I have an 8th grade elite athlete (their words, not mine) - w the highlight reels to prove it. Plus, the A’s. So fortunately, 7 prep schools in New England have all sought him out, w post-interview emails from coaches that tell him, in so many words, he is in. But to give him FA, they say they need to know RIGHT NOW if their school is 1st Choice. I understand their position, and we are grateful for the enthusiasm (extremely). But since we are a FA family shouldn’t we wait to hear on ALL the offers (i.e., how much?) before we 1st choice anyone? We don’t want to offend or be stupid and don’t know what to do. We can’t do this w/o the FA. TIA for any advice.
Something doesn’t seem quite right. Elite Lax Player + Top Student would point to Deerfield. But Deerfield would not play this game. My response would be that you are extremely interested in the school(s) but that you have been deliberating avoiding establishing a first choice because FA will be a major factor in the decision process.
There was a long thread here about indicating first choice and that its a bad idea as you never know what’s going to happen. Funny the TSAO rules forbid this type of recruiting and as I have an athlete (maybe not as elite as you), I have seen this play out throughout the process. The non-TSAO school keeps tabs where the TSAO schools send general info and sometimes students are the ones reaching out. Maybe now that the deadlines are about to pass, all bets are off??
Looks like the schools are trying to prioritize their FA budgets. I’m actually quite surprised to see this conveyed by the coach.
Usually only admissions/FA can give estimates on how much aid you will receive. This also goes against the TSAO policy. Are these all TSAO schools?
It seems like there is a lot of interest but they want a commitment from your son. Has he made a rank list?
It’s 50-50. 50% coaches, 50% AO’s who did joint interviews. Honestly don’t think anyone’s breaking any rules as their verbiage speaks almost entirely to what they envision DS doing once there. Stands to reason they don’t want to go to bat for FA for a kid who doesn’t end up there. Think RedSox Fan18 is correct that DS (or I) need to let them know that really, how much FA DS gets will be the deciding factor. I told DS NOT to make a rank list, so as not to get disappointed. Still, feeling (self-imposed, maybe?) pressure from these (surprisingly) very nice coaches and AOs.
It’s a tricky situation. You may get a “pre-read” of your financial application from one or more schools. I’d suggest you be ready to make a commitment if the school can commit a level of support satisfactory to you instead of getting them into a bidding war, which potentially could backfire… Just my 2c.
I don’t see any problem. The schools are not asking for a contract. They merely want to know if they have a good chance to win you. Do you have the favorite among them, whether by a tiny or big margin? If so, I would tell the school that it is your first choice. If it turns out that the school accepts you but without enough FA, well, you are not liable, both legally or morally, to attend it.
Totally agree w panpacific. NO desire for bidding war here. And yes, ready to commit (not demur) to wherever the ride comes from. So yeah, will just be upfront w all and let chips fall where they may. Didn’t know you were allowed to request a pre-read on FA from the schools. That’d be enormously helpful. And yes, Sculptor Dad, I suspect that DS does have a fave in the mix. Time to start showing a card or 2. Thx for the insights.
The problem I see is not to let the first choice you have identified know your preference but all the others that are not your first choice, unless you wanted to lie and say all of them are your top choice. You’d be better off being honest and letting them know your decision will be driven by FA offers. Meanwhile, I’m not sure if an open ended bidding war all the way till March 10 is the best strategy since schools might feel your are too uncertain a case and move on to other candidates. Of course, no one really know how each school will react. OP needs to balance the opportunities and risks on their own.
This has been an interesting thread. How does one go about getting a “Pre-Read” on financial aid? Once you have all your information into the sss.nais site do you then contact the financial aid office directly to ask them for the courtesy of a pre-read? I can’t imagine they do this very often?
You can’t “get it”, but they can offer it if they want to.
My child is an “elite athlete” and applied to and was accepted to 3 of the TSAO schools, one of which he is currently attending. He is getting a significant amount of FA. I’m surprised coaches would contact you during the process, because even though the coaches we were dealing with showed an extreme amount of interest when my son interviewed with them, and we had the highlight reels and National credentials, they were totally silent during the admissions process. They simply said, “let me know when you find out the decision”. Have things changed?
I would never tell a school they were #1. As someone suggested, I would tell them that FA mattered.
Or, as my child received yesterday, communication is from the team captain encourage the prospective student to attend a game or major event.
I just checked and these are not TSAO schools DS is dealing with. So maybe the coaches reaching out are just doing what they normally do for their jurisdiction. Some of these schools are so small, the coaches wear many hats. So that may put to rest anyone worrying about recruiting infractions or line-crossings! But the advice here has been amazing, and will at least ASK for a pre-read on the FA picture with whomever is forthcoming. Thanks again all!
Non-TSAO schools are not bound by the same level of scrutiny for coach-recruit contact.An overview of the TSAO athletic recruiting guidelines can be found in the Choate article below
http://thenews.choate.edu/article/choate-recruiting-depth-look
I agree that its probably a good idea to let them all know that FA is a key factor in determining where your son will end up playing. Don’t be surprised however if you see some schools suddenly stop communicating and your DS receives a rejection on M10. The schools all have limited FA budgets, and they want to use them on students who have a high interest in attending.
Non TSAO schools operate very differently.
Most Non TSAO schools are also less competitive in admission than TSAO schools, so understandably they find an elite athlete + A students is very appealing, knowing they have competitions and could easily lose him to a school with more brand power.
“I have an 8th grade elite athlete (their words, not mine) - w the highlight reels to prove it. Plus, the A’s. So fortunately, 7 prep schools in New England have all sought him out”
“I just checked and these are not TSAO schools DS is dealing with.”
@Laxmama24 Has your family actively pursued looking at some of the top schools, many of which are the TSAO schools? Or are you just relying on schools seeking your son out? If he has the sports acumen AND the grades, you shouldn’t rule out top tier schools. Even if its past the “official” application deadline, you might have your son reach out to some other schools to maximize his options in terms of academic offerings.
@doschicos’s advise sounds very wise.
Doesn’t quite work that way. Far more complicated than that. At this point reaching out will get you nowhere.