

What makes you different from other athletes

Every college-bound student-athlete has their own unique set of experiences and qualities. This make them stand out amongst their peers. As you craft your personal statement when applying to colleges, it’s important to focus on how those special qualities differentiate you from others. Consider not just the things that you do well like athleticism and academics , but also life lessons and emotional strength. Again, how have these shaped who you are? By bringing forward your individual experiences, both in athletics and life beyond sports, you can demonstrate what makes you an exceptional student-athlete.

Why the school you’re interested in is a good fit for you

Here’s an example of what you could expand on.

When thinking about a particular school, I consider its academic, athletic, and social environment. Academically, the institution I’m interested in has the course structure and challenging standards I am looking for. It’s got a high-quality faculty and diverse student body, it offers options to appeal to my interests both in and out of the classroom.

On the athletic side of things, this school’s history of excellence makes me confident that joining would give me every opportunity to succeed. And finally, when it comes to social life I see clear evidence that there is an active campus community. It focuses on cultivating meaningful relationships between its members. All these aspects together make up why this school seems like an optimal environment for me both on and off the field.

In conclusion, as a student-athlete, writing a personal statement can be an essential piece of your college process. Take the time to reflect on why you want to play the sport in college. What kind of person you are on and off the field? How you’ve handled adversity in your life? Think about a time when you had to overcome a challenge.

What makes you different from other athletes who are also trying to get recruited? Why that school is a good fit for you academically, athletically and socially? Writing about this topic helps admissions officers learn more about who you are. It also provides yourself an opportunity for self-reflection. So don’t be afraid to dig deep into your experiences. Good luck!

Cory Shilling

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Sport science personal statement example.

I have always been an athlete, however, over the past two years I have; through discipline and dedication, transformed from a varsity long distance runner to an advanced powerlifter. One of the rewarding parts of this lifestyle is looking back to see how far I've come. Fellow athletes at my home gym and when I've traveled overseas to visit family have asked frequently for advice and help with their training. Feedback I have received from professionals and fitness enthusiasts has been very positive and congratulatory. Through years of experience and independent research in the field of sport and exercise science, I am immensely fascinated and driven to learn as much as I can to help others experience the incredible effects of this lifestyle. I am excited to expand my knowledge in this subject. I hope to attain the skills needed to work professionally in this area with other likeminded individuals and disciplined athletes.

Fitness has been a great interest since I was a young child. I believe that there are endless benefits that come from this lifestyle, and always encourage others to discover them as I have. I take fitness and health very seriously. While being captain of the varsity girls cross country team in high school I studied exercise physiology; a course designed to follow the curriculum of the American Council of Exercise. I am currently enrolled in the ACE PT Course and intend to take the certification exam this spring.

I have been modeling and promoting fitness regimes for over five years and also trained extensively as a competitive dressage rider. I am skilled in designing individual training programs and have done so for myself, friends and family. I have also made an extensive study of nutrition throughout my life currently focussing on diet plans that support workout programs based on an individual’s goals, strengths and challenges. I have been told by many members of the wellness facility I currently work in that I am an inspiration due to my enthusiasm, commitment and discipline.

My father was born in London and grew up in East Sussex before moving to America, where I was born. Nearly every year since I was born my parents and I would visit family in England. Having been raised in a British household and visited frequently, I have always felt at home when traveling overseas. I have grown up loving the culture in England and never wanting to leave at the end of a visit. After researching a variety of universities in the UK and discovering different opportunities for international students, I knew this was the path I wanted to pursue. It is my dream to study sport science and exercise in England, both a subject and a country that I am in love with completely.

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There is no profile associated with this personal statement, as the writer has requested to remain anonymous.

Author's Comments

This is a draft, currently under construction. I am an American born, and British raised athlete. Passionate about and committed to the lifestyle of fitness and healthy living. Would love to see what others think of my personal statement as I have never written one for UK universities.

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Personal Statement - Example No. 2

Class of 2005.

For anyone who has ever been passionate about being the best at something, whether it is athletics, music, art, theatre or any number of other endeavors, it is painful to come face to face with someone who is more talented. I have lived this experience in college basketball.

While never a great athlete, I enjoyed a fair amount of success as a high school basketball player, mostly because I am 6’8” tall. During my junior and senior seasons my high school basketball team tallied a record of 44-13 and made it to the regional championship twice. At the end of my senior season I was named First-Team All Conference, as well as named to the All-Area Team. Needless to say, as my senior season came to a close, I was incredibly excited about how my collegiate basketball career might unfold. In addition to receiving offers from several small NCAA Division I universities, I was heavily recruited by a number of NAIA, NCAA Division II and Division III colleges. In the end, I was lured by an athletic scholarship to Westmont College, a small liberal arts college in California. Soon after arriving at school, I realized that, despite the financial blessing of an athletic scholarship, Westmont College was not for me. I craved a more competitive academic environment that would challenge me as both a person and a student.

As I considered which schools would best fulfill both my academic and athletic interests, I turned to Wheaton College, just several miles from where I grew up. Wheaton College, which is known for its rigorous academic program, also has a strong Division III sports program. It was exactly what I was looking for. In addition, Wheaton College’s starting center had just suffered a severe knee injury and had decided to quit basketball indefinitely. I made up my mind; I would attend Wheaton College.

When I met with the Wheaton College coaching staff at the end of my freshman year, I was told that I would be the starting center for the Wheaton College basketball team the following season. That summer I took a job in the Wheaton College athletic facility so that I could train everyday after work. Over the course of those summer months, I spent countless hours lifting weights, playing pick-up basketball games, and running on the track. By mid-August, I was in the best physical condition of my life and ready to start the basketball season. Then something happened that would greatly affect my life for the next two years.

I was busy cleaning one of the treadmills in the gym when I glanced up to see a very familiar person walking into the building. It was Tim, the starting center, who a year earlier had decided to quit basketball because of degenerative cartilage in his knees. Over the summer he had lost twenty pounds, had both knees surgically repaired, and was taking anti-inflammatory pain medication daily. To my chagrin he had decided that he was not ready to give up basketball and wanted to play the following season.

At first I was disappointed. Had all of my hard work been for nothing? The news of Tim’s return caused me to enter the season with a great deal of uncertainty. However, as we began our pre-season practices, I was encouraged by how much I had improved over the summer. My hard work had paid off, and I believed I had a good chance of competing with Tim for the starting position. I was wrong. I was never given the opportunity to challenge Tim for the starting center position. From day one I was relegated to the reserve team. I was crushed. Because of Tim’s damaged knees, he was unable to practice for more than twenty minutes each day. While I practiced three hours each day, Tim took the floor for the last twenty minutes of each practice for the scrimmage time. It was very difficult to make the huge investment of time every practice only to have a teammate start every game though he never practiced. Yet, Tim’s talent was undeniable. During our season opening tournament, Tim averaged twenty points and ten rebounds per game. The rest of the season continued in much the same fashion. While I practiced three hours a day, six days a week, Tim continued to receive the public recognition during the games. By season’s end Tim had averaged twenty-one points and eleven rebounds per game and was named First Team Division III All-American. He was the best NCAA Division III center in the entire country! I, on the other hand, had averaged twelve minutes per game and had point and rebound averages that could be counted on one hand.

As the following season began I considered quitting basketball altogether. Was I ready to spend another season practicing three hours each day, only to watch someone else receive all of the glory? In the end, I elected to play, and during the first several weeks of my junior season something very interesting happened. I realized that I enjoyed playing the game of basketball, not because of the rewards associated with starting, or because of the accolades or trophies, but rather because I loved to compete, to prepare, and to work with others in a team-oriented environment. I still deeply desired to play more minutes during the games, but now it was less important to me. While I was learning these important life lessons, Tim again received First Team All-American accolades.

Tim graduated this past spring. I will likely be the starting center for the Wheaton College men’s basketball team this season. However, the honor of starting for the basketball team is not nearly as important to me as it once was. More than the honor of awards and the glory of personal recognition, I can now appreciate what basketball has taught me about myself. I have learned that I crave competitive environments, even ones where I am not the most gifted or talented. My basketball experience has also taught me to enjoy intense preparation and working with a team toward a common goal, even when there is little personal reward or recognition to be found. I have also learned to remain persistent amid disappointments. I hope to apply these lessons in a career as a litigator in a corporate law firm. The intense preparation required for trial, the need to work as a team toward a common goal, and the ability to perform all of these tasks without seeking personal glory are all lessons that I have learned on the basketball court over the past three seasons. These are lessons that I want to apply to my life and to my eventual career in law.

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Sports Science Personal Statements to Inspire You

Table of Contents

Aspiring sports scientists can learn a lot from reading through the personal statements of successful applicants to graduate programs in sports science. This article collects some of the best samples and offers advice on how to write your own statement. So, if you need an example of a good  personal statement about sports , this is the article for you.

How to Craft a Good Personal Statement About Sports

The personal statement might be the most important document you submit as an applicant to a graduate program in sports science. This document is your opportunity to introduce yourself, explain why you want to study sports science , and share your experiences and qualifications. A strong personal statement can make the difference between being accepted into a program or not.

Understand What the Admissions Committee Wants

The first step in writing a good personal statement is understanding what the admission committee is looking for. Most committees are interested in learning about your academic background, research experience, and professional goals. In addition, they want to know how studying sports science will help you achieve these goals. It’s also helpful to discuss any relevant volunteer or work experience you have with sports-related organizations. 

Explain Your Passion for Sports Science

When drafting your statement, be sure to focus on explaining why you are passionate about studying sports science. You should be able to convince them that you are passionate about sports science. If you’ve done something related to sports before, indicate it.

Highlight Your Skills

Highlight any unique sports-related skills or experiences that make you stand out from other applicants. Be specific when describing how your previous academic training and/or work has prepared you for pursuing a career in this field. Finally, it’s imperative that you conclude your personal statement by demonstrating your commitment to completing the program. Discuss what you plan to research when you enroll.

Examples of Personal Statements About Sports

Read through the examples here to find a great personal statement about sports you can use.

