I have a child at a top Ivy school now. I would assume in a class of ~8, they were mid-tier w regard to desire from the coaching staff (they played/contributed as a freshman and continue to play). They attended a very highly regarded academic high school and when they gave their verbal, there was a call scheduled immediately between someone in the college admissions office and my child's academic advisor. A minimum 1350 SAT was required and my child was required to move, mid-semester, from one or two honors classes to the AP sections. From that point forward, it was AP all the way and A's were expected. I am talking about a consistent top 5 USN college here. Schools with big time athletic programs, FBS Football, D1 Basketball, etc with big budgets - UNC, ND, MD - have WAY more flexibility w regard to admission for their athletes. I would expect schools like Duke, Hopkins, N Western, Stanford to have expectations that fall somewhere between the highest Ivy's and a UNC, BC, etc. | 
