<p>Elite academic schools like Bowdoin, Haverford, Swarthmore and Middlebury, to name a few, encourage, if not require, their recruits to apply early decision. My son has gone through the "early read" with admissions and was given the thumbs up. The coach offered to support his application. He committed to apply early and submittied the application. How likely is it that he will be accepted? We have all heard the horror stories, I was just wondering if some schools/coaches were better or worse than others?</p>
<p>While the good result is probable, plan for the worst. In other words get your RD apps ready at other schools.</p>
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<p><strong><em>I’m not sure how, but post #1 in this thread should be after post #3 (stemit’s post).</em></strong>**</p>
<p>livandlearn,</p>
<p>His chances are very good, and better than going RD…keep that in mind. It is a leap of faith of sorts. Been there, done that. </p>
<p>It will be a little nerve wracking for about 6 weeks. Subtle communications from the coach is a good indication from our experience. The coaches know everything but can’t say anything which puts them in a tough spot too. My wife and I were a lot more on edge than my son during those 6 weeks. He wanted to go to his first choice school, but I don’t think Plan B would have been too bad either as other schools in his conference were interested. </p>
<p>As stemit suggests, I’d plan for Plan B just in case. I’d keep communication open with other schools and coaches to let them know of your situation. Those that are interested will stay in touch.</p>
<p>I’ve had two kids go through this process. One received a favorable academic pre-read (had to bring up an SAT score) and support from the coach. Result after ED 1 application was admission to the school. Kid #2 is going through the process right now with one of the LACs listed above. Positive academic pre-read and support from the coaching staff. We’ve been told in so many words that my kid is now in excellent shape for admission barring an unusual event such as a bad grade in the first quarter, a poor essay, a bad teacher recommendation etc. But I would add that in my experience the odds are very different from school to school and even from program to program within a school. Some leagues like the NESCAC have well-defined criteria (“bands”) for admission, whereas other leagues do not. Some coaches have been with schools for a long time and have built up a track record that they can share with you that provides additional comfort (or not). The key thing from my perspective is to listen carefully to the coach and do your homework. Also, although no one asked for this advice, I would say beware of getting hung up on one particular school. There is no such thing as a “perfect” school and it’s a mistake, in my opinion, to give up a solid offer at a fine school for a long shot at the “perfect” school. My kid #2 had to make the difficult decision to pass up support from his #1 school because the support from admissions just wasn’t as clear and strong as the support from #2. It caused angst for a couple of weeks, but I’m proud of my kid for making the right decision and going with a very strong #2. Hope this all pays off in a few weeks when ED 1 decisions come out.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies. </p>
<p>My S is emotionally invested in his decision. He has other applications ready to go, but he will be crushed if he does not get accepted to his first choice.</p>
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<p>very sympathetic–we are in the same situation. d just came back from her last visit, canceled one that she decided wasn’t an ED option, and made all her phone calls…called her first choice, then called all the others and asked if she could call them if the ED choice doesn’t work out. All were gracious and two even said the exact same thing, “I can’t imagine you won’t get in–you are going to be fine.” But d stressed with each coach that it was a hard decision, it was no reflection on any of the schools or programs, and that she would be pleased to attend their school if it doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>Now the wait, ugh.</p>
<p>liveandlearn, d is definitely invested in her first choice–it was just such a phenomenal “fit” we were a little spooked. But I hear you, ReallyOk…d had some opportunities at schools that are supposedly more “elite” or whatever you want to call it…turned them down because the coaches didn’t want her as badly and her acceptance was probably not quite as solid. Those would have been riskier, and I’m glad her first choice turned out to be such a solid one, because I know people are going to be surprised she didn’t go for one of the others.</p>
<p>LivesInHobbiton: You are lucky that your d would be happy at one of the other schools should her ED not work out.