As a university student, I am in the middle of my life’s journey. Each year is packed with new opportunities and challenges. This year, I have decided to explore the field of sports science. 

Sports science has always been an area of interest for me because it intersects both my academic and athletic interests. In particular, I find biomechanics fascinating; understanding how our bodies move and how we can improve performance fascinates me. Furthermore, as someone who loves being active, studying sports psychology intrigues me. Learning about what motivates athletes and helping them achieve their goals is definitely something that appeals to me.

As I begin my fourth year of university, I am confident that the time has come for me to declare a major. After much deliberation, I have decided that sports science is the best fit for me. This career path will allow me to merge my two favorite things: sports and science. 

Since I was young, I have been interested in both athletics and understanding how the body works. Sports science encompasses all aspects of athletic performance, from biomechanics to physiology to nutrition. By pursuing this major, I will be able to work with athletes and also help regular people stay healthy and active throughout their lives. 

I believe that universities offer an excellent opportunity for students to explore different majors before deciding on what they want to do. As someone who loves change and new experiences, declaring this major was one of the easiest decisions that I have made thus far.

Personal statements allow you to put yourself out there and explain what you can do . How you write your personal statement is ultimately your decision, just as long as it relates to sports. For example, you may want to cite your baseball skills and show how they relate to science. In another instance, you may choose to highlight your strong leadership skills.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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College Admissions

Are you hoping to be a college athlete, either as a recruit , walk on, or just as someone who is particularly talented at a sport and thinks that'll be what makes you stand out to colleges? If athletics has dominated your high school years, you may be wondering how you can translate that skill and dedication towards a strong college application. That's where we come in! I n this in-depth guide on how to get into college as an athlete, we'll explain how you can create a strong athletic "spike" that'll showcase your athletic abilities, impress college admissions teams, and show that you're a top-notch applicant who they want at their school.

What Do Colleges Look for in Applicants?

There are lots of misconceptions around what it takes to get into college, especially as an athlete. Some people think your grades don't matter if you're hoping to be a recruited athlete, some think your sports don't matter to colleges if you're not a recruit, and some don't fully understand the difference in college admissions between a recruited athlete and a high school student who is simply very committed to their sport. Many people think you need to excel in a lot of areas in order to show schools that you have a lot of different skills. However, for many top programs, being well-rounded can actually put you at a disadvantage. 

What the most competitive schools want to see is that you're highly-skilled in a specific area. So, instead of being pretty good in all your classes, being in a club or two, playing a sport at perhaps a JV level, doing some volunteer work, competing in some sports tournaments, etc. you'll be a much stronger art candidate if you can clearly show your talent for athletics. Having a strong focus in a single area is what we call a "spike." We go into spikes more in this article , but, basically, a spike is where you focus your talents in one area so that you become exceptional in it, rather than be "pretty good" in a bunch of different areas.

So, if your spike is athletics, you want as many parts of your application to relate back to your sport as possible. Why is the spike approach better? Think about some famous athletes. How well did Michael Phelps do on his SAT? Did Serena Williams play an instrument in her high school marching band? What grade did Tom Brady get in Algebra II? You don't know, right? That's because you and everyone else are primarily concerned with how well these athletes compete . If they're winning games, it doesn't matter if they weren't in the National Honor Society, you'll still love them, and if they're losing, knowing they completed a lot of high school volunteer hours won't ease the sting.

If you're trying to get into college as an athlete, schools are primarily interested in your athletic abilities. You still need to prove you can handle college-level coursework, but schools won't care about "filler" activities like a couple hours helping out at an animal shelter, a passing interest in guitar playing, or being treasurer of your school's finance club. They want to see a strong athletic spike.

What constitutes an athletic spike? If you're being considered for recruitment, or if you're ranked at least at the state level, that's enough for the start of a strong spike. If you're not ranked but are team captain and heavily involved in the sport, that also has the potential to be an athletic spike. We discuss both options more throughout the article.

How Can You Impress Colleges as an Athlete?

Below, we break down how to make each key part of your athletic spike as strong as possible throughout your application. We go over:

Test Scores

Extracurriculars, personal statements.

• Letter of Recommendation

For each, we give concrete goals to aim for, as well as general qualities your application should have throughout. In general, remember that you want your athletic talents to be most prominent, but you don't want to slack in other areas to make schools doubt you can handle college classes.

Even if you're a star athlete, you'll struggle to get admitted into colleges if schools don't think you'd pass their classes. This means you need to take your high school classes seriously and do well enough in them to show you can handle college-level material.

We recommend choosing a subject area to focus on, such as science or history. Ideally, this focus will tie into your future career (so if you want to study medicine, you'd focus on science, or if you wanted to go into journalism, you'd focus on English classes), but if you don't know what you want to study, choose your focus based on the classes that interest you most/that you do best in. Your academic focus should be where you take the most challenging classes (including honors and AP), and, ideally, where your grades are highest. Think of it as a mini academic spike in addition to your athletic spike.

So, if your spike is in science, you'd want to take math and science classes at a more challenging level and aim for the highest grades in those classes. That doesn't mean you can slack off on your classes in other subject areas, but you don't need to take them at as advanced a level if it would be too much for your schedule. Athletes often have limited time after school, and having this academic focus can help you prioritize that time instead of trying to cram in a bunch of difficult classes which could impact your athletics if you're too tired/stressed.

For all your classes, we recommend taking the most difficult level of a class you can while still getting a "B" or higher in the class. So taking AP Physics isn't worth it if you think you'd get a C or D in the class; it's better to take it at the honors or regular level in that case. Again, if you're struggling to know which honors or AP classes to take, choose those in your academic focus first.

As to the GPA you should aim for, it depends on the schools you're applying to. If you're planning on being a recruited athlete, you should aim for just below a school's median GPA for admitted students. So, if you're applying to a school with an average weighted GPA of 3.5, you'd want your own GPA to be about a 2.8. You can multiply the school median by 0.8 to get a GPA to aim for.

If you're not a recruited athlete, you'll want to aim for at least the average GPA for admitted students, and ideally the 75th percentile. So, for example, if you're applying to Purdue University , the 75th percentile of weighted GPA for admitted students is a 3.9. That's a great goal to aim for. If you're concerned about your GPA, check out our guide on raising your high school GPA .

Some people think that recruited athletes don't need to worry about test scores, but, just as with classes, you need to prove to schools that you'll do well as a student there. If you are aiming to be recruited and/or have otherwise very impressive sports credentials, you can aim a little lower than other applicants. For example, if you're applying to a school with a median SAT of 1540, achieving a 1500 will put you in a great spot.

If you're planning on being an NCAA athlete, it's also important, for both your GPA and your test scores, that you meet NCAA SAT score or ACT score requirements .

If you're not aiming to be a recruited athlete, and you don't have a national or international ranking in your sport, you'll have the same SAT score goals as other applicants. Read our guides to setting SAT and ACT goal scores to come up with more precise score estimates. We recommend aiming for the 75th percentile for admitted students. So, for example, if you want to attend Purdue University , their 75th percentiles are a 1420 for the SAT and a 33 for the ACT. You'd set one of those as your goal (depending on which test you're taking) to aim for. Of course plenty of students are admitted with lower test scores than that (a full half of the freshman class, actually), but it's a good goal to have to give you the best chance of being admitted.

If you're concerned about your test scores, know that it's possible to make a significant jump in your score if you study. Check out our guides on raising your SAT or ACT scores for more information.

This is where you get to discuss your sport! Extracurriculars is the area that really allows applicants to stand out from the pack, and this is especially true for students with athletic spikes. When adding your sport(s) to your application, here are some tips:

• Include any awards/titles you've won.
• This is often what can help you stand out, especially if you're ranked at a state level or above. This can also include stats you're particularly proud of.
• Include the number of hours you commit to the sport per week. 
• This includes anything related to the sport like training. Your sport likely takes up quite a bit of your time, so be sure colleges see the time and effort you're dedicating to it. It'll show you have a real passion for the sport and aren't afraid of hard work.
• Include any leadership roles or responsibilities.
• Colleges love to see leadership experience. If you were team captain, organized a new training schedule, began a mentoring program for new athletes, etc. be sure to include it! Anything where you took charge is fair game.
• Include any camps or intensive programs you participated in.
• Mention the hours you spent at these as well. These are another way to show you're committed to your sport and have the ability to stick with something.

Non-Sport Extracurriculars

A common pitfall students fall into is thinking they need to show a diverse and broad array of extracurriculars. Don't fall for this! Remember, your goal is to make your athletic spike as strong as possible, so you'll want to concentrate most of your time and energy on your sport (which is probably what you want to do, anyway).

For extracurriculars, you should focus on staying on top of your sport and your schoolwork first. Only once you feel comfortable managing both those things should you consider taking on additional extracurriculars. Bulking out your extracurriculars with a bunch of half-hearted activities won't impress colleges, so save yourself the time! If you can manage it, add one or two activities that you truly enjoy and that don't overload your schedule. These can be anything: clubs, volunteering, a musical instrument, a job, etc. 

You aren't required to write about sports for your personal statement(s) , but we highly recommend it as a way to continue to strengthen your spike. Your personal statement also gives you space to discuss how you got into sports/what sports mean to you/what your goals as an athlete are/etc. It's a level of depth that other parts of the college application don't allow. This is your chance for schools to really understand what makes you tick as an athlete.

Some essay prompts are easy to tie into sports, others less so. It's fine (and even advisable) to discuss something other than sports, but you should aim to at least mention your athletics somewhere in your personal statements. Here are some ways to do this using common essay prompts:

Why do you want to attend this school? For this prompt, you can mention the school's athletic program, but also be sure to discuss specific academic offerings the school has to show you'll take your education seriously. You can also add reasons like your favorite athlete went there, you cheered for the school as a kid, etc. Also discuss how attending the school will help you achieve your goals as an athlete to show you're looking towards the future.

Describe a problem you've solved: Overcoming an injury, working things out with a teammate or coach you didn't agree with, discovering a better way to practice or train, figuring out a way to practice without a lot of money/equipment, etc.

