Athletics in Admissions at Caltech — A Look at Some Numbers

In an email to faculty on January 30, 2024, which was shared with the Tech, President Rosenbaum wrote that, “Two questions that have arisen in recent campus conversations concern the value of standardized testing, and the appropriate role of extracurricular activities, in admissions decisions. We have asked the Advisory Committee [on Undergraduate Admissions Policy] to accord these questions high priority and, if possible, to offer their recommendations on standardized testing by the end of March and on extracurricular activities by the end of April.”

According to Professor Steve Mayo, chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Admissions, the committee interpreted “extracurricular activities” to mean athletics — specifically, the role that athletics may play in admissions decisions. When speaking to Professor Mayo on May 22, the committee’s work was still ongoing so he was unable to share any of their current findings or what the scope of their recommendation might be. He did say that the committee is looking at a broad range of inputs, including admissions data, student performance data, and information on what it means to be an NCAA Division III institution.

The Tech reviewed a report containing some data regarding student-athletes at Caltech from the Student Success Analysis Working Group. This group was composed of Professors R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan N. Katz, as well as the Institute’s Chief Institutional Research Officer, Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Formed in 2022 at the instigation of Professor Kevin Gilmartin, the Working Group has collated and analyzed data about student-athletes, among other things.

For their research, the Working Group used data from the 2015-16 through 2022-23 academic years and looked at recruited student-athletes, actual student-athletes, and those who are neither. Their findings encompassed topics such as standardized test scores, core classes, and trends in option (major) choices.

The Working Group’s research found that: “The distribution of standardized test scores does not meaningfully and significantly differ between students identified by admissions officers as recruited student-athletes, actual student-athletes, and those who are neither.” In all cases, beyond the lowest percentiles, the distributions of standardized test scores between recruited/actual student-athletes and non-recruited students/ non-student-athletes systematically converge.

Due to the moratorium that paused the SAT/ACT requirement, standardized test scores were not available or considered in the admissions process for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years. However, students had the choice to voluntarily include their test scores in their applications, with the understanding that their scores would only be used for research purposes and not impact their admissions decision. A survey was conducted to collect any missing standardized test scores.

For core classes, the Working Group found that: “The academic performance in the Mathematics and Physics core curriculum classes does not meaningfully and significantly differ between students identified by admissions officers as recruited student-athletes, actual student-athletes, and those who are neither.” Additionally, “Students identified by admissions officers as recruited student-athletes are significantly less likely to enroll in the Analytical track of the Physics core curriculum classes.”

Regarding option (major) choices, the Working Group looked at the 12 most popular declared majors—ACM, Astro, Bio, BioE, Chem, CNS, CS, EE, IDS, Math, MechE, and Phys. They found that: “Students identified by admissions officers as recruited student-athletes and actual student-athletes are significantly less likely to declare Mathematics and Physics as their major. Also, students identified by admissions officers as recruited student-athletes are more likely to declare Information and Data Systems as their major.”

The Faculty Board had its last meeting of the 2023-24 school year on June 3. If the Advisory Committee had a recommendation by then, the board may have decided to vote on the issue of the appropriate role of athletics in admissions decisions at Caltech.