Hi. So I’ve just been asked to verbally commit to a D1 ivy league team. I’ll call it School X. My academic index is high. My dad went to School X and he’s wanted me to go to this school for a long time. (Not naming the school, just for confidentiality reasons). School X is very good at the sport I play, and I wouldn’t see much playing time.
I personally like a different ivy league school, School Y, and I want to play my sport there. I would be able to see much more playing time because their team is more in my skill zone. I play a sport where a few teams dominate with olympians and foreign players and the rest kind of stay under the radar. However, School Y just got a new coaching staff, and so none of their coaches have seen me play. School X wants me to commit this weekend, and if I do commit, my chances at getting into this school become very high, however, I won’t be able to see the possibilities I have at School Y.
What should I do? Should I ask for more time? Or tell them about School Y? Or say yes? Any help would be very much appreciated.
Have you spoken with the coaches at school Y? How many other Ivys are in the mix? Have the coaches at school X promised a likely letter in exchange for a commitment? How many offers of support for a likely letter do you have? Do you know roughly how many recruits per year in your sport at each school? If you can provide some of this data, some of us may be able to provide a bit of general help.
Generally speaking, June seems very, very early to ask for a commitment in the Ivy League. Pre reads can’t even begin until July 1. My son also had a very high AI, but even with a high AI, these schools are not automatic. I would have a real hard time advising someone to commit before receiving a positive pre read and a commitment to seek a likely letter with no conditions. Again, if you can give a little more detail I may be able to give you some opinions.
@Ohiodad51 I have spoken with School Y earlier and they are going to watch me play at a tournament next month. Both schools get around 5-7 players per year. It’s just these two D1 schools in the mix (I play goalie so some schools don’t even need goalies for my year), and some ivys don’t even have the sport I play. I’m also looking at d3 schools but really like the larger school environment that ivys tend to have.
Tough call. I’d generally make the choice based on the school you like better. If you’re not sold on school X, I wouldn’t be rushed into a commitment. Unfortunately as a goalie, they could move on to their next choice. But if you like school Y better generally and also the sport would be a better fit there, might be best to wait until they see you play. Risky, but if you’re not going to have a great sports experience at school X, why not try for what you want. If you don’t get a Likely Letter at school Y, you could always apply early as a legacy as school X and not play a sport, or they may still want you in a month. Just does not seem like a good idea to rush into committing to a school (if only verbally) you’re not excited about. On the other hand, are you resisting school X primarily because your dad is pushing it? Sounds like you genuinely like school Y better. Also, things could change at other Ivies or other schools your like, and they may need a goalie. I wonder if school Y could make a decision earlier if they know your situation at school X.
Without a pre-read and a likely letter, expecting a verbal commitment from you is one sided and in my opinion unfair to you. You could always ask coach X for these two things before you commit, referencing the fact that other schools are also interested. At the DI level a top athlete with a good AI is in high demand and asking you to commit without a comparable commitment from the school on the other end could leave you high and dry. While most athletes with a good AI and a coach’s recommendation get in, it’s not guaranteed. We know of one instance for sure where things went askew when it came to admissions. The pre-read and likely letter serve to protect the athlete from turning down other offers without knowing they are already passed on the admissions end.
Asking for these things might allow enough time for the coach at school Y to also watch you play and see where you stand, and for that school to do the pre-read/likely process as well. It’s a good idea to make sure your i’s are dotted and t’s crossed before you state where you really do want to go. And while you sound fairly certain at this moment, many students change their minds part way through the whole admissions process. A little space and time to think never hurts.
Totally agree on advice of @Cantiger. Pre-reads do not begin until July 1, so you should be able to string things out with school X. Maybe you can visit school Y and new coach in interim, even before your July tournament.
I know this is Monday and you were looking for advice this weekend, but I will throw it out there anyway. The first thing I notice is you did not respond to my question about a likely letter. If school x is not promising to seek a likely letter on your behalf, then all bets are off and there is nothing really to commit to until after admissions decisions are released. The second thing that jumps out at me is do you even want to go to school x at all? I get that school y would be your first choice, but can you see yourself at x? Do you think you could be happy there as a student first and then an athelete?
Assuming the answer is yes, and if school x has directly offered to support you for a likely letter, I agree with @cantiger. I honestly think it is kind of fishy that the Coach at school X wants a commitment from you before a pre read is even done. I think it is worth pointing out that asking for a commitment at this stage is also directly violative of the Ivy Common Agreement, which provides:
I understand in the real world that coaches effectively ask for a commitment in exchange for seeking a likely letter, even though that is technically against the rules. But this is a whole different scenario. At the likely letter stage, the coach is agreeing to “burn” one of his or her slots on you. If you decide not to attend, that slot is gone. Where you are at now, the coach is really putting nothing on the table. I would have a real difficult time understanding why that coach thinks it is appropriate to be this aggressive.
I would probably go to the coach at school x and say you are uncomfortable committing until there is at least an admissions and financial aid pre read done because you are talking to other great schools and you do not want to lose the opportunity to attend one of those if things don’t work out at school x. I would ask why it is important to commit before you know the school will admit you, and how much it will cost. See what he or she says. He may ask for a quid pro quo, namely that if the pre read is positive will you commit to school x. I would dodge that question, probably by referring to a financial aid pre read and saying that your parents don’t want you making any decisions until they have a real good idea of the cost of the school. As @cantiger said, that may buy you some time.
I would talk to the coach at school y as soon as possible, and let him or her know that the clock is ticking, and that you are getting serious pressure from another Ivy. Given what you have said about the relative strengths of the two teams, I am assuming that your skill set would make you a priority recruit at school y. If that is so. then they should be able to work with you. Even if it means seeing you play on film rather than live.
“Commit” when it is verbal is meaningless. I saw one female soccer player change school FOUR times, and finally stuck with the fifth and got her LOI from there. So unless you absolutely positively do not want to go to School X, why would it matter if you verbally committed and then changed your mind? (also there are stories on CC how verbally committing gets more schools interested, like getting engaged makes the ex-boyfriends call up…)
The only issue is whether you are losing your window of opportunity with School X. But who cares if you really really don’t want to go there?
Note that my son was recruited by a SLAC, and the first thing they asked for was his transcript - have you sent your transcript to the coach?
Two other questions - are you a junior now?
And, when you say “much more playing time”, you do realize that for a freshman to get ANY playing time would be very rare? With a new coaching staff, they might bring in players they were previously recruiting or were aware of at their previous job. I would not therefore use the thought that “I’m more similar to their current team’s ability level, so I must get much more playing time”. Getting playing time is based partially on your year and partially on how well you fit in with the team and perform.
You said in previous posts that you play field hockey and Columbia just got a new field hockey coach. So School Y is Columbia. What’s the other school?
Ivy League schools typically do not have this environment. There are other elite schools like UC Berkeley, Michigan, and UNC- Chapel Hill that will give you this environment.
OP, based on what you wrote it seems the school X mostly wants you because of your AI and legacy status so that they can possibly get in another Olympian.
You did not answer the most important question:
Did coach X offer you support for a Likely Letter in exchange for a commitment vs assuming that you can get in on your own?
If not then continue your recruiting process with the school Y.
@CaliCash haha I play more than one sport and that college isn’t the one I was talking about. And I go to prep school which is around 600 kids, and I meant that I want an environment larger than that. All the ivies are well over that mark.