Discuss an accomplishment you're proud of: Winning a sports competition, meeting an athletic goal you set for yourself, mentoring other athletes, building up your teammates after a tough loss, etc.

• Describe a favorite childhood memory . The first time you played the sport, the first time you watched a sports competition, meeting a sports idol, the first time you won a competition, learning to play the sport with friends/parents/mentors, etc.

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Letters of Recommendation

If the schools you're applying to require letters of recommendation, follow any rules they have about who can write them. They often must be written by a high school teacher, and some schools have specifications on the subject the teacher must have taught you (for example, you may need one letter from a math/science teacher and one letter from an English/history teacher).

However, that means your coach, possibly the person who knows your personality and talents best, may not be one of your official letter writers. If that's the case, it may be possible to send an additional letter of rec they're written; lots of schools allow these "extra" letters written by someone who isn't necessarily your teacher but still knows you well. If this is a possibility, you should definitely take advantage of it, as having a written record of all the positive things your coach thinks of you can add a nice boost to your athletic spike.

For all your letters of recommendation, when you ask someone to write you a letter (which you should always do in person, when possible), it's very helpful if you include a "brag sheet" or list of accomplishments/qualities you're proud of. This both helps the teacher know what to write and helps you make sure your best achievements have a better chance of being discussed. For a coach teacher writing a letter of rec, there may be specific awards or skills you want them to mention. 

For other teachers, they'll obviously discuss other things besides your athletic ability. That's fine, as you also want to show schools that you will be a solid student and do well in your classes. Potential things for them to discuss include your strong work ethic, skill in a particular subject area, willingness to help other students, etc. Remember, you can't control what teachers will write about in your letters, but by offering suggestions and potentially discussing what they'll include, you can make sure they're writing a letter they feel comfortable with and that highlights the accomplishments you want.

What Do Good Examples of Athletic Spikes Look Like?

Below are two hypothetical examples of high school seniors with athletic spikes. They've both been accepted into the same school, a Tier 2 school where the average accepted student has a weighted GPA of 3.75, average SAT of 1300 or average ACT of 28. The school has an acceptance rate of 55%. These are all hypothetical examples, but they can give you a better understanding of the goals you should set for yourself, whether you're aiming to be a recruited athlete or not.

Profile 1: Michael the Recruited Athlete

Extracurriculars: Michael has played basketball since elementary school, and he has been on his high school's varsity team since freshman year. Michael has set a new school record, helped his team win multiple tournaments, and was named All American. He got a lot of attention from recruiters and could have played basketball at several schools. Additionally, he volunteers at an animal shelter during the off-season and is a member of his school's outdoor club.

Grades: Michael has taken advanced classes in math, economics, and science. He doesn't enjoy history or English classes as much, and takes them at the regular level. He's gotten a mix of mostly As and Bs, with a few Cs. His weighted GPA is 3.2. 

Test Scores: Michael took the SAT, and he earned a 630 in Math, and 560 in EBRW. He's received a 3 and a 4 in his AP scores, and he's taking two more AP classes his senior year.

Personal Statement: For his personal statement on why he's interested in the school, he discusses both a favorite childhood memory of watching the school's football team make an incredible comeback at a game he attended with his parents. Since then, he's been an ardent fan. He also discusses his career hopes of going into economics, and he discusses professors and classes he's particularly interested in.

Letters of Rec: The two teachers who write Michael's letters praise him as a friendly, positive influence who is a great team player on group projects and sees tricky subjects as a challenge to overcome. They both agree Michael works well with other students, has a sincere interest in learning, and is a genuinely nice person.

Michael's profile shows how being a recruited athlete can impact the test scores and grades you need to be accepted into a school. Both his GPA and his SAT scores are below the school's average, but they're within the 80% cutoff we recommended, so the school is still confident he can manage his course load. As you can see in his extracurriculars, basketball takes up most of Michael's time, and he doesn't participate in many other activities. This is fine since Michael is such a strong basketball recruit. Positive letters of rec and a forward-looking personal statement round out his application.

Profile 2: Kyle the Football Captain

Extracurriculars: Kyle has played football since middle school. He was on his high school's JV team his freshman and sophomore year, made the varsity team his junior year, and became team captain his senior year. He's a talented football player, but not at the level of being a recruited player. As a junior, Kyle created a mentorship program where upperclassman athletes are paired with an underclassman athlete to show them the ropes, help them form friendships, and act as a positive influence. The mentorship program was a success and has now expanded to the basketball and soccer teams. Kyle was fundamental in getting it started and spends a lot of time working with others to make sure it keeps growing and improving. Over the summers, Kyle works as a lifeguard, and during the school year he is also involved in his school's photography clubs and future medical professionals club. Both meet about once a month.

Grades: Kyle wants to go into kinesiology or physical therapy, so he's taken a lot of math and science classes, including some at the honors and AP level. He takes his English and social science classes mostly at the regular level, but does well in them. His weighted GPA is 3.86.

Test Scores: Kyle took the ACT and earned a 30. He's taken three AP classes and earned two 5s and a 4. He's taking three more AP classes his senior year. 

Personal Statement: Kyle's personal statement is about a challenge he has overcome. He discusses how difficult it was to start at a new school where he didn't know anyone and how lonely it was in the beginning. After making his high school's football team, he meets many of his closest friends and learns how sports can bring people together. He then discusses how he developed his mentorship program to help other new athletes find their community. He mentions that he's seen the college has a similar program for new freshmen, and he's excited to get involved with it.

Letters of Rec: Kyle's AP biology teacher writes his letter of recommendation. In it, she discusses how Kyle is a strong student who clearly makes an effort to do well in class. She also recounts an instance where Kyle helped a student who had missed a lot of class due to illness catch up on the work he needed. This reinforced the teacher's view of Kyle as a compassionate person who looks out for others who might be struggling. Kyle's football coach also writes a supplemental letter of recommendation where he describes watching Kyle evolve from a shy freshman to a team leader who looks out for all the other players on the team. He mentions specific instances of Kyle helping other players out and improving team morale.

Kyle isn't a recruited athlete, but he still has a strong athletic spike that got him accepted into this school. His grades and test scores are above the school's average, so he's strong on the academic front. He's a good football player and captain of his varsity team, so it's fine he doesn't have a ton of other extracurriculars. A great way Kyle has stood out is through his mentorship program. He's combined his love of sports with desire to help people, and, as a result, has strengthened his athletic spike without winning state championships or other similar-level honors. From his personal statement and letters of rec, he seems to be a very caring person with strong leadership qualities, which colleges love to see. It gets him admitted even though he's not a superstar football player.

What's Next?

Got more questions about the college recruiting process? Take a look at our in-depth guide to college athletic recruiting to learn even more about what the process entails.

Curious about the NCAA?  Read about the differences between the different NCAA divisions , and get the full lists of NCAA Division I , Division II , and Division III schools .

Know any artists hoping to use their art as their college spike? Check out our complete guide on how to get into college as an artist.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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27 Helpful Athletic Resumes and Player Profile Templates

Download Your FREE College Recruiting Checklist

Sample Athletic Resumes/Player Profile Templates with Recruiting Guides

Resume/player profile template and/or letter only.

And yes, you should have an  athletic resume . If for no other reason, having the resume will allow you to easily complete all of the online player profiles teams require prospects to submit. This way the information will be all in one place.

The following is a list of resources I’ve found and actually opened and looked at. I’ve divided them into two sections, the first has some sort of substantial additional recruiting information along with the samples. The second section includes just sample letters and resume or player profile templates.

With the exception of the first two documents, they are in no particular order. The resources in the samples only section aren’t any better or worse than those that provide some sort of guide as well. In fact, I’ve included some even if I didn’t think they were so great (and indicate such) so you might only open these to use for comparison purposes.

I didn’t include just one best because sometimes you’ll find the best solution for you is to use a little something from a variety of sources. For all of these sources, be sure to double-check with the  NCAA  and  NAIA  for the latest information since very few of these guides are updated on a regular basis. This is especially important given the continuing changing test requirements.

The College Planning Guide for Student Athletes is no longer being updated by the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation Network. This is one resource I have always recommend everyone download. Unfortunately, its replacement,  The College Insider Series: Student Athletes  isn’t nearly as good. The new version includes a sample player profile template and cover letter along with an overview of the different NCAA divisions.

But it’s missing the information on the percentage of athletes going pro. There used to be a sample in-season Division 1 athlete schedule to show the time commitment required. It still includes valuable information and is worth downloading but it’s just not as good as the original. So I’m keeping a  link  to the original for a while until I think the extra information isn’t worth the inclusion of possible outdated information.

This year it was actually difficult to select among the various guides since there are some very detailed ones available. While all covered pretty much the same information, they each had their individual strengths. Since this is about finding the athletic resumes and player profiles, I decided to go with the one with the examples I liked best.

My current choice of if you’re only going to download one item is Chippewa Hills High School’s   Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete.  

The Chippewa Hill’s guide includes a description of what should be included on the athletic resume along with its purpose. The athletic resume template is clean and well organized and the sample email/letter is concise and to the point. You’ll also find a timeline for high school athletes; a breakdown of roles and responsibilities for students, parents, counselors, and coaches; and the NCAA table showing the estimated probability of competing beyond the high school level.

One thing to pay attention to is that it lists the NCAA approved courses for its own school. You should check with your own school for its  NCAA  list of approved courses. Another thing to be aware of is that eligibility information is outdated. Everyone’s going to be since it was only 2023 that the NCAA dropped the test requirements permanently. The download link is just past the middle of the page under Other Information.

South Windsor Public Schools  A College Admissions Guide for the Student Athlete .  Very comprehensive guide with two of each letter and resume examples. Also includes words of wisdom from some of the high school coaches from various sports as well as a section on selecting a college and financial aid considerations.

St. Ignatius College Prep  Planning Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete . Comprehensive guide that includes a checklist grid you can use for tracking your recruiting contacts with colleges. Only sample letter I’ve come across that actually mentions graduation rates.

Lakeside School  Athletic Recruiting FAQS . Short guide but includes a funnel on how a student becomes a top recruit along with an athletic resume template and two examples of good emails and two examples of bad emails.

