My D just received a “positive” early read from a Patriot League school. Would appreciate any feedback you have on questions she should be asking in her follow-up email to the coach. Background: Provided coach with test scores, resume, grades and school profile which was submitted to the Admissions office a couple of weeks ago. Coach called and indicated the early read was “positive” and that admission to the school was “guaranteed.” Coach expressed that she is really in need of a player that plays X position, which my daughter plays. Coach has seen our daughter twice (most recent just a week ago at a showcase tournament); and we met with her in-person on campus this summer. Also a very positive in-person meeting.
What should we be asking in our follow-up email to the phone call?
More background: We do feel the school is within her reach of attending - 4.4 GPA, 31 ACT. So the “positive” early read was exciting to receive, though not overly unexpected – although we know that “guaranteed” isn’t so until the letter from admissions comes in the mail. School is in my D’s top 3; awaiting early read from a NESCAC school in mid-August. Patriot League coach knows that. Let me know if additional information is needed to help provide guidance. Thank you.
Patriot league is not D3.
Questions relating to recruiting – is a roster spot guaranteed, for how long? Are recruits cut? How many other players at that position is coach looking to bring in this year? In future years? When does coach expect a decision from her?
Are teammates expected to room together or do they generally go through general roommate matching/draw. If your student is a potential STEM major, are there STEM majors on the team? What about labs, how does that work? Study abroad in the off-season?
In terms of admissions: how many recruits with positive pre-reads and her stats have been rejected/postponed/accepted in the past 5 years or so? Is ED required to keep the roster spot? Is there merit aid? Any anticipated range of merit, based on past experience with other recruits?
Congrats to her, it is an exciting, and nerve wracking time.
Sorry! I meant Liberty League
@Midwestmomofboys - thank you for the extensive list of questions!!
I’d make contact with an admissions officer too to make sure a positive pre-read really means ‘guaranteed’ admission. You can also ask the questions about financial aid too, and how it all works from the academic side. Just to make sure the coach isn’t hearing things she wants to hear.
If the coach has been at the school a long time, I’d be more assured that pre-read=guaranteed acceptance. A newer coach? Double check.
I wouldn’t contact admissions, I can tell you what they will say. Positive pre-read means blah, blah, blah, but doesn’t GUARANTEE admission. If anything, you will make them annoyed with coach for saying anything was guaranteed, and they might not admit D just to prove to coach that they are in control.
The better question in my mind is asking the coach how many girls that have gotten a positive pre-read have been denied? I would expect an honest answer from most coaches, and I would also expect it to be near zero.
@dadof4kids - agreed that contacting admissions is probably not ideal. I think at this point, we at least know the coach is interested in my D, and the ‘final call’ will be up to the admissions committee! Hoping things get even more interesting when we hear from the other school! Thanks everyone for the input. Much appreciated.
I do believe that you should let the coach be the intermediary with admissions. That is typically the procedure. I don’t think admissions wants to tell any applicant (who they don’t know) that they are guaranteed for admittance before seeing the pool of applicants and before the applicant has even applied. Better that they tell the coach, who then relays that information.
Where the process has fallen down for people is when they think the coach is saying A, when the coach is really saying B. Ask the questions suggested by @Midwestmomofboys. The questions are designed so that the coach will tell you truthfully where you stand in the admissions process and what you can expect from the team. It is not a rarity for a kid to be accepted to her dream school only to be cut from the team in preseason. That is one reason you try to find out where your D is on the list of recruits? So if she is no. 2, that tells you she is closer to the guarantee of admission than no. 10. If your D is serious, you should ask for an overnight, so that she can decide whether she likes teammates, etc.
While the questions are intended to reduce the odds of miscommunication, you need to know – as it appears that you do – that nothing in college recruiting is guaranteed. But, you might increase your odds of getting in from a 20% chance to an 80% chance, which isn’t a bad thing.