Chances of getting into GRINELL?

I am a Basketball recruit
3.2 gpa 3.6(W) 1440 SAT
asian INDIAn
load of AP/IB classes
good extracurriculars
good essay

Class rank isn’t reported for my school either

What did the Coach say? I imagine he identified minimum standards needed for admission – the Grinnell coach in my kid’s sport identified a floor (which was pretty darn high) for admission as a recruit.

While basketball is a high profile sport at Grinnell, our impression was that, generally, coaches at Grinnell could not “get” their recruits in. Similar to Haverford College, a coach would submit list of recruits to Admissions, but kids have to be admitted on their own, and must meet the ordinary admissions expectations.

Your stats would be low-ish for Grinnell as an unhooked applicant, but are respectable enough that the coach can probably get you in if he wants you.

The coach said he was looking for kids with a 3.0+ and 30-36 ACT. Yes wasn’t sure if the coach could not get me in. My gpa is low compared to grinnell’s average of 4.0.

But OP needs to learn that Grinnell has two Ns and two Ls.

The coach said he was looking for kids with a 3.0+ and 30-36 ACT. Yes wasn’t sure if the coach could not get me in. My gpa is low compared to grinnell’s average of 4.0.

There are two pieces of information you need.

First, did you ask the coach for a “pre-Read”? If you haven’t do so. If you have, what did he tell you? The “pre-Read” is based on test scores, transcript, and planned courses. It is provided by the admissions office.

Second, did the coach tell you that he’ll sponsor your application with admission and, if so, if he expects a favorable decision. Moreover, did the coach suggest you apply Early Decision.

So, colleges in general do not release much information regarding what preferences are given for recruited athletes, especially at the D-III level. However, based on a number of information sources it does seem that Grinnell does give preference to those who qualify academically and are sponsored by their coaches. Each coach will have a number of “slots” each year. “Preference” in this case means that the acceptance rate is in the neighborhood of 95%, at least during Early Decision.

Coaches in all schools are given clear instructions on what they can say to recruits regarding admission, and this especially applies to written communications. Every school is different but you listen for certain key words. An “excellent” pre-read means if the coach sponsors you they’ll accept you. If the coach says your application is “sponsored” or “tagged” that means you’re in one of the slots. Different schools have different language for when you are not in a “slot” but the coach would like to have you anyway, and it can be confusing because the same word can mean different things depending on which school. Does “recommended” or “supported” mean you are in a slot or just that they like you? If in doubt, ask - am I one of your slotted recruits.

Finally, while a coach pushing for you to apply Early Decision doesn’t guarantee you’re in one of the “slots”, it’s still an excellent sign nevertheless that they want you on the team. If they don’t push for ED, especially at Grinnell, then you aren’t going to get one of the recruit “slots”. The exception would be if you didn’t show up on his radar until after the ED deadline. In that case if he still has “slots” open you may still get one in RD.

The key question is, what does the OP mean by “I am a basketball recruit?” Does it mean a “prospie” – an athlete who is talking with coach, but is not yet a recruit? Or a “recruit” – an athlete who has passed the admissions pre-read after submitting transcript and test scores, coach has said is offering that student a spot on the team and, usually, the offer of a roster spot is accompanied by the statement that the spot will be held only if the student applies ED.

I don’t mean to parse terms, but there is a difference between a "prospie"who is looking at potentially being recruited, and someone who is seriously being recruited by the school. If the OP is a “recruit” who has been offered a spot after a pre-read, then there is a reasonable chance the student will get in. After the offer of the roster spot and request for ED, the student should ask, “how many recruits that you offered this level of support, who had similar stats to me, were denied in the last five years? How many were admitted?”

Broadly, our experience with Grinnell recruiting was that the student had to meet high standards to make it past the pre-read to the offer stage (my kid was told needed higher ACT than a 30, along with most rigorous curriculum and a much higher gpa than the OP). But basketball is the one true high profile sport at Grinnell so maybe there is more flexibility in the required portfolio for admission.

I spoke to the coach and he said I was a competitive applicant based on my gpa and test scores. I never appeared on their radar until now so wasn’t in contact with the coaches until after the early decision deadline. He is very interested in having me attend Grinnell and I am only the 2nd recruit of this recruiting class. I will ask him if I am one of the slotted or preferences athletes.

Based on this do you guys believe I have a high chance of getting in?

I would ask him specifically whether he is supporting you for admissions and what that means – how many athletes in the RD round that he offered similar support with your stats were denied, how many admitted. Good luck!

Just spoke with the coach, he says I am a slotted athlete. Waiting to hear what this exactly means in terms of my admissions chances.

Do any of you guys know the average gpa of a Grinnell incoming freshman?

Doesn’t appear to be officially reported, but from the company it keeps on all the best of lists, it’s reputation, competitive admission rates and its rigorous reputation, I don’t think a 4.0 it out of bounds. I would add if that you are late to the process and have applied RD you should continue to interact with the coach, ask questions, express interest and be prepared to wait for the RD results to post. In Div III coaches can influence but all decisions are made by Admissions and communicated via the regular admit process.

Oh ok and I’m so nervous right now waiting to hear the results of the early read. My academic index is within 1 standard deviation(210) from the mean(220). Hoping coach’s support will pull me through.

Depends on many factors. Strength of all RD applicants being the primary factor. They do value athletics but not at the expense of their academic standards. It’s also tricky to only look at metrics, there’s much more to the admissions decision process.

Grinnell’s RD applicant pool is quite large and their acceptance rate very low. The recruiting process has its highest impact in the fall and Likely Letters and slots are usually tied to ED apps. 25% of last years Grinnell ED admits were athletes.

The support of athletics in the RD process certainly can’t hurt. Does your school use the Naviance system? You may want to see what your schools history with Grinnell is.

@Cornellian88 no they do not. However, the coach offered an athlete with a 3.75 gpa and 1370 SAT last year and he got in.

Well since you are RD it can’t hurt to work with the coach and see if it can’t help build on your application. Good luck.

I’m not from the admissions office, but I would say you have a pretty good chance based on my (admittedly anecdotal) sample size of 1. I applied ED1 to Grinnell this fall as a recruited athlete for a relatively successful sport. I, like you, had a low GPA (just under 3.2) but high SAT (1470-780 reading, 690 math).The poor GPA mostly stemmed from a rough sophomore year, and I had an upward trend in all honors and AP classes. Besides stats, the rest of my application was pretty average, with not many ECs besides my sport and my instrument, and probably lukewarm rec letters and a very average essay. However, I come from a school that has sent many people to Grinnell in the past few years, so that could have helped.

I am not an exceptional athlete by any means, but the coach seemed to really want me-and said they’d give my full support in admission-most likely because I filled a need for them. Seeing as there are so few recruits for men’s basketball this year, the coach probably really needs you and will be very willing to give you a “slot.” However, I don’t know how effective slots are in the RD pool, with an 18% acceptance rate vs. 50% in ED. I think the fact that men’s basketball is a pretty high profile sport at GC will probably help as well.