San Marcos College Soccer  College Soccer Recruitment Guide for Parents and Players . This guide is available from several different soccer websites. It includes two sample letters and one sample player profile. It has a nice section addressed to parents covering financial aid and amateurism.

St. Joseph School District  Athletes and the College Recruiting Process: A Handbook for the Students and Their Families .  This is an 18-page guide that includes timelines, checklists, definitions of NCAA & NAIA, along with a sample email and resume. Pay attention to the differences between “Blue Chip Athletes” and “Most Athletes.”

Forman School’s  Planning Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete .  Along with a sample player profile and coach email, it lists sport specific information to include in the athletic resume. You’ll also find a recruiting glossary and frequently asked questions.

High School District 214  Student-Athlete College Handbook .  It also has information on Qualifer Status, Walk-Ons, and Education-Impacting Disabilities. It contains one sample letter but it never mentions the college the student is interested in. Pretty standard resume but doesn’t include any sports related stats which is probably a mistake.

The Athletic Factory Planning Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete. I’m not impressed with the sample resume but it’s the only guide that shows the actual number of teams sponsored by sport. Also includes the NCAA recruiting calendar which lets you know when coaches can contact you. This can change yearly so you need to double check with the NCAA.

Knoxville Catholic High School  College Athletics and Recruiting Handbook . Detailed description of the recruiting process. Provides numbers of players who make it to the next level and what it means when a coach contacts you. Includes a sample letter, sample athletic resume, sample follow-up letter, and statistics by sport. Dated from 2011.

Collegiate Soccer Academy  Soccer Resume .  Only player profile template I’ve seen that includes a link to a video setup as an image so that it looks embedded. Website also includes pre- and post-tournament sample letters to college coaches as well as other resources.

Weston High School  A guide for High School Student Athletes and Parents . General tips as well as what to do year by year. Includes a glossary of terms and sample resumes for individual and team sports.

HS Baseball Web  The Introduction Letter . A basic sample geared for baseball players. However, the website includes a “Schedule” letter as well as an unscientific poll as to whether coaches prefer emails or letter.

NCSA  How to Create a College Recruiting Resume .  You’ll find how to write an introduction, what academic information to include as well as specific information for football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and softball.

Orinda Aquatics Sports Resume, Cover Letter & Correspondence.  Word document that has a sample athletic resume, coaches letter, and samples of other letters to keep the coach updated including a thank you letter.

Campolindo High School  Sample Student-Athlete Resume . Nothing special but some might find the sample letter useful.

South Carolina United FC  College Recruiting Support . Includes sample player profiles and emails/letters. The webpage also has a yearly to do list and questions to ask a college coach.

San Diego Mustangs Rugby  Sample Rugby Recruit Athlete Resume.  Another sample resume but with a Rugby perspective. The website does include Top U.C. and CSC application mistakes that may not apply to your situation but are something you should check on just in case.

National High School Golf Association  Good and bad examples of a college golf resume .  PDF examples of a “good” and “bad” resume. While the stats are for golf, it shows how to format your general information into a working athletic resume.

Broomfield Soccer Club  Player Profile Template.   Simple, easy to modify player profile template in Word format.

Lake Norman Lightning Player Profile Template . Another easy-to-use template in Word format but with a softball orientation.

NCSA How to Email College Coaches . This is a comprehensive explanation on emailing a coach including sample subject lines, a breakdown of the email content by sections, and sample emails.

Athlete Match  Sample Emails . Introduction and follow-up email templates with an explanation of why they work.

USA Today Recruiting Column:  How to get your first email noticed by college coaches .  Critique of a good and a bad email to a coach.

Exact Sports  Sample Letters from Athletes to College Coaches .  Provides 2 good samples and 2 bad samples, an initial letter, and a follow up.

CollegeHockeyInc.com  10 Steps to a Great Hockey Resume.  Lists needed elements for the athletic resume as well as a sample resume.

Also read:  6 Things High School Baseball Players Must Have on Their Athletic Profile

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Super Awesome Homerun A+ Law School Personal Statements

Added July 24th Not many applicants have such an incredibly gripping experience to convey, but everyone has their own emotionally important event. Put the reader IN your story, just like this client of ours did.

The door slammed shut and now, it was just me, three other guys, and one dead man in the room. None of us -- that is, the four of us who were alive -- had ever washed a dead body before, but the phone call I received the day before would soon change that. A congregant from my mosque wanted to know if I could personally help with the funerary body-wash of a man who was hours away from death. Knowing that at least someone had to discharge the religious rites for this soon-to-be-deceased man, and I had the added responsibility of being a religious services coordinator, I agreed. But it was only after I had sent out several mass-texts searching for friends naive enough to volunteer did I realize why this intricate religious ritual had fallen on the shoulders of a funerary novice like myself. The dying man had been convicted for the rape and murder of a young girl and her mother two decades ago and was being lethally executed by the State of Texas.

Here I was, moments away from personally conferring upon a rapist and murderer the dignity of a sacred rite. Wondering if the latex that covered my hand was enough of a psychological barrier between myself and the murderer's body, I paused. A rush of anger flooded me: why had I volunteered to confer the dignity of a ritual washing for this rapist's corpse? My stomach tightened and I looked around to see my partners having tilted the corpse and waiting for me. With each second of introspection, my repulse and reluctance to continue grew, but being aware that the body had to be shrouded and transported to the mosque before the noon prayer, I knew the group couldn't afford to lose these precious minutes. I stepped back from the autopsy table and told the guys to give me a few moments pause. Meditation is seldom done with a three men and one dead one waiting for you in the backroom of funeral home, but then and there, I began breathing exercises, waiting for my emotions to subside. Eyes closed, I decided to approach the ritual cleanse as simply a trickier car-wash with the added burden of some strict religious guidelines.

When we prepped to wash the corpse’s lower half, my hands brushed over several stripes of protruding flesh. Vaguely recalling the biographical details in the man's court record I had glanced at the night before, I immediately realized from the location of the scar tissue that these marks were the result of childhood abuse. While I prepped to wash the posterior bottom-half, it was clear that this was not an indefinite corpse, but one that had engraved within it countless personal narratives. Like any other kid, decades ago, he too, must have quipped 'recess' as his favorite subject in elementary school, and similarly, it was doubtful that this body had been spared the tremors that adolescents of all backgrounds have suffered at their first date. In speaking just one dark detail from his childhood, the fleshy Braille reminded me that the man's entire life couldn't be reduced to his worst moments.

By the time we finished the washing and had taken the body to the cemetery, my earlier self-doubts had dissipated. At the cemetery, the other volunteers were surprised to see me stepping into the burial pit alongside the deceased's siblings to help lower the body into the tomb. This time, my resolve came not from an energizing meditation session but from the realization that the differences between the deceased man and myself, however stark in legal records, paled in comparison to the ups-and-downs of life we shared as members of the same species -- of the genus Homo

Whether it was trying to host a Quran-burning pastor for an interfaith dinner discussion at my mosque or, as in this case, helping perform the ritual bath of an executed felon, I have always been drawn to exploring and understanding the deeper narratives of unseemly people. This capacity to carefully listen to the backstories and motivations of individuals, even those whose ideologies or behavior profoundly disturb me, is what attracts me to the law. At its core, our legal system succeeds when participants’ complexities are fully appreciated and their stories are heard. In employing my drive for unraveling the perplexities of each individual, and lending a voice to those understandable slices of humanity contained in each viewpoint, I hope that I can play a part in advocating not just for the rights of the conferred, but also of the condemned.

Added July 19th This one did the trick this past cycle for a long list of schools. Apologies for the pun in the title, and for trying to hit some search terms :) Names are changed to preserve anonymity of the author.

My morning consisted of a hurried walk and a gnawing tardiness. I stared longingly at those gliding across campus on bicycles and skateboards as my pace quickened. Speed walking turned to intermittent galloping, as class was desperately close to starting and I had yet to enroll.

Aside from the particular disruptive shame engendered by arriving late to class, the sanctity of the first day made it all the worse. I missed the pleasantries and introductions, the icebreakers and shared awkwardness. When I finally arrived, I greeted my instructor with a smile and a hushed hello, hoping to make my transition from latecomer to class member as indistinct as possible. What happened next caught me off guard: with the infectious rhythm of sweet tea and pecan pie, Dr. Kopolow asked me to introduce myself—a standard request, to be sure, but for one in which I was nonetheless unprepared. Because for the first time ever, I was not “Bobbie, the baseball player.”

For more than two years at the Westeros University, I was a student-athlete, a centerfielder on the baseball team, which is to say that for more than two years, my schedule scoffed at the suggestion of twenty-four hour days. During the fall, we ran sprint after sprint until the sun rose, and then we ran some more, stopping with only enough time to rush to class; class, in turn, ended with only enough time to rush back to practice. And under the pressure of expectations and pre-season polls, spring brought with it practices that wore on well past nightfall as weeks became defined by travel destinations and the line between student and athlete became increasingly subsumed by wins and losses.

Eventually, my injuries mounted and conspired against me, taking with them as they healed not only the baseball career I put everything into, but also an oversized chunk of my identity. I had spent my life competing for success in a sport defined by failure. My journey had taken me from the mountainous roads of Londonderry, Vermont to the quaint beaches of Cape Cod, through hospitals and into surgery. Dr. Kopolow's’ simple question, then—Who are you?—became probing, because these experiences had defined my life; my helmet and bat didn’t just protect me behind home plate, it was the outward shell of recognition that I was able to drape myself in for every introduction and icebreaker thus far.

“Hi, I’m Bobbie,” I said in a half-hearted stutter, “I used to play baseball here.” It felt like a defeat—a blowout loss to Essos State, but on an intensely intimate scale because I was the only player on the field. My shoulders slumped as I took my seat, splintered by the biting irony of introducing myself in the past. But if I was no longer a baseball player, who was I?

