It’s possible they have a continuity plan in place and all will be fine. It’s a good sign that things were handed over to the assistant, assuming he sticks around. I would just make sure to keep other options alive until there’s clarity, which you should do anyway.
This discussion is helpful, but a question I have that I have not seen answered is whether or not the coach has “pull” in the pre-read itself. If you’re going to be offered a slot by a coach at a NESCAC, does that “slot” only get you pull during your admissions (let’s say ED) process, or does admissions know during your pre-read that an athlete is going to be offered a “slot” vs. a tip, etc. Does that impact the likely outcome of a pre-read? In other words, if a coach really wants the athlete, does it make a positive pre-read more likely or is a pre-read just about meeting certain admissions standards, regardless of forthcoming coach support.
No.
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My understanding is that admissions is saying that with coach support, this student will be admitted. Iow, meets the threshold.
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That’s why I’ve wondered if at the time of the pre-read admissions knows what level of support (slot, tip, etc.) the coach plans on. If a coach plans on giving an athlete a slot, are the admissions standards that are applied at the time of that athlete’s pre-read relative to a “slotted” ED spot, vs. a tip that is EA or RD. Does that make sense?
I don’t think coach plans/desire for an athlete affects the pre read, except that at schools using slots/tips there will be communication from the liaison about what level of support would be needed. But a coach saying they really want an athlete isn’t going to move the needle on whether or not that athlete meets admission standards.
I would focus more on what each coach is saying about the process at their particular school and program.
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Of course. I just meant if a recruit is academically in the ballpark but maybe a point or two lower on a standardized test score, as an example, could the fact they may be offered a slot or coach support positively sway a pre-read.
I agree with those who have said the level of coach support won’t influence the initial pre-read. Coaches often don’t know what level of support, if any, they would give each recruit before pre-reads anyway.
Many coaches are ordering pre-reads for far more potential recruits than they will offer any type of support. Once the pre-read is complete then the admissions liaison may tell the coach what level of support the coach would have to use for that recruit, should that recruit make the coach’s final list.
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I think the assumption of all athletic pre-reads is that the recruit will have coach support. It is the coach sending admissions a list of athletes and asking if they look okay for admission if she supports them.
Then the coach typically decides which of the green lighted recruits to continue recruiting. There might be feedback from admissions on individual recruits that affects the coach’s decision on offers.
But, at least at selective schools, the pre-read is not designed to tell recruits what their chance of admissions is without support.
If the coach is saying the academics look good, I wouldn’t overthink it at this point but I’d keep options open.
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@Leaduse, I think you have gotten some intelligent responses. The reason for the pre-read is for admissions to instruct the coach which of his list of athletes is admissible, and which is not. An honest coach will communicate the results of the pre-read to the athlete, so the athlete benefits from the process as well.
We don’t know for sure that athletic ranking has no effect on the pre-read, but it just doesn’t make sense that it would. In a perfect world, the pre-read materials for all of the recruits would be sent to admissions at the same time. But we know that it doesn’t happen that way (a slow up with a high school registrar, a lazy recruit with his heart set on D1, summer vacations). If they are sent to admissions at different times, it would be very hard to give a ranking to admissions at that time, and it could be quite confusing. What happens if the no. 1 recruit decides on a different school and does not send pre-read information to the coach? The coach would have thought this was the no. 1 recruit and conveyed that to admissions before realizing that the recruit had committed elsewhere. I think that the real ranking of athletes comes after the results of the pre-read and it is sent with the coach’s support during early decision.
I do know that someone (whether from the athletic department or from admissions) helps at least the less experienced coaches on how to construct their ultimate list for admissions based on the results of the pre-reads. I had one NESCAC coach tell me that his no. 1 recruit had good enough grades and test scores that he was told he did not need to use a slot on that recruit, even though this was the top recruit. My recollection was that this conversation took place after pre-reads were completed.
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Agree with this. Just think of the practicalities of the mechanics. Take Amherst which has 27 varsity teams. I would not be surprised if each coach submitted 10 or more prereads on average, with football many more. I can’t imagine the AO being willing to give different reads based a coach’s anticipated level of support. At the time of the prereads, the coach is still sorting through his/her recruit list. Much more likely that that is a pure admissions read, maybe with a green, yellow and red signals. Now for a really top athletic recruit with borderline academics, maybe the coach has some ability to press the AO whether or not the student would be admitted if a slot were used, but I just don’t see individualized conversations happening if at all until his/her list is pretty much final and they are ready to formally offer support.
