Tech athletes score higher on SAT scores than peers

According to the records obtained by the Technique, the average composite SAT score for current Tech football players is about 1062 out of 1600 and 1055 out of 1600 for Tech men’s basketball players.

While the average composite SAT of the 98 football players as of Fall 2013 was 1062, lower than the 1420 average entering composite for entering freshman in 2013, the individuals scores varied wildly. The lowest score for the team was a 780 while the highest was a 1520. Based on College Board’s data from 2013, if that score was split evenly between Math and Critical Reading, that player would be in the 99th percentile in Critical Reading and 97th percentile in Math.

Tech performs better on this metric than UGA, whose average SAT for basketball and football players is a 941 according to CNN. According to the Raleigh New & Observer, UNC Chapell Hill, under scrutiny a number of academic scandals related to their athletics programs, the average SAT score for UNC football players is a 1060. The most recent scandal at UNC occurred when an athletic tutor revealed that many UNC football players read only at a grade school level.

According to the Board of Regents Policy Manual, all students admitted to a University System of Georgia school must meet a minimum “Freshman Index” which is calculated from a student’s composite SAT score and high school GPA. For instance, to be admitted to a Research University such as Tech, a student who received a 800 composite SAT must have a high school GPA of 3.4. Students may also be admitted if they fall below this minimum under what is called a “Limited Admissions Category.” Under this standard, a student with a 800 SAT would only have to have a high school GPA of 2.44.

According to Mary Tipton Woolley, Associate Director of Admission, less than 20% of football and basketball players at Tech are admitted in the Limited Admissions Category. In addition, according to the Open Records Request, only 0.25% of freshman were admitted for “athletic, non-academic reasons.”

“The final admission decision for all students is made in admission,” Tipton Woolley said.

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