As time passed and the semester progressed, this question remained with me, growing in import as the link between student and athlete became increasingly thin. Distance allowed for introspection, though, and I realized it was not so much the game of baseball itself that I missed most, but the competition and the daily struggles—the feeling of being pitted against my ideal self over and over, pitch by pitch, sometimes with success, more often with failure, but always with the unceasing desire to redefine how good I could be. Strangely enough, I found this feeling again in the most unlikely of places: an essay contest.

I picked up a flyer after class one day, delighted by the prospect of telling my former teammates I was going to write about how a poem made me feel—and “For the Union Dead” did just that. Reading it for the first time, I was inspired by Lowell’s ability to conjure life through ink, each line living and breathing, each break a meditative gasp for air. What I enjoyed most, however, was the fact that my interpretation of it was born through argument, between nothing more than the “yellow dinosaur steam shovels” and myself. I spent weeks drafting and refining and sculpting my essay, cajoling the words into harmony. A minor tweak in hitting mechanics became a subtle change in sentence structure; the search for efficiency of footwork was now a search for economy of phrase. I was competing again, not through batting average or runs batted in, but through words and ideas, and I was enamored by the dual familiarity and newness of it all.

Eventually I submitted my work, which was then chosen as one of three winning essays. In doing so, I’d found an answer to the question I stumbled over just a few months before: I’m a jock who likes poetry, alliteration, and the art of critique; a former baseball player who is as amazed by the vital lyricism of Isabel Wilkerson as I am of the hitting prowess of Alex Rodriguez. I was always these things, but it wasn’t until I removed my catcher’s mask that they came into focus. So, while I may not be an athlete any longer, I know that the competitor still remains; forged through experience, I am confident that this drive to succeed will help me excel in law school and in life.

I Got a Full-Ride to Law School Using This Personal Statement

Law school admissions certainly are intimidating, especially when it comes to the rather daunting task of writing a personal statement with no real prompt. Generally, law schools will ask for no more than two pages of basically whatever you would like to talk about.

However, there are a few well-established principles for writing a successful personal statement. Here are 4 principles, along with my own personal statement, to help you hit a home run:

The personal statement should only drive your application forward. If it is holding it back in any way, it is not ready.

Your personal statement should explain your interest or purpose for studying the law.

This does not have to be the backbone of the entire piece, but it should be at least mentioned somewhere. It should also avoid legal jargon and should not be some sort of showcase for legal knowledge. It also should not be a regurgitation of your resume. The committee will already have your resume, so the personal statement serves as a supplement to it.

Spend the time making your personal statement better.

To get a competitive offer from whichever law school you may be applying to, it all starts with a good application package. The admissions committee is going to want to see a good LSAT score , a strong GPA, some recommendations, and a well-written personal statement. That much is clear. Your personal statement may never feel like it is just right, but it can only become better with consistent time and effort spent drafting it again and again.

Research examples of well-written personal statements.

To get some ideas about what a good personal statement could look like, I did a preliminary search to read a few successful ones. The University of Chicago had a few essays posted on  their site  from admitted students that gave me a good point of reference. Although there is tremendous flexibility in writing the personal statement, it should not be so wacky as to discourage the admissions committee in your abilities as a writer or in your seriousness about attending law school.

Take advantage of the resources around you to make your statement the best.

For my statement, I went through a couple of potential concepts and decided to do one on my life’s motto. And, no, it was not some cliché that I pretended was my motto; I picked words that I truly lived by and continue to live by to this day. I spent many hours writing and rewriting my personal statement. Thankfully, I had the invaluable help of my roommate, who is a strong writer himself, and he gave me useful feedback on many of my drafts (I promised him a nice dinner if I ended up getting admitted with a full-ride to somewhere). When I got close to a final draft, I took it to my school’s writer’s workshop to have someone I had never met before read it aloud. It allowed me to hear where someone might misunderstand something so that I could make changes accordingly for the final product.

Beginning in the spring, picking up in September, accelerating further in October, and finishing in November when I sent my applications out, the whole process produced something that I thought gave me a very strong shot at success. So here it is. Enjoy:

“Ball: outside!” declared the umpire.

“Come on now! Get ahead, stay ahead, kid!” demanded my coach.

I checked the sign: fastball. That pitch was just not there; I shook my head no. My catcher gave me the next sign: curveball. Yes, the get-me-over-curve, my signature pitch. I stepped back to begin my windup.

“Steeeeeriiike! One and one,” the umpire grunted.

“That’s the way, Duff! Just like that!” my coach exclaimed.

My catcher fired that ball back to me. I toed the rubber and focused on his signs: he flashed two fingers and motioned to the right—curveball, outside. I nodded affirmatively. He and I were on the same page. I began my windup again, picked up the leg, and spun my big overhand curve to the plate.

“Two! One and two.” The batter stood motionless as he watched my back door hook clip the outer edge of the strike zone.

“One more now, Duff! Come on, kid!”

The pitch count, or the current amount of balls and strikes in a given at bat, is perhaps the most impactful construct of baseball. After every pitch, the umpire declares it to be a ball or strike, subsequently adding it to the count. If the batter reaches four balls, he earns a walk, or a free pass to first base; if he gets three strikes, the batter is out. The batter’s goal is to reach a base before three strikes. The pitcher does everything that he can to stop that.

As I got the ball back, I knew I was in the driver’s seat. The batter was at a tremendous disadvantage and would have to react to my pitches on two strikes rather than just being able to lock in on one. I leaned in for the sign: one finger, right, up—fastball, high and outside. I liked it. Even though it was not my best pitch that day, I understood that I could still use it effectively to keep batters off balance since I was ahead. I stepped back into the windup and let the pitch fly.

The batter flailed at the pitch. “Three!” shouted the umpire, raising his fist in the air to call him out. He was sitting on the big, slow curveball and not the fastball, but he could not be selective because he was down in the count. On to the next one.

“Atta kid! That’s what happens when you get ahead!”

Get ahead, stay ahead.

While my organized baseball playing days may be over, that fundamental is still strong. A picture of all-star pitcher Max Scherzer hurling a baseball towards the plate sits above my desk with that same motto in bolded letters:  Get Ahead, Stay Ahead .

What does getting ahead provide? For one, it gives the peace of mind that comes with flexibility; there’s room to react in case something goes off course. In baseball, it gives the pitcher more room to work within the count because he has more options when the batter must play defensively. In short, he can do what he wants. One of the key differences between baseball and life, however, is that baseball has a simple, predetermined goal: score more runs than the other team! Life, on the other hand, allows for enormous flexibility in choosing a goal. Rather than be content with the usual four-year bachelor’s track, I pushed forward as hard as I could to graduate in three years. Many people are surprised when I tell them about my efforts to graduate early; they often wonder why I chose to accelerate my education. I usually explain that it saved me a significant amount of money while expanding my room for error. Most importantly, I tell them, by efficiently reorganizing my schedule, getting ahead actually  gave  me time to think.

The most successful people throughout history have all had an overarching goal, no matter how grand; with the time from getting ahead, I chose mine. Andrew Carnegie sought to provide affordable steel, Henry Ford wanted to create a universal automobile, and Elon Musk aims to put a city on Mars. After seeing their success, I think about how I can do the same. Simply put, I want to be a leader in sustainable real estate. More specifically, I want to make green living universal. Whenever I get the same surprised looks from this claim as when I tell someone that I am graduating early, I clarify that there are already some pioneers designing revolutionary apartments with trees planted on all of their floors, working to clean the air in polluted cities. Stefano Boeri, for example, has designed a thirty-six-floor building covered with trees on terraces jutting out from its sides, dubbed the “Tower of Cedars.” I want to take this premise further: my mission is to expand clean living to all, not just the elite who can afford it. The law is one of the most important tools that I will need to achieve this. The complexities of environmental and real estate law will be major challenges. Regardless, to lead the industry, I must get ahead. When I start my business, I will reflect on my experience in running the Trial Team as its president, the perspective on efficient business systems that I gained with American Hotel Register, and the tips that the CEO of Regency Multifamily shared with me for optimally running a large real estate firm, among many other things. But I will always be looking forward. While history shows that there are answers in the past, only the future knows them. Thankfully, controlling the present by getting ahead can make the future that much more certain.

I stepped back into the windup, again. As I drove off the rubber towards the plate, I extended out as far as I could to get as much control and power as possible. The big hook landed firmly over the outer third of the plate, right into my catcher’s mitt with a solid  phwump .

“Steeeeeriiike! Oh-and-one.”

“Atta kid!” My coach was elated to see my pitch command this inning.

Are you inspired to get ahead? Don’t you just feel a sudden urge to admit me into your program? Well thankfully, it made an impression on someone. I did my best to show my ambitions while showing a bit of my personality. The greatest risk that I took was that some of the baseball jargon may have been hard to understand for someone unfamiliar with the sport, but I made sure that it would not detract from the overall meaning of the piece. It served as a useful supplement to the rest of my application.

As of 2018, I am enrolled at Chicago-Kent College of Law with a full tuition scholarship. While it is no Ivy program, it is a respectable school with a strong regional reputation. The great thing about having the financial burden of law school off my shoulders is that I can now focus on getting the most out of my studies, rather than stress to figure out how I am going to pay off the debt that would have financed my education. And if it turns out that the program is not the best option for me, I can walk away with no financial strings attached.

The personal statement should only drive your application forward. If it is holding it back in any way, it is not ready. Keep it professional but do be creative and show the reader more of your personality than a resume alone would give. You are selling them your brand as a student, so do not let them gloss over your application without much of a thought.

Jack graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2018 with a degree in Economics and History, and he currently works in property management while attending Chicago-Kent College of Law on a part-time basis. He hopes to use his law degree to enhance his career in commercial real estate and eventually lead sustainable large-scale real estate developments nationwide.

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Statutes on Westlaw - Bonus Entries

Need some inspiration check out the statutes below., key numbers on westlaw - bonus entries, need some inspiration check out these key numbers by using the digest searches below., searching on westlaw - bonus entries, need some search inspiration for your entries check out the sample searches below.