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Do you recall when during that summer between junior and senior year your daughter was asked for pre-read materials by Ivies? My son is a rising senior and talking to some Ivy coaches, and I’m wondering at what point we should conclude that he’s not being given a pre-read.
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Timing will vary. School, sport, coach, and random things will affect this. My experience with Ivy track recruits was that the official pre-read was usually in the July or early August timeframe but some were later. Usually the coaches had seen some sort of transcript and test scores prior to that.
Basically I think those coaches are taking a week or two off after NCAAs, filtering through one last time to finalize who they’ll want to bring in for OVs, and getting the process going then. It’s not really as regimented a schedule as it sometimes seems like here on CC, at least for Track and Field.
I’d have your son ask the coaches directly about the recruiting and admissions process and timeline.
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Hello - not sure your child’s sport. For my child (crew) coaches had enough confidence looking at her info the fall/winter of jr year that they “encouraged” unofficials. Her HS school had a track record with these schools and she had strong academics, leadership and sport skill.
Can’t remember exact timing for official prereads - some July and August with OV via Zoom (due to Covid) in the Fall.
In her opinion, team culture and coaching philosophy varied greatly and very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet many of the teams and tour schools pre-covid shutdown. The Ivy schools are very different, in her opinion.
Prereads is only 1 step of many and it can seem long - good luck, as it is a nerve wracking process 
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@TannerM1, I don’t think it helps to be a wallflower. I think your son should just ask if the coaches need his transcript and school profile for a pre-read. Better yet, just straight-up ask if the coach is going to submit for a pre-read.
I’m not sure why students think it will dissuade a coach from recruiting them if they ask. Look at it this way, if the question came from a coach’s no. 1 recruit, do you think the coach would hesitate to provide the response. In fact the coach would probably be glad to know the recruit was interested enough the school to ask about it.
I think the time is right to ask. The response will inform your college search one way or the other.
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I wonder if transfer portal for spring sports could be issue? I thought I read that the deadline to enter the transfer portal is July 1.
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Asking these questions on this thread since they relate specifically to academic/pre-read at NESCACs. D is getting ready to go through pre-read process. Top choice school (highly selective NESCAC) coach has her high school transcript (through 1st semester junior year), test score, senior courses, etc. Coach told D in call all looks good and D will formally submit all materials via Google form in next couple of weeks (NYS finishes later than most other states). Coach told D that assuming a positive pre-read (that coach is not concerned about) that she will call to offer D a supported roster spot, as she is at the top of their list, ON 7/1.
Questions:
-What if grades drop slightly this last 4th quarter? D has typically had all As, but may have 2 Bs this quarter (above 85s). This was a particularly challenging quarter with many big tests and projects. Folks speak about a minimum that most AOs have at highly selective NESCACs; how to determine what that is? How far below can they dip for #1 or #2 slotted recruit? Especially when her test score will likely be TO? Ironically, her best scores are in her AP classes.
-Does she reach back out to coach and mention the 2 Bs? In general her grades have been extremely consistent since freshmen year.
Any thoughts?
Most/all (?) NESCAC schools “band” their recruits into academic categories relative to non-athletes. Coaches can give “slot” support to a low band student who will likely still get accepted by the AO. The issue is if the 2 B’s will drop your daughter a “band” level. There are many instances of coached who choose to give high band recruits just soft support because they are confident that the AO will still accept the student either or both from experience and talking about the recruit with the AO.
At some point the AO will receive final junior year grades. A positive pre-read has no binding effect on anyone. I’d be up front with the coach now and say that there is a risk that your D may get a couple of B’s to confirm that it will not affect his/her support.
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Thanks for your thoughts. It looks like it will just be one high B. She had one high B 1st quarter this year in a different class, and the rest straight As. Hoping if it’s just 1, there shouldn’t be an issue. Not sure 1 would warrant her reaching out to the coach. She has her highest grades in APs and Honors/College Physics.
I don’t think one B is an issue at all. I’d be honest with the coach if it comes up but the only reason I’d reach out about it specifically is if she told the coach she expected straight As. If this were a borderline case the coach likely would have already asked her how this semester is going, probably more than once.
If you don’t already have it, I’d focus on getting the school profile for the pre read. There are schools where this is surprisingly hard to get, especially during the summer.
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