<p>I'm being unspecific on purpose so I don't involve the name of the coach in this discussion.</p>
<p>Today I met a Dartmouth coach who was at my school for a prime recruit, and I told him/her that I had applied to Dartmouth after he/she noticed me as a teammate to the guy being recruited. Coach asked, "Are you a good student?" to which I replied "yes sir/ma'am." He/she then asked me for my transcript, which I provided rather quickly (after a nice sprint to the counselor's office). Coach said he/she couldn't guarantee my acceptance, but he/she could suggest/recommend me to admissions. </p>
<p>I was delighted to have this unexpected fortune come my way. How much weight could this little encounter carry, especially since I consider myself qualified for Dartmouth?</p>
<p>Note: I was not being recruited whatsoever.</p>
<p>Brief stats:
Rank: 1 of 121
SAT: 2320, CR: 790, M: 750, W: 780
SAT II: Math II: 760, Spanish: 730
9 AP's... Two 5's and two 4's so far.
Several leadership positions in clubs.
2 Varsity sports
White male</p>
<p>Well, a lot depends on the sport and the particular coach’s relationship with admissions. It most certainly can’t hurt and might be the tipping point for you. But, if you search these forums for info on athletes not being recruited, just on a list the coach would like to have on the team if admitted, the results are a mixed bag. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>My son was a recruit. The coach recommended him to Admissions but that was because the coach wanted my son to join his team. I think each coach has a limited number of candidates that they can recommend and I am a little surprised that a coach would do this unless he hopes you will join his team. Is that what you intend to do?</p>
<p>Nope, I made no mention of joining the team. And the Coach never hinted that I should try out, either.
If he spends one of his allotted recommendations on me, I’ll gladly accept it; but it seems a bit too good to be true.</p>
<p>There are no guarantees in the highly-selective college admissions, but you probably have a decent shot at admission to Dartmouth based on your academic stats alone. If the coach recommends you as well that can only help.</p>
<p>It is true that certain coaches can submit lists of preferred athletes to admissions. Since we don’t give athletic scholarships, this is the way coaches can promote for students.
That list is pretty much where it ends as far as influence, since you still need to meet admissions standards regardless of being on the list, but you do have that preference/tiebreaker going into the process</p>