<p>Generally, if a coach is interested in an athlete who has applied for admission, how is that interest communicated to the admissions committee? (both with D-1 and D-3 programs)
Does the recruited athlete first apply through the normal admissions process or through the athletic dept.?
The sport is womens crew.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Women's crew: Student should contact the coach first (junior spring is a good time to do that). Email is a good medium that allows for a reasonable amount of dialogue back and forth. The coach will evaluate both athletic potential and do a quick prescreen (grades, SAT) to ensure that they are not wasting their time. </p>
<p>If your D is competitive, from July 1 onwards there will be frequent contact and probably an official visit in the senior fall. Application, however, always goes through the admissions office. The coach will communicate their evaluation of your D's potential to the admissions committee.</p>
<p>Depending on the school, you could be looking at a likely letter or a letter of intent prior to official admission. Most women's crew recruits are locked down by end of October/early November.</p>
<p>I am wondering the same, but for cross country running. Since this season is in the fall, would interest be mostly on the basis of junior times rather than senior times? The senior season would not be over and all-state teams not announced until late November/early December in most cases and application deadlines would be cutting it close....</p>
<p>At highly selective DIII schools, if there is any question about the candidates academic qualifications, the coach will be able to get a sense of the candidates chances for admission from the admissions committee. The coach may very well insist that the athlete apply ED1 or ED2 in order to gain the coach's support in the admission process.</p>
<p>One thing to watch out for. I know of at least one situation in which a coach encouraged several candidates for the same position on the team to apply ED, knowing that he could only support one for the position (he was hedging his bets). In the specific case, the coach was very upfront about the situation. However, I can imagine situations in which the coach was less clear.</p>
<p>The cultures at different institutions are very different. Some MIT coaches have been quoted as saying "I feel like I'm wasting my time sending names to admissions." At other schools, the coaches send unranked lists of students in whom they're interested. At still others, coaches pretty much know where the admissions floor is and they're guaranteed a certain number of "tips"--students who would probably be only borderline admissible, but will get in if a coach uses one of his tips. And at some DI programs, the coach can probably almost trump the admissions office. It's good to find out where your schools are in that spectrum.</p>
<p>An entire admission committee is rarely in contact (if ever) with coaches. There is usually one officer who acts as the liaison with athletics and reads the "pre-apps" that some athletes fill out.</p>
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[QUOTE]
I know of at least one situation in which a coach encouraged several candidates for the same position on the team to apply ED, knowing that he could only support one for the position (he was hedging his bets). In the specific case, the coach was very upfront about the situation. However, I can imagine situations in which the coach was less clear.
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This is something that has always made me very uncomfortable. I've heard that some coaches will string students along just in case the "top pick" for a position or event doesn't commit. A student may think they are being courted while the coach is actually interested in another student. </p>
<p>There must be a message board out there that caters to high school athletes and their parents. I don't know of it myself, but I can't believe someone hasn't started one to help these families navigate the process with some help.</p>
<p>Having just gone through the process with my S, I have no problem in general with coaches expressing interest in athletes who are not the the coach's top choices because the top choices may go elsewhere. Conversely, the standard rule for students is don't say no to any plausible possiblities until you have sealed the deal with someone. My only complaint would be with a coach at a highly selective DIII who commits to supporting a candidate in the admissions process and then does not follow through on that commitment.</p>
<p>My understanding of the process at tier 1 schools, having been through it with Div 3 (and I have read Div 1 is similar) is that a coach is given a certain amount of spots to request admissions. If the student's other credentials are high (grades, SAT) the coach is less likely to request her, but will allow a walk on. The coach will request and recruit the student he really wants in his 6 slots who would not have the credentials to be accepted at the school. According to my child who walked on, his SAT and grades are much higher than the recruited athletes.</p>
<p>Cross country and track are among the most straightforward sports to discuss with college coaches. They will want to know your PR (personal record) in the events you participated in. My daughter's sophomore year times were better than her junior year times (although senior year was best of all). The D3 schools (NESCAC mostly) we talked to just seemed to have a general threshold for consideration, which was actually less competitive than I expected.</p>
<p>Crew is going to be largely based on your daughter's 2k times. She would need to be pulling below 7:50, ideally 7:35-7:45 in order to be on the recruit list for any decent D1 team.</p>
<p>A D1 coach will send admissions a list of recruits with priorities (ie I NEED this kid, and if I can't have these other kids I'll take this one, etc.). The adcoms will consider the coach's/the school's needs when making their admissions decisions. That said, a lot of coaches will push 5/6 girls to apply ED knowing that, as a numbers game, they will only get 2/3. Thus there are two rounds of recruiting, ED and regular.</p>
<p>DIII is going to be different time wise and crew is such a walk-onable sport that I doubt her experience would have that much pull.</p>
<p>That said, make sure your daughter contacts coaches. Fills out their recruited athlete questionares, etc. </p>
<p>If she is recruited she will spend a lot of time visiting schools ('officials') and talking to coaches (mostly on the phone). Make sure that she finds a school and a program that she liked.</p>
<p>A friend of mine was at the top of Dartmouth's recruiting list after being rejected early from Stanford. By March their coach had abused her so much over the phone that my friend said she couldn't row for her. The coach then went and (illegally) withdrew her application. This is an atypical experience (another one of my friends is rowing at Brown and LOVES their coach), but just be aware that coaches, like people, are not perfect.</p>
<p>
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My only complaint would be with a coach at a highly selective DIII who commits to supporting a candidate in the admissions process and then does not follow through on that commitment.