Because neurodivergent people often need visual prompts or sensory tools, it is helpful to figure out what works best for you. Maybe you need a quiet fidget to use under your desk in class to help you focus. Maybe you need to incorporate the use of timers throughout your day. If you struggle with time blindness, you can use hourglasses to help you visualize time. Perhaps you struggle with extraneous sounds and need to use noise-cancelling headphones. More and more tools and gadgets are being made for neurodiverse individuals that can help you throughout law school.

Society can dictate when you are supposed to be most productive. See the traditional 9-5 work schedule. However, that model does not always work best for neurodiverse individuals. Some people are not morning people, and that is fine. Figure out when you have the most energy during your day to be your most productive self.

Find one system to use for organization and don’t change it. Trying too many organizational systems can become overwhelming. If your phone calendar works best, use that. If you are a list person, write all the lists. If you are a planner person, find the coolest one to use throughout the school year.

It would be nice to think that you can remember every task or deadline, but let’s be honest, that’s probably not true. Write down every deadline, every task, meeting, assignment, important date, etc. in the organizational system that you use.

Just like you can only put so much gasoline in a car, most neurodiverse individuals only have so much room in their focus tank. Figure out how long you can truly focus and apply yourself to a task before you need a break. That amount of time is typically shorter for neurodiverse individuals. If you can only truly focus for 20 minutes, study for 20 minutes, take a break, and then come back for another 20 minutes.

You may have started law school with your mind full of horror stories. Throw them out the window. Most of the people you attend law school with are genuinely kind and helpful people. Try to find a group or a couple of people that you can trust and lean on when necessary. Your law school friends can help you stay on task, body double, and even provide notes on the days you may be struggling. These friends can be one of your greatest assets throughout your law school journey.

Only discuss your neurodivergence with your professors to the extent that you are comfortable. If there are things you are concerned about related to your neurodivergence, it can be beneficial to make your professors aware at the beginning of the semester. Whether you are worried about cold calling or need a topic broken down, most professors love opportunities to discuss their area of law! They can’t know that you may need help if you don’t let them know. This is especially important if you aren’t successful in getting accommodations from your school’s Disability Services.

As a neurodivergent student, you may not fit the traditional mold of all the things a law student is “supposed to do” in order to be successful. You have been in school for years, and now is the time to trust yourself and not be afraid to be an “outside of the box” law student. There is no harm in trying new study methods, but never fear going back to your personal basics. If you need help figuring those out, see if your law school has a learning center or faculty member that can assist you.

Outlining with jury instructions.

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Black's Law Dictionary

Don't guess the meaning of a legal term. know it., by using black’s law dictionary, exclusively on westlaw , you’ll know the meanings of key terms that will help you understand your cases faster, be prepared for cold-calls and beef up your class notes. 1. access black's law dictionary on westlaw., 2. type your term into the dictionary term box. (ex. demurrer ) if your term contains multiple words, place the terms in quotes. (ex. "rule against perpetuities" ), 3. open up your desired term, copy it and paste it into your notes., looking for some inspiration here are a few legal terms to get you started contracts - collateral estoppel - consequential damages civil procedure - minimum contacts - in personam jurisdiction torts - negligence - invasion of privacy criminal law - mayhem - wobbler, where can i learn more about a firm so i can ask good questions in an interview, news is an excellent source for learning about a firm. you’ll see the clients and matters they represent along with the accolades they earned from their communities. 1. click on news under “specialty areas” on your westlaw edge home screen., 2. start by trying a plain language search for your firm. (ex. gibson dunn crutcher ), 3. to up your search game, consider running a terms & connectors search with an index field. (ex. gibson /2 dunn /s crutcher & in(law lawsuit legal) ), start writing your brief without starting from scratch, what is a brief, a brief is a summary of a case in your own words that includes the key facts, procedural history, issues addressed, along with the court's holdings. how can i find a case on westlaw, cases on westlaw contain a synopsis, a summary of the main facts, issues and holdings of a case, and headnotes, summaries of points of law organizes by topic. you can locate cases on westlaw in a variety of ways. find by citation: if you know your case's citation, just type one of the citations in the search box. (ex. 113 sct 2217 ), find by party name: if you know the names of your parties, just start typing them in the search box and select corresponding case from the drop-down menu. (ex. international shoe).

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Download your synopsis and headnotes: once you've pulled up your case, click on download under delivery options, select brief it under what to deliver and click on download..

The right search terms can make a difference. Here is an easy way to come up with smart search terms.

Rules, Codes & Restatements

Exporting tables of contents, exporting a table of contents is an easy way to get access to a list of rules, codes or restatements that you can reference on the fly and add to your outlines, as needed. locate your rules, codes or restatement: to export a toc (table of contents), you'll first want to locate your resource. restatement of torts restatement of contracts restatement of property federal rules of civil procedure ucc article 2 federal rules of evidence united states constitution, export your toc: click on download, select outline of current view under what to deliver and then click on download..

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American Law Reports

Your go-to secondary source, finding an a.l.r. (american law reports) article covering your topic is a great starting point for research. you'll get a quick summary of the legal issue you're researching and a table of cases, laws, and rules to see the law across all jurisdictions. you can also use annotations to find additional secondary sources, such as legal encyclopedias, treatises, and periodicals. no wonder they're nicknamed already done legal research see it in action: the legal discussion to compensate student athletes is heating up. check out this alr article to see how the legal picture for tomorrow’s student athletes comes together in one place., keycite graphical history, procedural history made easy, are you reading a case and not sure how you got there procedurally reversed, remanded or otherwise, we got you. just sign into westlaw and follow the steps below... 1. grab one of the citations you see in your case book and type it into the search box on westlaw . (ex. 480 u.s. 102), 2. click on your case in the drop-down menu., 3. click on the history tab to see your procedural history., keycite graphical history works best when you have a federal case and a complex issue. check out some additional examples from your classes below. contracts - koken v. black & veatch const., inc. - lamps plus, inc. v. varela civil procedure - national equipment rental v. szukhent - helicopteros nacionales de colombia, s.a. v. hall torts - palsgraf v. long island r. co. - kentucky fried chicken of cal., inc. v. superior court, law school resource center, flowcharts, overviews & more..

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Understand the procedural history of your case..

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2. click on copy another class, 3. enter your copy code, set your options, click copy course, determining whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a non-class action case..

If the case arises out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction, then the case must be litigated in federal court.

If the case does not arise out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and there is not complete diversity between the plaintiffs and defendants (a.k.a they are both from different states or one is a citizen of a foreign country), then the case must be litigated in state court.

Restatement of Contracts 2d

Counter-offers.

(1) A counter-offer is an offer made by an offeree to his offeror relating to the same matter as the original offer and proposing a substituted bargain differing from that proposed by the original offer.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making of a counter-offer, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

Negligence Defined

Restatement (second) of torts 282.

In the Restatement of this Subject, negligence is conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. It does not include conduct recklessly disregardful of an interest of others.

Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed.2014)

Demurrer: A means of objecting to the sufficiency in law of a pleading by admitting the actual allegations made by disputing that they frame an adequate claim. Demurrer is commonly known as a motion to dismiss.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making a counter-off, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

testing footnote

What is common law and is it written by the courts of law?

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Negligence defined

Restatement (second) of torts § 282.

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What’s a personal statement for college.

Senior Associate, JPMorgan Chase

As you complete your college applications, whether it’s through the Common App or by individually applying, you’ll likely come across prompts in the application that ask you to write about yourself. Think of it as an opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions committees of the schools you’re applying to in a different way than the insights recommendations and your transcript can provide.

Sometimes called an admissions or application essay, a personal statement, or a statement of purpose, what’s typically being asked for is information about your background, experiences, accomplishments, future goals, and any challenges or obstacles you may have had to overcome. Because of that, when it comes to any personal statements you write for college applications, the aim is usually to showcase your personality, interests, and character in a compelling and authentic way.

Keep reading for more information about personal statements, the prompts to expect, and some tips for mastering this part of a college application.

When will you have to write a personal statement during the college application process?

Many college applications require a personal statement of some kind. For applications submitted through the Common App, a personal statement is a required component for nearly all colleges and universities that use the platform. The Common App allows students to write one comprehensive essay that’s sent to all colleges they’re applying to through the system. This means you’ll write just one personal statement, which will be part of every college application you submit through the Common App. Some colleges might ask for additional shorter essays, known as supplemental essays, on top of this, so be prepared for those asks.

Many scholarship applications also require at least one personal statement or essay as part of the application process. Like college applications, scholarship personal statements provide an opportunity for applicants to showcase their qualifications, experiences, and personal motivations. A personal statement for a scholarship application often serves as a way for applicants to demonstrate their merit, express their career and educational goals, and explain how they’d benefit from and contribute to a scholarship program.

How can your personal statement impact your college applications?

Your personal statement can have a significant impact on your college applications in several ways:

• Demonstrating your character and personality: Your personal statement offers admission committees insight into who you are beyond your grades and test scores. It can showcase your values, motivations, and unique qualities, helping to paint a more comprehensive picture of you as a prospective student.
• Highlighting your achievements and experiences: It allows you to discuss your academic accomplishments, extracurriculars, and any challenges you’ve overcome. This can demonstrate your potential for success and your ability to contribute to a campus community.
• Conveying your passion and commitment to a particular school: A personal statement allows you to articulate your academic and career goals and connect them to your reasons for applying to a specific college or program. Admissions committees are looking for students who are genuinely interested in and committed to their educational and personal growth, along with being excited to attend their school.
• Setting you apart from other applicants: A well-crafted personal statement can help you stand out among applicants with similar academic credentials. It allows you to showcase what makes you unique.
• Addressing any weaknesses or challenges: If any aspects of your application may raise concerns to the admissions committees, such as a lower grade point average (GPA) in a particular semester, your personal statement can allow you to provide context and explain any extenuating circumstances. This can help mitigate potential red flags in your application.

How do you know what topic to write about in your personal statement?

Over 1,000 U.S. colleges accept the Common App, so many students will be choosing from among the Common App’s seven essay prompts.

Below is the list of essay prompts from 2023-24 Common App :

• “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”
• “The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”
• “Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?”
• “Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?”
• “Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.”
• “Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?”
• “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.”

