@Hastomen123, Georgetown University, Duke University, Naval Academy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Southern California, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University. So 16 schools, with multiple visits to Princeton, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, and the Naval Academy. So, my words are, #3 recruit in the USA in her event with options, and I’m glad that it’s over.
@classicalmama The OV might be a formality, but the actual offer is not. Even if a recruit has a clear #1, if the finances matter, they might have to go with #3. So, all 5 OV’s could be necessary. I know someone juggling all that right now. Or, perhaps the recruit didn’t click with the coach/team as expected and #1 falls lower on the list. We have no idea why the OP was happy to accept an offer after two OV’s. But, I can think of a number of reasons one would sign up for 5, with a clear 1 or 2 frontrunners. I think that would be a common occurrence. It’s the OP’s choice not to take all 5, and I applaud the student for being up front.
@trackcoach79, congrats on being done.
@VMT Could be…though finances can often be figured out in pre-reads before the visit. For us the FA pre-read was a pre-req to the decision to accept an OV.
And I do agree that there’s a chance that things may not go as expected, which is why I argue mostly for going on all OVs.
Also, I completely understand @hangNthere’s scenario of 2nd layer recruits feeling more pressure to accept quickly and to accept as many OVs as possible… My post was aimed at top level recruits who (at least in our experience) are typically the ones offered slots immediately during the first round of OVs. Those recruits have the option of telling coaches of their second choice schools, “Thanks for the offer! I currently have OVs scheduled with my top ____ schools. My OVs will be over by the end of the month. Could I contact you if things don’t work out?” This may vary by sport/position, of course, but in my kids’ sport, spots are still open at most schools on that second round. Riskier? Sure, a bit, but also maybe a bit more honest and generous.
Two more thoughts: I guess, in hindsight, that it’s easier to ask coaches to wait if 2 or 3 OVs are initially accepted, rather than 5. And on a purely selfish level, I liked knowing my kids had those final 2 OV spaces tucked away if they needed them later in the fall/winter.
A lot of recruiting is sport, team and athlete specific.
One friend’s son received a call from a D3 school at 9 AM on July 1. He was told that each year recruiting starts and finishes for that team on July 1. He was the coach’s top choice; but if he couldn’t decide by 5 PM, his spot would go to someone else.
For women’s swimming, Harvard, Princeton and Yale generally require applications to be submitted by September 1. OV’s are usually not scheduled until after the application is received. Although every recruit that I am aware of was followed this process, I wouldn’t be surprised if Missy Franklin or some very high profile recruit might not be held to the same requirement. Recently, I believe offers began on October 1 and all spots were taken, or at least being held, shortly afterwards. Although there may be some fallout due to one or two swimmers with very high world rankings that had mediocre academics not getting through admissions, for the most part recruiting was done before OV’s were completed.
My daughter did not want 5 OV’s plus one D3 visit and told coach’s that she had already visited she wanted to schedule the teams that had changes in coaching staff first. Although one coach was very gracious, the other couple of teams ended contact as soon as a Junior Day or OV visit wasn’t scheduled. For us, scheduling an OV for a school that my child would be happy to attend in late October kept contact open and waiting to commit to an OV ended recruiting. It’s possible that she could have tried to reconnect if the other opportunities had fallen through, but nobody would be under the impression that these others schools were among her preferred options.