My s is not sure if his second choice is among the other schools that recruited him. He spoke with each coach prior to committing and all kept the door open. That doesnt mean they will have a slot, but there is the option to reconnect should he choose to. </p>
<p>We are hoping for the best, and wish you the same!</p>
<p>liveandlearn and livesinhobbiton- good luck and keep us posted. we are playing the waiting game too - and its hard.</p>
<p>We are in the exact same situation as ReallyOK. I will try to PM you soon, thank you for your message.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel better I’m in the same boat as you guys (but with baseball). Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>yup…we are in same situation also. Waiting on ED1 results…A stretch school for D. Coach has been great but don’t think she would be admitted without her support. She has been supported with a “slot” although coach did not use this term. Progress report ok’d by sdmission liason. Interesting point about whether any support will be there for ed2 or regular decision if needed. Some schools said that they had spots for ed 2 and regular…but maybe they will commit to other students by then…</p>
<p>I am just wondering if your s/d has told their friends, etc. that they have committed/applied early or kept it quiet.</p>
<p>D has tried to keep things quiet. Of course, she has told a few friends. More of a problem with team
parents and opposing coaches asking " so where is she going next yr." We just say that is a good question and we are in process of figuring it out.</p>
<p>@145bluz</p>
<p>My back up school is much less of a reach academically for me. Not saying this is the best strategy for everyone… But if you are concerned about the support (or lack thereof) in the ED2 round, perhaps not reaching as high would make you feel more comfortable. Just my 2 cents</p>
<p>Thanks Anchser…good point. I guess we were taking the approach that ED2 could still be a little bit of a stretch. Then RD, D could apply to several schools that she is likely to get acceptance. Anybody wish this process was over already?</p>
<p>Just wondering…has anyone had any experience with coaches who acted “slighted” when s/d made their final ED1 decision and turned them down? i.e. even though the athlete made it clear they were looking at several schools.</p>
<p>No, but every coach wanted to know what school she picked for ED1. A few coaches were curious about level of support from ED1 school. Also, I think it was a good learning experience for D to talk to coaches (whom she really liked) and tell them about her decision.She really hated to tell them.</p>
<p>LOL 145bluz, in answer to your question, YES, I wish this were over! :)</p>
<p>As to sharing with others, we’ve been pretty open with people. Before D began this process I thought we were going to keep quiet, but then we started talking to friends going through the same process and realized that the secretive people just sounded strange, LOL…I mean, there’s no shame if you don’t get admitted. I understand keeping your thoughts to yourself before you finally choose a school, but once you call all the coaches with your decision, everyone finds out anyway. When D made her ED choice, the coach immediately called his swimmers and they all texted/facebooked with congrats, etc. It just isn’t possible to keep it totally quiet.</p>
<p>Capital, every coach was really nice and said they would be happy to hear from D if she did not get into her ED choice. However…there was one coach who continued to aggressively tell her how much he wanted her and who else had committed to his team, etc. I think he also had his athletes texting and emailing and asking her why she wasn’t coming, which was so awkward, since it isn’t possible to reply honestly to that kind of question without insulting their program (you can’t say, “I liked the dorms better at X” or “I liked the facilities better at Y”). And D would definitely consider that program as a backup choice so she doesn’t want to offend anyone there. So phew, no really bad reactions, just this one slightly uncomfortable one.</p>
<p>On our end, we’ve had some disappointing “rejected” coach responses. Although one was supportive, he told our kid flat out that he thought he’d gone with an inferior school. Another was almost hostile. Seemed to think that his team was first choice, even though he’d never made it clear where he ranked our son in terms of recruits. We tried to be honest throughout the process, but still ending up taking flak. And what’s with grilling a kid as to why he/she chose another school over theirs? In my mind, it’s a personal decision, and none of their business. Am I wrong?</p>
<p>My son had a similar response, Capital. One coach (non-ivy) wished him the best of luck and was very gracious, while the second coach (ivy) couldn’t imagine what the school he chose (another ivy) could possibly offer over his school. He did grill him a bit and didn’t seem to want to let it go, like this might make my son change his mind! He also was never really clear where my son stood on his list of recruits. All of this made my son all the more sure of his decision, btw.</p>