Beyond the prompts from the Common App, which many students utilize, some schools may have their own applications with their own prompts or supplementary prompts that they expect students to complete.

For instance, at Yale University , one of the school’s supplementary prompts is: “Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above [on your application].” At Amherst College, one of the supplementary questions is: “In what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world.”

What makes a good personal statement for a college application?

A lot goes into writing a strong personal statement for college applications.

Hafeez Lakhani of educational coaching firm Lakhani Coaching told the New York Times to think of it like this: “Every college is like a dinner table. What will make you the most interesting contributor to that dinner table conversation? What will make you help everyone else have a more interesting experience?”

Lacy Crawford, a former independent college application counselor and author of Early Decision, told USA Today : “These essays should read like smart, interesting 17-year-olds wrote them. A sense of perspective and self-awareness is what’s interesting...I think most students are torn between a pathway dividing a diary entry and a press release. It’s supposed to be a marketing document of the self.”

Here are a few tips to make the most of a personal statement.

• Tell a story: Use the space to showcase your personality, interests, personal values, life experiences, and even your sense of humor. Don’t just use it to regurgitate your accomplishments, which can be gleaned from your high school transcript and other parts of your application.
• Consider emphasizing your volunteer work and other community work: Many college admissions offices look for students who are active in their communities, be it volunteering or in different ways. The personal statement is a good place to emphasize how you’re making the world a better place.
• Emphasize any extra work you’ve done to dive into your field of interest: Be it internships, college-level courses at a community college, or extracurricular activities, anything that shows you’ve done extra work to explore your chosen field of study will help to emphasize your passion. Tie this passion to why you’re particularly excited about attending a particular school, and you may have a winning formula.
• Make sure you check grammar and spelling: You don’t want to write a great essay and let a few grammatical and spelling errors get in your way. Read and re-read your essay to check for spelling and grammar, and get a few people you trust to help you proofread your work as well.

Final thoughts

A strong personal statement can make a positive impression on admissions officers and contribute to a well-rounded and compelling college application. It allows you to showcase your strengths, demonstrate your potential, and express your genuine interest in the college or program.

How college athletes could fight back against anti-DEI laws

Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama, said in a February Facebook post that if Alabama’s proposed anti-DEI bill became law, “I have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized.” Alabama Gov. Kate Ivey signed SB 129 , which bans Alabama colleges from having diversity, equity and inclusion programs or departments and instruction on “divisive concepts,” into law March 20. It remains to be seen whether Woodfin will follow through on his threat. Still, the statement raises an interesting possibility. What if colleges in states that are not passing anti-DEI legislation began recruiting promising student-athletes in DEI-hostile states with a “Go to college where you are wanted” pitch?

Despite its critics’ hyperfixation on race, DEI is about far more than that.

Many public universities, especially those in the South, rely on the revenue generated by student-athletes to help keep the lights on, and the specter of divestment and a boycott of student-athletes, regardless of race, is one that an administration and its donors would be unlikely to ignore. Many behind the anti-DEI movement would likely scoff at the idea that such a boycott would have a tangible effect, but that is because they ignore the documented impact that college sports have on the economy in many states , including Alabama , and they do not understand how DEI in higher education works.

It is critical to point out three facts about DEI. First, there is no national framework for DEI because every community is different. There is no check-box approach to diversity, equity and inclusion work because universities vary intensely from place to place; the diversity situation at Harvard is not the same as in Kansas, Oregon or Alabama.

Second, despite its critics’ hyperfixation on race, DEI is about far more than that. When the topic is how diverse an organization is, how inclusive it is, and if it practices equity, the characteristics that are most commonly discussed can include sex, gender, race and disability. On college campuses, a DEI framework might consider how many poor, first-generation or homeless students there are and if they are made to feel welcome or unwelcome. There might be questions about what the school can do to better accommodate veterans, students who are parents, students with religious dietary restrictions, and students having to navigate mental and physical health issues. DEI efforts have elevated this robust awareness of diversity among student populations. But, tellingly, these other categories that are the focus of DEI offices are rarely, if ever, mentioned in national debates. Those debates focus almost exclusively on race.

Lastly, DEI involves both civil rights compliance and outreach to historically excluded or marginalized communities. Every college in Alabama is still obligated to comply with civil rights laws. That means the bill Ivey signed, at least in the context of college life, targets outreach programs that seek to help students feel more connected to their campus communities.

Consistent with the problem of culture wars being waged by people who have no sense of history or context, not enough critics have bothered to ask why colleges are engaging in DEI work. The answer is that American colleges have institutional memory, know the history of higher education in this country very well, and when they look back, they don’t like what they see.

The history of American higher education is one of exclusion. The most glaring example is of Black students being barred from enrolling in certain colleges in the South, such as the University of Alabama and Auburn University. (Some states created Black colleges to keep the races separate.) Even at predominantly white colleges where they were not barred from enrolling, Black students often faced ostracism and harassment. This history of exclusion is not limited to Black students. Consider the well-documented history of Jewish exclusion at Ivy League institutions. The history of exclusion also includes the banning of women at Yale until 1969 and at America’s military colleges until 1976 . Add to that the marginalization of queer students and Muslim students, the latter of which became depressingly familiar in the wake of 9/11.

It’s a shame the state seems willing to destroy all that goodwill in the name of an unyielding and deranged culture war.

The sad truth of American life is that society remains profoundly segregated across racial, ethnic and class lines. One of the primary tasks of the university is to create a community out of the sheer amount of diversity that arrives on campus every fall .

To the point about the culture war’s regrettable lack of context, Alabama officials are not acknowledging how historically white institutions, especially in the South, used some version or another of diversity, equity and inclusion over the years to rebrand themselves. Every historically white college in a Jim Crow state was segregated, and many, the University of Alabama included, were key battlegrounds in the fight for civil rights. For years, the University of Alabama had the awful reputation as the place where segregationist Gov. George Wallace stood “in the schoolhouse door” to symbolically object to the first Black students’ enrollment.

In part because of the integration of its historically dominant football team , the university worked hard to create a new image of itself as an institution that embraces the complex and beautiful diversity of Alabama. That new image gave Mayor Woodfin and many other Black Alabamians permission to identify, say, as “Bama fans.” Today, Southern higher education, ranging from the large SEC schools to the small regional colleges in towns most Americans have never heard of, is among the most diverse in the country ; as a Southerner, this is a fact that I celebrate.

It’s a shame the state seems willing to destroy all that goodwill in the name of an unyielding and deranged culture war. The people behind this new law seem not to have considered that even without the prompting of the mayor of one of the state’s largest cities, Black athletes might decide to steer clear of the state’s biggest schools. They seem not to have considered that the kinds of students (and student-athletes) that the state worked to keep out a few short generations ago could easily decide to close the door on Alabama today.

Nicholas Mitchell is an assistant professor of curriculum studies at the University of Kansas. He is a curriculum theorist whose scholarship focuses on the intersection of education theory, policy and practice.

More than a dozen female athletes sue NCAA over their transgender participation policy

Riley Gaines and other athletes say the policy violates their Title IX rights.

More than a dozen female athletes have sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association over its transgender participation policy, which the athletes claim violates their rights under Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination based on sex at any institution that receives federal funding.

The lawsuit stems from the January 2022 ruling by the NCAA Board of Governors that allows transgender athletes to compete in the category of their affirmed gender on a sport-by-sport basis. The NCAA said that this ruling "preserves opportunity for transgender student-athletes while balancing fairness, inclusion and safety for all who compete."

This week, 16 female athletes across sports like swimming, soccer and track and field, filed the lawsuit, saying in the lawsuit that they "bring this case to secure for future generations of women the promise of Title IX that is being denied them and other college women."

"A lot of people ask us, why did we wait this long to file a lawsuit? Well, we waited this long to allow the NCAA every opportunity to make the right decision," Kaitlynn Wheeler, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, told ABC News.

"The NCAA's most basic job is to protect the fairness and the safety of its athletes, and it has failed on that simple task," Wheeler said.

The complaint highlights an alleged incident at the 2022 NCAA national swimming championship -- weeks after the NCAA's ruling -- involving former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who was competing for the University of Pennsylvania.

MORE: NCAA criticized for changing policy on transgender athletes

According to the lawsuit, Gaines had tied in fifth place with Thomas in the 200 free competition, but that as they prepared for the podium ceremony, Gaines was told by an NCAA official that only Thomas would be allowed to hold the fifth-place trophy.

Gaines says in the lawsuit she questioned the official, who the complaint alleges told her, "I'm so sorry, we have been advised that when photos are taken it is crucial that Lia Thomas holds the trophy."

"The secret of Thomas' meteoric ascendance and dominance in NCAA women's swimming was retained male advantage," the lawsuit alleges. Thomas had previously competed in the men's category prior to the NCAA's ruling.

"What the plaintiffs are really after is an equal and fair opportunity to succeed. For everybody to be equal at the starting line," William Bock, the lead attorney in the lawsuit, told ABC News.

In a statement, the NCAA said that while it "does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women's sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships."

MORE: Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out about backlash, future plans to compete

In 2022, Lia Thomas sat down with ABC News' Juju Chang following the University of Pennsylvania swimmer's historic Division 1 National title win.

"Trans people don't transition for athletics. we transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves," Thomas told Chang. "Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions."

"I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman. I was prepared for that," Thomas said. "But I also don't need anybody's permission to be-- myself and to-- to do the sport that I love."

Thomas did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment on the lawsuit.

"This lawsuit is the latest effort to eliminate the ability of transgender athletes to exist in the same spaces as cisgender athletes, and to erode the autonomy of sport governing bodies to set evidence-based eligibility criteria as they see fit," Athlete Ally, a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group, said in a new statement on Monday.

"We empathize with the pain felt by any athlete who falls short of their athletic goals, but singling out, scapegoating, or otherwise targeting trans athletes as the cause for those failures is unfounded and perpetuates stigma, stereotypes and discrimination against transgender Americans," Hudson Taylor, founder and executive director of Athlete Ally, said.

