Academically excellent top skaters

bonita said:

How would he know Nathan’s GPA? Is your friend the Harvard AO who has access to the applicant’s file? lol

Nathan skipped a grade. He took AP calculus at age 15. He didn’t need to take AP at all or didn’t need to take calculus that early if he is not good.

And if your friend’s words could be counted, there was chat group with kids from Lakewood claimed he did get into H. Whom should we believe?

BTW, Nathan had online courses from Connections Academy, like Vincent and Alexandria Yao did.

Alexandria Yao is going to Columbia this fall.

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I actually don't doubt that Nathan's GPA is low (Ivy League standards). I don't know if he lives in a competitive school district, but the GPA required for Ivy League schools are incredibly high. To have an Ivy-League standard GPA along with a skating career is impossible. I'm sure Nathan's incredibly smart (getting into Yale!!), but intelligence level and GPA are loosely correlated. In High School, it's really who tries harder.

Someone who's very close to me has many of the same achievements as Nathan: AP Calculus BC at age 15 (5 on AP Test), Full score on Math SAT, but he had a low GPA because he was more interested in playing tennis. Ultimately, he got into University based on his PSAT score (National Merit Finalist) alone.

Edit; I don't believe that other people would know his GPA, but I don't think he got into Yale because of it.

I dont get why people mention Medvedeva but not pretty much all the other russian skaters, or even count it as achievement.

Bobrova: graduated, same old Russian State University of Physical Culture
Pogorilaya: studies at the same uni currently, afaik
Radionova: studies at Moscow Institute of Physical Culture and Sport
Tuktamysheva is also in university

and so on.


Basically, in russia, Physical Education is pretty standard for athletes, and I wouldn't consider enrolling into such course a sign of academic excellency. It is not anyhow comparable with getting into a top university.

I actually took the same online French course, as an elective, as Kaitlyn Weaver back in university. She posted a message introducing herself in the class forum. I wanted to send her a PM but that function was disabled by the professor. Oh well, at least I can say I was in the same class as her .

I think that skating is a sport that has a culture of fostering high academic achievement but that may also be because there is limited opportunities to make a life long career out of skating so skaters are aware that they need a plan B. In addition because skating is an expensive sport there may be an above average rate of skaters who come from backgrounds where going to college is expected verses some other sports.

Now I'm wondering if skating is above average with academic achievement vs all sports total or if you were to discount sports with a relatively easy entrance fee and a viable professional league (basketball, football, baseball, hockey) that it would stack up with them academically.

Tavi... said:

According to a 2014 USFS blurb about Jason Brown:

Member of the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Scholastic Honors Team, the Highland Park Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society. Received the Athlete Alumni Ambassadors Award, the Ralph Potter Memorial award for Exceptional Ability and Achievement and the President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence.

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There are some good folks on those scholastic honors teams. Including those who skated internationally as seniors

2014: Hannah Miller,
2013: Kaitlin Hawayek
2012: Jason Brown, Christina Gao
2011: Maia Shibutani
2010: Rachael Flatt
2009: Becky Bereswell, Rachael Flatt, Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Danny O'Shea
2008: Katrina Hacker, Alexander Johnson, Emily Samuelson
2003: Sarah Hughes, Tiffany Vise

There are a few more not above that were on the team and competed for the U.S. as juniors. Also, I couldn't find the teams for some years...

lichi said:

I actually don't doubt that Nathan's GPA is low (Ivy League standards). I don't know if he lives in a competitive school district, but the GPA required for Ivy League schools are incredibly high. To have an Ivy-League standard GPA along with a skating career is impossible. I'm sure Nathan's incredibly smart (getting into Yale!!), but intelligence level and GPA are loosely correlated. In High School, it's really who tries harder.

Someone who's very close to me has many of the same achievements as Nathan: AP Calculus BC at age 15 (5 on AP Test), Full score on Math SAT, but he had a low GPA because he was more interested in playing tennis. Ultimately, he got into University based on his PSAT score (National Merit Finalist) alone.

Edit; I don't believe that other people would know his GPA, but I don't think he got into Yale because of it.

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I don’t know about his GPA, and although what you said makes some sense, still it is just your assumptions. It is that the source of the that poster’s information is so doubtful. Unless you are an AO in Harvard, or counselors from Nathan’s school, or close friends with Nathan who Nathan would trust to give information to, how do you know his GPA?

