<p>I am interested in playing collegiate hockey. I am an above average student at an elite private school with many extracurricular interests. Does athletics/hockey help in the application/acceptance process?</p>
<p>It depends on how good you are. If Bowdoin's coach puts in a word for you to the admissions committe, yes it will help.</p>
<p>Hockey is big at Bowdoin so it will help you a lot. If you're a good hockey player, you can get what's known as a coach's "tip." There are 4 or 5 tips available every year - they give you a significant bump in the admissions process and can compensate for shortcomings in your academic record (you still need to be a solid student (probably a B student or better if you're coming from prep)). And the tips are divided into A, B, and C-band recruits, with the C-band slots going to high-impact athletes who need the biggest push through the admissions process (there might be 10 or so C-band slots per year for all sports at a NESCAC so the C-band tips are tough to come by).</p>
<p>Then there are what are called coach's "protects" - these go to athletes who are otherwise fully qualified for admissions (their GPAs and SATs are in the middle of the Bowdoin range) but might not be admitted just because of the numbers crunch in the admissions process. These would be in addition to the 4 or 5 tipped hockey players per year. </p>
<p>All the NESCACs follow similar practices with regard to tips and protects and these practices apply to all sports. To get tipped, NESCAC applicants generally have to apply early decision as the number of tips is subject to strict numerical limits each year and the coaches don't want to use a tip on an applicant who is not 100% committed to the school.</p>
<p>thanks, that was great info.how many protects are there? should a protect consider early admission? we are coming for an interview, I assume meeting with the coach is a good idea.</p>
<p>I'm not sure on the exact numbers for the protects but I think that it's another 4 or 5 kids every year (the typical incoming class has 8-10 serious hockey players). I think that most of the hockey players, including the protects, are admitted through the ED process although there are always a few who are admitted through the regular decision process. You should definitely set up a meeting with the coach as he will be able to tell you where you stand.</p>
<p>tora:
Excellant summary of the process. If I understand correctly, can we assume the hockey coach has 2 spots each for category A, B and C, and then an additional 3-4 "protects". If the protects have an academic profile equal to the class average, would you have a guess what the profile breakdown would be for category A, B and C? Thanks in advance</p>
<p>You should definately meet with the coach</p>
<p>In our experience, generally there is only one C band tip for hockey unless the coach "saved" is C band from the previous year. When my son went through the process, the coach at his NESCAC school told us that the previous year he did not need to use his C tip as all his recruits were As and Bs that year---my understanding was that he could carry that over</p>
<p>There is pressure among the NESCAC schools to eliminate the low band or C tips---ask the coach about this directly ---he really should explain the whole process to you. If he does not then I think that is a red flag</p>
<p>We attended a seminar as part of a hockey showcase that highlighted NESCAC recruiting--this is what we were told:</p>
<p>-NESCAC bands:</p>
<p>-Schools slot a nubmer of players per band over a 4 year period
-Schools are given a number of slots per year, generally 4-6
-Schools have different allottments in each of the bands, and the bands are not exactly the same for all schools. ie A C band athlete for Amherst, might be a B band at Conn College.</p>
<p>Estimates of Bands::</p>
<p>A BAND
SAT scores 700+ average all above 680
SAT II 720
GPA Mostly top 5%</p>
<p>B BAND
SAT scores 650+ average all above 510
SATII 640
GPA Mix of A/B Top 15%</p>
<p>C BAND
SAT scores 630+ average all above 580
SAT II 600
GPA B Record Top 25%</p>
<p>The level of support admissions gives coaches varies widely between schools</p>
<p>Mom;
Thanks for the prompt response. Was there any discussion at the seminar regarding those schools that do not require SAT's and their process of evaluation of a recruit's academic profile? i.e. Should a prospective recruit with solid grades and below average SAT's target those schools that do not require the test scores? Does it not give those schools a bit of a competitive advantage in the league?</p>
<p>We were told that in SAT optional schools, the coach will be your best guide as to whether or not to submit your SAT scores--so ask him. Some coaches will ask you to retake the SATs to improve your score. I have also heard through the grapevine that even in SAT optional schools admissions may want the SAT scores for tipped athletes anyway, so ask that question too. </p>
<p>The top hockey teams in NESCAC currently are probably Amherst, Colby, Midd and Bowdoin---Amherst and Colby do require SATs so it has not hurt them at all from a competitive advantage.</p>
<p>If you think you will need to be tipped to get in, the most important question to ask the coach is "will you use a tip on me with admissions?"---if he will not give you a straight answer then think twice about the school in my opinion.</p>
<p>If they are going to use a tip on you, they will insist on an ED committment from you
That was our experience anyway</p>
<p>Momof2sons has provided an excellent summary of the NESCAC tipping practices for recruited athletes. I would add a few additional comments:</p>
<p>--C-band tips are the most desired but also the rarest (about 10 per school each year distributed among all the sports). They go only to "impact" athletes (those who are projected to be 4-year starters) who need the most help in the admissions process. They are assigned to teams based on need and the sport's relative importance to the school (for men's hockey, this likely translates into 1 per year, with 2 per year on occasion).</p>
<p>--The prospective athlete should not worry about whether he is an A-, B-, or C-band recruit. The coach will know the numbers and where the applicant's credentials fall on his school's scale and will slot the applicant accordingly. The only question that matters to the applicant is whether the coach is interested enough in him to tip him if a tip is needed. At Bowdoin, there is ongoing communication between the coach and the athletic department during the admissions process so there should not be too many surprises.</p>
<p>--Some athletes will be "protected" rather than "tipped." Protects are in addition to tips so the number of slots affected by the coach's recommendations goes beyond the 4-6 tips assigned to the hockey team. Protects are available for athletes who are fully qualified academically but are competing against other applicants with similar credentials for a limited number of spots in the freshman class.</p>
<p>--At Bowdoin, tipped athletes will generally be required to submit SAT scores regardless of the fact that Bowdoin is SAT optional. This is due to the fact that the school wants to be sure that the student whose high school academic record is weaker than the average Bowdoin student's record will be able to do the work. There may be exceptions made to this practice for stellar students with subpar SATs. Again, this is an area where the coach will be able to tell the applicant whether he should submit his SAT scores.</p>
<p>One more thought, the other advocate you should have is your high school hockey coach. In our case he did alot of work behind the scenes talking with college coaches about our son. He personally called several schools that had interest in him and make the case for him.</p>
<p>In our experience with the NESCAC schools, the assistant coaches do most of the scouting but when it comes down to a final decision on a player, the head coach will attend a game or 2 and will make the final choice.</p>