<p>It's been a while since I logged in but wasn't there an athletic recruiting forum as well? Since I can't find it I'll just ask my question here. </p>
<p>Little Sis is a rising senior at a competitive public school. Has excelled in a rigorous courseload including four APs and pretty much every other course in honors. Standout athlete in two varsity sports. National Honor Society, a couple of clubs, etc.</p>
<p>She wants to attend a top LAC, perhaps even my alma mater, and I have been trying to help her and my parents navigate this process but since I never played sports competitively I don't know so much about the recruitment process (but I've read a lot).</p>
<p>Anyway last time I posted I was looking into SAT optional schools and I found a lot that we were excited about, including my alma mater. Little Sis emailed the coach a couple times and she seems interested in her, etc.</p>
<p>However the last email from the coach asked for a copy of her standardized test scores. Sigh. Little Sis is a not a great test taker (thus the interest in SAT optional schools). Here are her scores:</p>
<p>550/550/670
ACT 25
She has taken only one SAT II and didn't do so great (don't remember the score). </p>
<p>And her grades just to compare:
9th grade 91 unweighted average
10th grade 92 unweighted average
11th grade 96 unweighted average</p>
<p>Her school does not rank.</p>
<p>She's going to take more tests in the fall but meanwhile the coach she's been emailing with has asked for her scores and she doesn't know how to respond. My gut is to be honest and say "I didn't perform as well as I was expecting to but here they are." But since the admissions office may never see these scores, should she tell them to the coach? How can she get around that?</p>
<p>Sorry this is so long but I would appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!</p>
<p>I agree with your response - email the scores and explain she plans to take again. </p>
<p>The coach is probably asking as a part of his due diligence in figuring out if she can get in to the school and wants to see the full picture. Assuming that he wants her as a part of his team, he will help her navigate through admissions - and will probably advise her not to send the scores. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if this applies to D3 schools, but a lower-level D1 school (Patriot League) that is SAT-optional told us that while SAT scores are not required with an application, any athletes who are accepted and eventually enroll would have to submit their scores so that team averages can be calculated for the NCAA.</p>
<p>The coach would not be asking if admissions didn’t care. Perhaps the formula the colleges use for athletes compels them to use scores for these students?</p>
<p>Good point about the team needing it - the NCAA has their “qualifier” process for D1 and D2 schools that determines if a player is eligible to play in their freshman year. </p>
<p>For D1s there is a table that requires both GPA and SAT to determine the level - e.g. if a student has a GPA of X, then they need a SAT score of >Y to be eligible to play as a freshman. </p>
<p>For D2s there is a qualifying score of 820 on the SAT to be eligible.</p>
<p>D3 places have much more flexibility about how they handle test scores for athletes. But the others are correct, the coach needs to know what the admission prospects are. If the grades and test scores say “no way”, the coach will probably know this, and tell the candidate not to waste more time. If the scores say “good chance of admission without the help of the coach”, then the coach celebrates and passes the recruit on to the admissions office. If you are somewhere in between, it depends a lot on the college. At some places there is a negotiation between the coach and Admissions about whether to take the kid. Depends on how influential that coach is (how important is the sport to the college, what sort of relationship does the coach have with admissions). Depends on what sorts of scores one usually sees in that sport. It varies a lot. The scores on “helmet sports” like football and hockey tend to be lower. Scores on upper middle class sports- golf, squash, etc, tend to be higher. Also depends on how badly the coach wants the student.</p>
<p>Remember, the coach is an advocate. If the coach likes the student, their athletic ability, motivation, attitude, and has a spot for the kid on the team, then all coaches will do what they can to help bring the student to campus. As long as the student is going to do well enough to stay enrolled, and continue to participate on the team, the coach wants the athlete to be admitted. Nothing to lose by sending scores to the coach. You will definitely get an informed opinion about admission prospects and advice about whether pulling up the scores by a realistic amount would matter. </p>
<p>Without knowing the sport or the college, no idea whether those scores are a problem.</p>