IVY admission is like myth where luck also plays some part. And speaking of GPA, how do people know if it is the weighted or unweighted GPA is low. On level classes like orchestra, band, pe, debate or those AP class prerequisites if not CBEd are going to drag down GPA, but which doesn’t really make a student less competitive to elite school AOs. The missing schools part and GPA associationsis even more laughable in that post. Harvard rejects students for all kinds of reason or no reason at all, in fact that straight a student who is also top skater got deferred, would you say that kid has low GPA, or even jaw dropping low GPA. Let alone the admission bias scandal Harvard headlined theses days. And TBH, nobody even knows he was rejected or not. He just stated in his interview that he chose Yale over his two NoCal safety net schools because Yale is the first to reach out to work with him and there were sources saying he did get in. As a matter of fact, there were fans of other skaters went to Nathan FF vehemently tried to pursuance fans that Nathan HAS no other choice but to go to Yale because he cannot get into any school in California lol.

And medical school has been Nathan’s ultimate goal. High GPA is a must to apply for any medical school, that is why quite some students choose to attend less competitive schools to have better GPA to apply for medical school. Nathan must be a lunatic to aim for medical school if he could not even maintain decent GPA in a not very competitive school.


Still the person you were talking about puzzles me if he does well in AP calculus and PSAT but has very low GPA. Unless he lives in a state where the National semi finalist cut off is VERY low or he has quite some on level classes and didn’t do well which significantly would drag down your GPA. AP physics, and Ap calculus are comparatively little harder, compared to other APs, including AP CS, which are quite easy to most of peopl, although I do know some Asian students excel in STEM related courses but would find AP world History and AP English hard, but again, their GPA is no way near to be called low low, let alone jaw dropping low, the grades just not standing out compared to other applicants in Yale and other elite schools cases, competing with valedictorians and salutations

Teodora Markova - another example of a top student and ice dancer at Senior Europeans and Worlds level. Graduated last year from a High School in CT, USA as the Valedictorian of her class of 320 students, with a GPA of 4.31 and 39 credits from APs, 30 of them accepted at McGill University in Montreal (the "Canadian Harvard" ) where she studies now full time psychology major and neuroscience minor, while at the same time training at Gadbois equally hard as all the top dancers there. If there was such an award, she would definitely get one for the US Public High Schools student who attended the least amount of school hours (due to her training and travelling to international competitions in Europe 6-8 times each season as an international and Junior Worlds individual competitor) and at the same time managing to finish with sucha GPA and as number 1.
Many figure skaters are extremely smart young people!

moriel said:

I dont get why people mention Medvedeva but not pretty much all the other russian skaters, or even count it as achievement.
Basically, in russia, Physical Education is pretty standard for athletes, and I wouldn't consider enrolling into such course a sign of academic excellency. It is not anyhow comparable with getting into a top university.

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True. It's very standard in Russia. Also I believe other athletes in other countries (not western) may have the same way.

2014: Hannah Miller - no undergraduate school
2013: Kaitlin Hawayek no undergraduate school
2012: Jason Brown - Didn't finish undergraduate school.
Christina Gao - scholastic life won over her Olympic dreams. Currently studies full time
2011: Maia Shibutani homeschooled, didn't finish undergraduate school.
2010: Rachael Flatt bachelor's degree from Stanford University
2009: Becky Bereswell didn't graduate

2008: Katrina Hacker no undergraduate school
Alexander Johnson - dropped off University of Minnesota, went to community college, tried another University, didn't graduate.
Emily Samuelson - university degree. Works as financial planner
2003: Sarah Hughes - university graduate


Not many can finish schools.

^ The question wasn’t whether they finished college, it were skaters who showed academic excellence.

Sarah Hughes just graduated from law school, so she’s more than a university graduate.

blue_ice said:

2014: Hannah Miller - no undergraduate school
2013: Kaitlin Hawayek no undergraduate school
2012: Jason Brown - Didn't finish undergraduate school.
Christina Gao - scholastic life won over her Olympic dreams. Currently studies full time
2011: Maia Shibutani homeschooled, didn't finish undergraduate school.
2010: Rachael Flatt bachelor's degree from Stanford University
2009: Becky Bereswell didn't graduate

2008: Katrina Hacker no undergraduate school
Alexander Johnson - dropped off University of Minnesota, went to community college, tried another University, didn't graduate.
Emily Samuelson - university degree. Works as financial planner
2003: Sarah Hughes - university graduate


Not many can finish schools.

