<p>I’ve been recruited (talked at length on the phone with the coaches) for track. Chances for early decision and regular decision, if any?</p>
<p>-GPA: 3.55uw
-SAT: M 720, CR 740, W 740, Total: 2200
-PSAT: National Merit
-Subject tests: Lit-660, USH-720
-Taking as many AP’s and honors as my school will allow me to take (11 honors, 5 AP)
-AP Lang: 5
-APUSH: 4
Senior course load:
Physics honors
Spanish 4 honors
AP Macroeconomics
AP Microeconomics
Theology 4
Focus Research honors
AP English literature
AP English literature writing lab
Pre-calculus honors
Psychology
AP Government</p>
<p>-White male from Arizona, family makes <60k
-Prestigious college preparatory
-School does not rank, but I’m in the ‘Summa Cum Laude’ program- the most regarded, most competitive diploma, which is typically a good indicator of being near the top
-Prospective major is philosophy/neuroscience</p>
<p>-Founder and president of Philosophy Club
-Vice president of Politics Club
-Diversity/International Club board member; went with the club on a three-day ‘cultural exchange’ trip to our sister school in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
-“Friends of the Orphans” Club President; went on an 8-day volunteer trip to an orphanage in Mexico in March; went back for another 8 days in July
-Over 100 hours community service</p>
<p>-3 years varsity track for school
-Scholar-Athlete Award
-Club track during the summer and off season (Track Athlete Year Round)
-Qualified for and placed 27th overall in the USATF Junior Olympics National Championship for 110m hurdles (basically nationals for club track) (regionals came before this)
-Very good recommendations
-Past employment as a lifeguard</p>
<p>You mention at the outset that you are a recruited athlete. I’m no expert, but your profile appears to make you competitive for admission at Bowdoin. However, there are lots of great kids also looking to get in. Being a recruited athlete might make the difference between being a 30% shot (which is twice the general admit rate) and being on a very short list that the coach submits to admissions that is virtually assured admission.
There was a great series in the NY Times 6 years ago on recruiting in LAC’s. It will give you an idea of how much pull athletics has at a school like Bowdoin. The series focuses on Haverford, but touches on NESCACs. The author provided an update last year. Here’s a link to the 2005/6 series [The</a> New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete’s Edge](<a href=“The New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete's Edge”>The New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete's Edge)</p>
<p>Not sure how many slots a track coach will get at Bowdoin for his/her class of 2016 recruits, but to get an idea of how important you are to him/her, I think you’d want to research two things: 1) compare your times to the times Bowdoin’s existing track athletes run in the 110 hurdles. Also compare your time to the NESCAC league champs Are you in the ball park? Could you reasonably improve in your 4 years at Bowdoin to the point where you would regularly score major points in meets? 2) see if Bowdoin already has a stud in your event from the class of 2011 or 2012, which would mean there would be greater “need” for the coach to want to use a slot on you.</p>
<p>Aligator Blood, a few years ago, my son was accepted at Bowdoin as a recruited track athlete. Like you, he was a highly ranked high school athlete. His SATs were similar and his GPA was slightly higher with fewer advanced placement classes. </p>
<pre><code> You are a strong candidate. Is there anyway you can visit the campus?
We live in New England, so he made several visits including an overnight. Demonstrating interest in Bowdoin seemed to be extremely important that is, actually visiting the school, doing an overnight, attending a few classes. this helped to move him into the “athletic tip” category.
Coach Slovenski has a few “athletic tips” he can use with admission, but admissions and the coach have be 100% sure of the commitment of the athlete to the school. To get a tip you will have to apply ED. The coaches had admissions do an “early read” (review) of my son’s stats, including class rank (they like at least top 10%, sounds like you exceed that) to determine academic fit. If you get a tip from the coach, you are almost guaranteed admission. My son was told he would be admitted unless his academic recommendations were weak or there was any indication of behavior problems. With my son’s consent, a coach called the guidance counselor to make sure my son was a stellar citizen. Bowdoin is looking for scholar athletes who will have an immediate impact on their team and contribute positively to the campus.
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<p>Best of luck to you!! Oh - the ED package was fair for financial aid - Bowdoin is no loan.</p>
<p>We met a recruited swimmer at Bowdoin and she and her father told us that the coach let her know that he was walking her application through admissions. Did the coach address this with you? Do figure out a politically correct way of ascertaining which “band” you are in, ie how strongly the coach will support you. If you are a minority there is a non-athletic recruitment initiative which can also help. That said, you should have lots of options if you don’t want to apply ED to Bowdoin. Before you commit to
ED, you might consider competitive larger schools like Hopkins which has DIII track and field or the Ivies.</p>
<p>The band is irrelevant - You get assigned to a band based on how much of a bump you need in the admissions process, with C band tips going to the weakest applicants, B to the somewhat stronger, and A to the most qualified. The coaches work through the Athletic Department and the Admissions Office to assign recruited athletes to the band that is necessary to get the athlete admitted. The important thing is to determine whether you have been tipped – the band part works itself out. . .</p>