Ok, so here’s a question my kid brought up that I haven’t seen covered yet.
My kid is potentially interested in more than one school in the Claremont consortium that happen to be on two different sports teams -one is on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletic side, and one is on the Pamona-Pitzer side.
Her major of interest (or similar) is available at each.
Is it a no-no to be talking with both coaches?
You can talk to any coaches you want, and for D3, at any time. If you are wondering if those coaches would be ‘mad at her/him’ you can’t do anything about the personalities of the coaches. Coaches know and accept that athletes are talking to other coaches, just as athletes have to recognize that coaches are talking to other athletes too.
Why not? At some point your kid will need to decide on one school and apply ED1. My D talked to PP coaches and CMS coaches. Your kid needs to decide what coach/team she feels a better fit with and which of the 5C’s she would like to attend by Nov. And in most cases, except I think for CS majors and maybe a few other limitations, kids attending one of the 5C’s can major at any of the other 5C’s, but still graduate from their own school. That is one of the great things about this consortium.
BTW, my d had her preference for the coach she wanted to play for and a college associated with that team, but she was willing to commit to another college in the consortium because of the consortium. Basically, the consortium won her over before the team.Academics first.
I agree with the others. I think the consortium coaches expect cross recruiting. We certainly talked to different consortium coaches for the same sport. That said, while I’ve heard rumors of greater flexibility, I don’t think coach support is as meaningful for these schools as in, by way of comparison, NESCAC schools. You may find the Pomona coach wanting your kid to play for the team, but steering you toward Pitzer admissions.
Agree with goingthruaphase.
My kid plays for one of the two teams you are contemplating. He was recruited by both an originally thought he would join the other team but after official visits, changed his mind. It is quite common for athletes to consider both teams. Just be aware that they compete against each other multiple times in a season. PM me for any questions.
@tenniswimvball S is also being recruited by consortium. In Pre-Read process and haven’t yet earned stripes to PM apparently. What can you add on feedback you received, and navigating that aspect up to the OVs in Fall? What sport (if you don’t mind me asking)? Pro/Cons you’ve uncovered of CMS vs PP? Get any merit?
Initially the PP coach recommended Pitzer, but S was not interested. Once he passed the Pomona preread, he accepted the visit, All the coaches (including several from NESCAC) were pushing for an early visit and the pressure on S was mounting. He ended up only doing overnights at PP and CMS. Coaches wanted to get their commitments nailed down. I believe coaches from both colleges hold a lot of sway as long as the academics put the athlete in at least midrange of stats. With lower gpa’s and scores, the athlete has to be strong. Although S was not at all a partier, he preferred the more laid back environment of CMC. As far as merit, we got zero. I thought S would get something. He had nearly perfect stats (one A- in all of HS with the most rigorous schedule) and very high test scores. But in the end he is VERY happy and has made wonderful friends he will have for life.
I also believe coaches have quite a bit of influence if athlete is at least in the mid-range of stats, as stated above by tenniswimvb. My kid was told by PP coach after initial meeting to raise ACT by 2 points which would have put scores solidly in the mid-range. Once that happened, DC was put thru the pre-read, passed, and asked to apply ED. DC was initially communicating with both coaches but only the PP coach expressed interest Although kid originally preferred CMS, kid now loves Pomona and can’t imagine being anywhere else.
@tenniswimvball and @Lemonlee both very insightful comments. S not a swimmer but an athletic standout-would be top or near top in athletic endeavor, above mid-range on SAT at Pomona, and likely below mid-range on GPA (although Pomona doesn’t report on CDS), and would seem to be a low-demand major. Not at all a partner in least bit, similarly. Having parallel P-P pre-reads now but OV trip and booking already offered-perhaps standard practice. So it sounds like your S/Ds heard from Pitzer first. Wondered if Pomona really needs a more holistic look (Essay, LOR, Sr S1 grades) to make a call-I guess we will know in a week or so. Seems Pitzer is many of the Coach’s “Backup” plan to attract and retain solid athletic recruits, but it’s not Pomona, nor CMS albeit taking 50% of one’s classes throughout the Consortium has its merits, it seems Pitzer kids party more and that’s not ideal. Funny, how your S felt CMS was more laid back as it’s reputation is its the more “serious”, practical and business-minded College for goal-driven kids (wanting a job or to just get ahead in life). Both are tremendous.
S preread was for Pomona. He was not interested in Pitzer except for the food, which is available to all Consortium students. My point was coach automatically encouraged Pitzer seemingly without looking at his academic stats. And I heard the same thing from S’s teammate. Students seemed happier at CMC than at Pomona, walking in groups and laughing together whereas Pomona students appeared more solitary with heads down. Perhaps lost in thought. Best of luck to your son. And realize there is no merit for Pomona and very little for CMC. CMC’s athletics are a little stronger, as they just ranked 3rd in the Leader Cup, a national honor, which weighs all sports teams’ performance for that year.
@tenniswimvball @Lemonlee
Wondering do the CMS coaches have influence for Mudd or just Claremont? If a student is academically qualified can the coach actually get the athlete into Mudd?
That is a question to ask the coach. How many kids has he/she supported through admissions at Mudd and how many were actually accepted. I suspect that if your child gets a positive preread they will probably get accepted if they apply ED. But, ask the coach. My D is playing basketball and there is no one from Mudd on the team. My D says they do not have time. It seems they have a very rigorous academic schedule On the mens bball team there are 3 Mudders our of 18 players. For tennis it looks like 3 out of 15 players. If your S goes on an overnight he should request staying with a player from Mudd.
@Aimtrue The coaches can help get kids into Mudd too, they just need to pass a pre-read from admissions. If they don’t pass the pre-read it pretty much ends there, unless your kid can improve scores and grades quickly. The coach will explain how this all works. If the coach decides to recruit your kid you need to ask the coach if your kid gets his “full support with admissions”. Ask him what percentage of kids with “full support”. get in usually. The coach will usually ask you to apply ED to get the support. Your kid will also likely get invited to an overnight visit first, and then you’ll receive the actual “offer”. The offer is more of a verbal thing vs anything on paper, so make sure to ask the right questions.
My son was told that he could participate in track and field at Mudd and it wouldn’t be a huge distraction from classwork and homework.
Good luck.
Agree with RightCoaster. At least for football, if you pass a pre-read and have the full support from the coach for one of the slots, you are in. I think the difference for CMC versus Mudd is that the coach has a little less pull (i.e., the Mudd athlete needs to be closer to the average admitted applicant). There are Mudd students on the football team.
Your kid should talk to Mudders in their sport about the reality of balancing academics and the Mudd workload. My kid had friends who were athletes. Some managed to balance it pretty well, but some were pretty frustrated with having almost no free time and struggling to keep up academically.
@Aimtrue Sorry, I don’t have anything to add as my child was recruited for Pomona. But I concur with the other recommendations regarding asking the coach as I would think it varies by sport.
Thanks. That is good to know!
@lemoniee @intparent Would you suggest asking at the visit day or waiting until fall senior year when final junior grades and scores done.