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Not getting a BA/BS before you're 21 doesn't mean that you're not smart/a high academic achiever. It just means that you're deferring education.

Yes under that logic both Meryl and Charlie are also academic failures because they’ve taken 10+ years to finish their college degrees. Give me a break.

Meryl’s academic success is actually notable because she had to overcome dylexia to reach her goals.

Off topic, but I'll never understand the way USA school's work, like how can you be an University graduate but not actually have a degree in something specific, like law? In Mexico you go straight to Law School after high school, for example.

Ulrica said:

Off topic, but I'll never understand the way USA school's work, like how can you be an University graduate but not actually have a degree in something specific, like law? In Mexico you go straight to Law School after high school, for example.

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As the spouse of an US based academic, it would take far more time than I have here to explain the American higher education system. The usual answer is "It depends"
I will say that Law and Medicine are graduate programs which require a four year undergraduate degree, except for a few specific "straight through" programs in medicine that I'm not sure exist anymore (Local Large Private University used to have one).

That's why "Academic excellence" is almost impossible to measure by school attendance or by degrees across different countries. It's even impossible within the US, with variations in schools, programs, and standards. But bravo to all skaters who choose what's best for them to follow their dreams

Meryl Davis
Charlie White
Evan Bates
The Shibs
Ryan Bradley
Fedor Andreev

blue_ice said:

True. It's very standard in Russia. Also I believe other athletes in other countries (not western) may have the same way.

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Yep, i'm pretty sure that, while its not the case in FS, in USA many athletes have easy passes into uni based on their sport excellency, rather than their academic excellency.
So yeah dunno, I wouldn't put the russian folks doing physical education in same league as Nathan. Maybe Kolyada only, because Master degree.

Speaking of academic, i am rooting for Masha Sotskova, since she said she was going to try Russian Academy of Theatre Arts this summer.

Ulrica said:

Off topic, but I'll never understand the way USA school's work, like how can you be an University graduate but not actually have a degree in something specific, like law? In Mexico you go straight to Law School after high school, for example.

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I'm not really sure what you mean by this. As far as I know you have to have a major to graduate in the US. I guess people don't always say what their major is. They might just say the school, but they would have had to have a major. It's kind of weird but to get into medical school or law school your undergrad degree doesn't necessarily have to be related as long as you take the right prerequisites. You would have to have an undergrad degree in most cases though.

treblemakerem said:

I'm not really sure what you mean by this. As far as I know you have to have a major to graduate in the US. I guess people don't always say what their major is. They might just say the school, but they would have had to have a major. It's kind of weird but to get into medical school or law school your undergrad degree doesn't necessarily have to be related as long as you take the right prerequisites. You would have to have an undergrad degree in most cases though.

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I do not know the Mexican higher education system, but I am familiar with other (European) systems. It is very different from the US for professional school. In those other systems, you go to University and you graduate with a law degree, all you need (absent other testing or certifications) to practice law. No need for a graduate school, just up and at 'em

So it's not the same as a US "prelaw" major (uggh I hate that. I didn't do that, and no one I know did that). You still need to go to graduate school in the US of A, no matter your major, basket weaving or biology.

treblemakerem said:

I'm not really sure what you mean by this. As far as I know you have to have a major to graduate in the US. I guess people don't always say what their major is. They might just say the school, but they would have had to have a major. It's kind of weird but to get into medical school or law school your undergrad degree doesn't necessarily have to be related as long as you take the right prerequisites. You would have to have an undergrad degree in most cases though.

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I mean, you graduate high school and you go straight into your degree (we call them careers) for example I have a degree in International Studies and Foreign Trade, and a postgraduate on Customs Processing, what I had to do to get into the degree was pass three tests, one of general studies (all you learned in high school) one pertaining international studies (you can chose to enroll into courses for this, I didn't) and the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language). These tests are applied the last month of the last semester of high school, so a lot of people finish high school while simultaneously taking extra courses dedicated to the degree they chose (as far as I know, there's no high schools that offers them, you have to look for those, unless you are on a "Preparatoria Técnica", which is a high school with extra classes dedicated to certain degrees, such as medicine for example)

Armin Mahbanoozadeh and Christina Gao come to mind. They both attended Ivy League Schools.