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Luke Bryan Fans Urge Him to Talk About Riley Strain's Death

A BC’s American Idol Season 22 is here, and fans are eager to see who Luke Bryan , Katy Perry , and Lionel Richie pick as their favorites moving forward. Bryan is a country superstar with a huge fan base. But fans of his work are asking him to make a statement regarding college student Riley Strain’s death. Strain died after leaving Bryan’s restaurant, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fans urge ‘American Idol’ judge Luke Bryan to make a statement about college student Riley Strain

American Idol and country music fans alike are calling for Luke Bryan to make a statement regarding Riley Strain’s death. Strain was on a college spring break trip in Nashville, Tennessee , with his fellow fraternity brothers in early March 2024. His last known location was Bryan’s Nashville restaurant, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink. Police recovered Strain’s body from the Cumberland River in West Nashville on March 22, 2024.

The Metro Nashville Police Department posted an update on the situation via X . “BREAKING: The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown,” they posted on March 22. “No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending.”

The University of Missouri President Mun Y. Choi wrote an email to students and members regarding Strain’s death. “I write to you with a heavy heart with the news that the search for MU student Riley Strain has ended tragically,” he wrote, according to The Tennessean . “After an exhaustive search by authorities and volunteers, Riley’s body was recovered today in Nashville, Tenn., where he had traveled to attend his fraternity’s spring formal event.”

Bryan didn’t post a statement regarding Strain’s death. His last Instagram post was of him and his fellow American Idol judges, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, at his high school on March 17, 2024.

“At least make a post about Riley,” a fan commented on the post .

Another fan commented on a photo that Bryan posted of all four American Idol judges and host Ryan Seacrest. “Glad to see you’re SO concerned about Riley Strain. Do better,” the fan wrote.

Other fans defended Bryan in the comments for promoting American Idol while the investigation regarding Strain’s whereabouts continued.

‘American Idol’ 2024: Lionel Richie Shows ‘Contempt’ When Disagreeing With Judges, Body Language Expert Says

Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink released a statement before the news of the student’s death

During Riley Strain’s disappearance, all eyes were on American Idol judge Luke Bryan’s bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink. TC Restaurant Group stated that bartenders only served Strain one alcoholic beverage and two glasses of water. According to NBC News , security removed him around 9:35 p.m. based on the restaurant’s “conduct standards” on the night of his disappearance. It’s unclear what Strain’s behavior was before his removal.

Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink released a statement on March 15, 2024, and Bryan reposted it to his personal Instagram account. “In our effort to help the Nashville Metro Police Department’s Missing Persons investigation of Riley Strain, we proactively provided detailed information quickly after his visit to our business on March 8,” the statement reads. “This statement included all security camera footage, photos of Riley at our establishment with detailed time stamps, transaction records, and staff accounts.” The statement explains what Riley had to drink that evening and what they know of what occurred after he left.

American Idol  Season 22 airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to  Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel .

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What to know about Terrence Shannon Jr.'s rape arrest as Illinois plays in 2024 NCAA Tournament

Shannon missed six games during his suspension but is leading a hot illinois team into the ncaa tournament.

On Jan. 24 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern fans chanted "No means no" throughout the Wildcats' game vs. Illinois as a means to heckle Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. , who was making his return from a suspension stemming from a 2023 rape case in Kansas .

Shannon missed six games while suspended but successfully sued his school and was cleared to return to play, but fans have not shied away from heckling him on the road since his return. And while the case with the school is settled, the criminal case remains ongoing, opening up the spectacle of controversy as No. 3 seed Illinois begins its NCAA Tournament run Thursday vs. No. 14 seed Morehead State in the first round.

Here's what we know about the timeline and details of the case against Shannon, who has maintained his innocence since charges were brought against him in December. 

Dec. 5, 2023 : Shannon is charged with one count of rape or an alternative count of sexual battery after a woman alleged that he grabbed her buttocks, reached under her skirt and touched her inappropriately on Sept. 8 in Lawrence, Kansas. 

Dec. 28, 2023 : Shannon turns himself in and is arrested one day after a warrant is issued. He is released on $50,000 bail.  Illinois suspends Shannon indefinitely , citing a zero-tolerance sexual conduct policy. Shannon's attorney, Mark P. Sutter, issues a statement acknowledging the accusation surfaced in September 2023 but that his client has declared his innocence since the beginning. 

Jan. 2, 2024: Shannon Jr. writes a 1,366-word letter  addressed to the University of Illinois student-athlete conduct panel, in which he continues to declare his innocence and pleads for the suspension to be overturned. The letter reads in part: 

As to the criminal charges against me, I am declaring my innocence, as I did back in September. I have totally cooperated with that process and will continue to do so. While I appreciate my lawyers and their ability to fight the case in court, I know that the criminal justice system takes time. So my day in court will not come about for a long time, most likely long after the NBA draft , and I may not be cleared of the charges until it's too late. The harm that I will suffer from an immediate suspension can never be undone, and I will never have this opportunity to further my collegiate career or fulfill my lifelong dream to play in the NBA . Going forward, I want nothing more than to play basketball for the University of Illinois, and I remain hopeful that my due process rights will be honored and allow for a full reinstatement while this case is pending.

Jan. 8, 2024 : Shannon's attorneys file a temporary restraining order against the University of Illinois seeking immediate reinstatement. The suit claims Shannon was not granted due process before being suspended from the team.

Jan. 19, 2024 : U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless hears Shannon's case and rules the school violated his civil rights with the suspension. Lawless grants an injunction asserting Shannon "will suffer irreparable harm" without it. Illinois abides by the ruling, reinstating him to full status. 

Jan. 21, 2024 : Shannon returns to play after missing six games and scores 16 points in an 86-63 home win over Rutgers .

Feb. 23, 2024 : A preliminary hearing date for the rape case against Shannon is initially scheduled but later moved to May 10.

March 17, 2024 : Illinois wins the Big Ten Tournament after three wins in three days. Shannon scores 28, 40 and 34 points in the three wins while earning Most Outstanding Player but is unavailable to the media. Illinois coach Brad Underwood comments only that he is coaching the players in the locker room, which at the time includes Shannon. 

"I'm the basketball coach, and a lot of this stuff was put in play by our university, the courts, and I'm not going to consume myself with it," said Underwood. "I've got a locker room full of players that I said, when he was suspended, I was going to coach the guys in the locker room. He's in the locker room. I'm going to coach him."

March 21, 2023 : No. 3 seed Illinois faces No. 14 seed Morehead State in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

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NAACP asks Black student-athletes to reconsider Florida colleges

• Graduate of the University of Florida. Follow on X

The NAACP asked Black student-athletes to reconsider their decisions to attend public colleges and universities in the state of Florida, in response to the University of Florida and other state schools recently eliminating their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In a letter sent to NCAA president Charlie Baker and addressed to current and prospective student-athletes Monday, NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson wrote, "This is not about politics. It's about the protection of our community, the progression of our culture, and most of all, it's about your education, and your future."

Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibits the use of state funds for any DEI programs. As a result, the University of Florida announced on March 1 it had closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated 13 full-time DEI positions and 15 administrative appointments and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.

Other in-state schools, such as North Florida and Florida International, have also recently shuttered DEI programs.

NFL Hall of Famer and Florida great Emmitt Smith also spoke out, voicing his disgust at UF's decision and asking minority athletes at UF to "be aware and vocal" about the decision.

In a statement, Johnson said, "Diversity, equity, and inclusion are paramount to ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes. The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it's time they take their talents elsewhere."

NAACP calls on Black student-athletes to boycott Florida public colleges over anti-DEI policy

The head of the NAACP is calling on Black student-athletes to reconsider their decisions to attend public colleges and universities in Florida, challenging a new state policy that bars those institutions from using government funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In a letter sent Monday to current and future student-athletes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NAACP leader Derrick Johnson implored college-bound Black athletes to “choose wisely.”

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are paramount to ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes,” Johnson said in a statement accompanying the letter, which was first reported by NBC News. “The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched.”

“If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere,” said Johnson, the civil rights organization’s president and chief executive.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed a bill that largely prohibits public colleges and universities from using state and federal funds on programs commonly grouped together under the acronym DEI.

Johnson’s letter was sent 10 days after the University of Florida eliminated all diversity, equity and inclusion positions in accordance with a state rule — a move that drew condemnation from NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, an alum of the school, who said on X that minority athletes there should “be aware and vocal about this decision.”

In response to a request for comment Monday, a spokeswoman for DeSantis directed NBC News to a March 1 tweet from the governor. "DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities," he said on X. "I'm glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit."

In recent years, Republican politicians, conservative activists and right-wing social media influencers have railed against DEI programs and an array of sociopolitical ideas they characterize as “wokeness.” The proponents of DEI in education have argued that such efforts are essential to make schools more racially and socially inclusive.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a law last year ordering DEI offices at all state-funded colleges and universities to shut down . In the current legislative session, GOP lawmakers in more than 30 states have introduced or passed more than 100 bills to either restrict or regulate DEI efforts writ large, according to an NBC News analysis .

Meanwhile, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, said on social media last month that if his state passed a bill to block funding for DEI in public colleges, he would encourage student-athletes to seek out programs in other states.

Florida is a major player in Division I athletics. The University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida are homes to some of the most prominent football and basketball programs in the country.

Florida college athletics are also big business. The University of Florida’s sports teams, for example, generated more than $177 million in revenue in a one-year period spanning July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education .

NAACP leader Johnson, in his letter to student-athletes, said he recognized that not all Black student-athletes have the financial freedom to participate in a boycott of Florida’s public school system.

“While it is our duty to spread awareness, and encourage action around these egregious assaults, we also recognize that protest can come at a price,” Johnson said. “The sad reality is, for many Black student-athletes, collegiate sports may be their sole opportunity at achieving the upward mobility necessary to propel them into their rightful places in society.”

“This imbalance of power and profit demands a response,” Johnson went on to say, “particularly because these institutions reap considerable financial benefits from the very individuals they fail to stand by in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion. If any institution is to reap the benefits of Black talent, it is only right that they completely invest in Black futures.”

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Daniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.