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</p>
<p>At highly selective DIII schools, many coaches will be upfront about the true impact of their "support." The most honest one will admit to have little --or no-- bearing on admission decisions. </p>
<p>In general terms, many disappointments arise from hearing what ones WANTS to hear. The response to asking "to put it in writing" will quickly separate the grey area from the reality. Of course, this would also crush the ego trips related to having kids being "recruited." For the divisions where scholarship money can be offered, it's pretty easy to find out where a student fits. In Div III, that is, of course, not possible since there are no commitments on either side.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with Xiggi and his comment that coaches at highly selective Division 3 schools will be upfront and honest. They won't because they don't know if the kids they want will pick their school. They "lead on" multiple kids to cover their requirements for their team.</p>
<p>Merrymom, please read my post again regarding having selective hearing.</p>
<p>"At highly selective DIII schools, many coaches will be upfront about the true impact of their "support." The most honest one will admit to have little --or no-- bearing on admission decisions."</p>
<p>Xiggi, sorry if I misinterpreted your comments. I was responding to your above quote. You are saying the coaches are upfront (truthful). I am saying, not possible. </p>
<p>Also, it does have bearing on admission decisions.
There have been several discussions about the large number of athletes admitted to top Div3 liberal arts schools. </p>
<p>I think the bottom line is the coaches don't have the final decision on an admission. They aren't truthful to applicants about their chances and if they are interested in having them on the team.</p>
<p>"At highly selective DIII schools, many coaches will be upfront about the true impact of their "support." The most honest one will admit to have little --or no-- bearing on admission decisions."</p>
<p>I know from personal experience that the second part of this statement--that DIII coaches generally have little influence on admissions decisions--is simply wrong as a matter of fact. My S, who will be attending one of the most selective DIII colleges in the country, would not have even been in the realm of consideration if he had not been the coach's first priority in his sport.</p>
<p>Cross country- I want to point out that cross country times are not nearly as important as track times, and few coaches will recruit JUST for cross country. The runner will be expected to run distance events in track- maybe even indoor and outdoor track. Track times are easier to compare. Cross country courses vary too much in difficulty and accuracy. Unless you have run cross country times on nationally recognized courses or events (like Footlocker regionals) you will need solid junior year track times. </p>
<p>I felt that the coaches who contacted my son were very honest about their influence with admissions. It really varies from school to school and from sport to sport. Being willing to apply ED will give you an edge, and if you are going to do that, you have a right to expect the coach to tell you if you are wasting your time or not.</p>
<p>Every few months I come out of hiding to respond to these threads :)</p>
<p>
I felt that the coaches who contacted my son were very honest about their influence with admissions. It really varies from school to school and from sport to sport.
</p>
<p>Whereas one of the schools that I applied to had the coach guarantee me admission (his exact line was: "You don't even need to fill out applications for other schools"), but the school waitlist me. I decided not to stay on the waitlist; I was too ****ed off at admissions. . .I would've been their top jumper by far too, so that rubbed some salt in the wounds.
Most coaches and admissions DO communicate well together, though; I suppose this school was just an exception.</p>
<p>I know nothing about crew nor do I know much about DIII recruiting, so I'm going to go back into hiding. If anyone needs any DI football or track and field help, I'll show up again, I promise.</p>
<p>I am curious about the kids who can tell you in May or June of their junior year where they are going to go to college. Do they actually have firm admissions or are they not giving out the whole picture? These have all been div 1 for either volleyball, swimming or water polo.</p>
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I was too ****ed off at admissions
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You're mad at the admission office because they didn't do what the coach said they'd do? </p>
<p>There are so many people out there who think they know what admission offices do. I can't tell you how many times someone has started a conversation with "my ____ told me" with that blank being someone who graudated 30 years ago to a neighbor to a faculty member on the other side of campus. </p>
<p>That coach wasn't honest with you. I'm sorry about that and I wish you wouldn't direct your anger towards the admission office at that school.</p>
<p>Mom60, the "pre-app" process is an early read. A dean will tell a coach whether a student is competitive for admission or not. Some coaches might use that information to shift their attention to weaker students who can't get into the school on their own.</p>
<p>Oh Ecliptica, could it be that the coach realized he wanted his top jumper to reach a distance within 5 or 6 feet of Mickael Hanany or Johnnie Lee Higgins on Kidd's Field?</p>