is it fair to assess that the pre read is principally based on GPA/grades, and possibly the difficulty/inclusion of Honors/AP/IB/Pre College courses?
or would a 3.9 GPA fulfill pre-read requirements?
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For the prereads for several Ivys and big publics, our child had to
provide transcript, list of planned senior year courses, school profile from high school counselor that outlines class offerings, curriculum, class profile etc, short activity list and standardized test score to the coach. The coach submitted to their admission person for review.
The high school is an independent school that does not class rank, no APs and no weighted grades - with 4 years for all core subjects required plus gpa not on transcript only letter grades per class. The school has a track record with accepted applicants at all of the schools requesting a preread. The school profile is important, as our HS hasnât had a 4.0 student for years, so GPAs would look very different when calculated vs other schools.
Passing the preread for a well qualified student athlete was not the stressful part - it is all the back and forth that follows imo.
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I am just assuming here but at the schools my dd was looking at Iâm pretty certain her course schedule rigor, as well as GPA, definitely came into play. She was also recruited right in the middle of Covid so test scores were not as important since many kids were unable to sit for the SAT/ACT at that time. Iâd imagine due to that there was a lot of emphasis on the fact that she took all Honors/AP classes (which were weighted the same at her school).
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The Ivy League schools my son spoke to asked for the exact things that @coffeeat3 listed. Transcript, scores, school profile and senior year plans. We had a similar experience in that the pre-reads were not a big deal. Scores and grades were the first thing the coach asked my son in the recruiting process. He told them, they said âno problemâ and that was the only discussion about his academics. I know he submitted his documents for the official pre-read. He might have gotten official pre-read results back eventually, but none of us remember that event. I know it can be a show-stopper for some, but it was a non-event for him.
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In addition to coffeeat3âs list, it seems every year more coaches are also asking for a resume for the pre-read.
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Very school specific - for some schools she included an essay, for some a resume of activities, for some she was asked to sit for an admissions interview. All looked at grades on unofficial transcripts, senior course list, class profile and current test scores. I would say she was between an average to above average applicant at all but not significant above admissions standards at any. Pre reads weâre big for us because she was aiming slightly above safety and at some reaches passing prereads at some and getting an offer of coach support was a big deal for some of the schools. In the end though all were positive and all but one included likely merit awards in results letter.
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We are likely to be in same boat if we get that far, congrats to you all!
for the upcoming cycle, is there a clear timeline for pre-reads? Does it go by conference, school specific, or coach specific?
Centennial / Ivy / SCIAC?
UAA / NESCAC - 1 Jul onward
Itâs usually governed by the conference. The coach at one UAA school my son got an offer from told him the school doesnât do prereads, but that the coach had been there for 20+ years and he could tell which athletes could be admitted, and which couldnât. And that if we really wanted a preread anyway, he would ask Admissions to do one.
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Some conferences/schools will have their governing rules posted, hereâs the Ivy Leagueâs rules clearly stating 7/1 is earliest date for incoming senior recruit pre-reads. Note the coach may have reviewed academics well before then, some get semester grades from all potential recruits for as long as they are on the coachâs radar.
Knowing the rules helps, but fundamentally the coach should be communicating all of these things. Of course itâs ok for the student to ask as well.
Fundamentally the student wants to hear the coach is offering full support thru the admissions processâŠand it can take a long time to get there, literally can happen mere days before ED apps are due. The student should always ask what proportion of students with the same level of support have been historically admitted.
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Centennial also used the July 1 date when requesting prereads from athletes.
great to see consistency across conferences, helps everyone
Ivy / NESCAC / UAA / Centennial 1st July Onward (between Junior-Senior Year). Probably the same for SCIAC
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Even though official pre-reads canât happen until July 1, that doesnât mean coaches havenât already made verbal offers (many coaches are facile at knowing the academics which will pass muster with admissions), and that student-athletes havenât made verbal commitments. Many Ivy League athletes commit before July 1 of senior year.
NESCAC technically prohibits this (but it does still happen). Donât have time to look up the other conference policies.
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When S19 had his preread, it took forever. I found out later that the coach essentially put him at the back of the line, because he wasnât in the grey area. They submitted the guys that they knew they may have to beg for first. The obvious yesses were submitted eventually so they didnât step on the AOâs toes, but they werenât the priority. I donât know for sure but would guess that at most schools for most programs it is like that. From a logistical point of view every prospect in every sport canât be looked at in the first couple of days, so the coaches flag the 2 or 3 apps they want the AOâs to check out first. And those are the reviews that take the longest, probably including some conversations with coaches in some cases. Iâm probably off on the details but I think the concept is right.
That coach had been around a long time and had a lot of credibility built up with admissions. But I would guess that most coaches can spend 30 seconds looking at a transcript and know what the AO will say with 95% certainty, at least as far as red/yellow/green. It does them no good to spend months recruiting an athlete just to get a no answer in July. So for all but the borderline cases, the preread is just a formality. And at least with the couple borderline cases I am familar with personally, the borderline guys knew that the coach was going to bat for them but they were still going to be a coin flip on July 1.
Thatâs actually where S was with Stanford. their process is different, but the coach said he was about 70% to get in, so if S wanted to go that route for everyoneâs benefit he would need to get his app ready to submit the first day (at least at that time, they didnât really do official prereads, but would give a relatively quick preliminary decision on a full app that was submitted iirc July 1 or later), so we could have an answer early enough to let everyone move on if the answer was no.
The Ivy coach where he verbally committed told him in March that as long as he kept his grades roughly the same, short of doing something bad enough that an admission would be rescinded he would not have an issue with the preread or with admissions. He gave a couple obviously boilerplate disclaimers that he didnât have final admissions authority because Ivy League, etc., but that he had never had someone with similar resume/transcript/scores get denied.
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Itâ also possible the AOs arenât looking at ANY pre-reads on July 1. Last year July 1 was a Friday and the holiday was on Monday. This year July 1 is a Saturday, the holiday is Tuesday, but I bet many offices will be closed until the 5th or later.
There are some AOs that might be on vacation. Theyâve just finished the current class of admissions and maybe didnât close the waitlist until the end of May. They have to start the cycle all over again in Sept. They have their own kids to take to the beach or to summer camp. It is a natural time to take a break and just because the Ivy league says they can do pre-reads on July 1 doesnât mean that all schools will do them immediately.
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@twoinanddone thatâs such a good point about the calendar. Everybody, note to self, remind me of this very logical point when our family is very impatiently drumming our fingers on the counter wondering when weâll hear the results of the pre-reads this coming July.
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Do the SCIAC schools (Pomona-Pritzer, Claremont, Caltech etc) issue Likely Letters after pre-reads just like Ivies?
If so, are their Likely Letters also issued 1st October onward?
Ivys do not issue likely letters after pre-reads and I donât know of any school
that does. Prereads are unofficial - happen after July 1st and many athletes will pass all their pre reads. Only having a commitment from
the the coach for full
support and going through the admissions process with a completed application at your ED school (in most cases) could the athlete be sent a likely letter from
an Ivy. I have never heard of Pomona etc issuing likely letters - but coach can offer support and you apply ED. No guarantee - but also have never heard of a supported athlete not gaining admission (small
sample size). Appears you are misunderstanding prereads - they are just step 1 of a long process.
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sorry I meant pre-read + ED application completed by September, followed by Likely Letter after 1st October. but sounds like SCIAC schools do not issue LLs like Ivys. is it specific to Pomona, or none of the SCIAC schools do?
Whether they do or donât should not matter. You will have to take the coachâs word when making your decision and applying.
A school that doesnât issue LL doesnât have a less legitimate process.
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