Does the IVy do pre reads or does the coach need a full common application complete with recommendations to go to admissions with?
Yes, there are pre-reads based on grades and test scores (what is needed to calculate the Academic Index) rather than the full application. Depending on sport, in some cases those would have been done a few months ago. There might be schools or sports that require a full application though.
Ivies do pre-reads - at least in our experience. If you’re concerned about a pre-read, why not just ask the prospective coach?
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Agree with everybody here. According to the Ivy Common Agreement, an admissions pre read can be done beginning in July prior to the recruit’s senior year. My son had five (if I remember) done. Each school asked for unofficial score reports from SAT/ACT/SAT2s, an unofficial transcript and prospective senior schedule. One school asked him to write a short essay (assumedly one of the application essays) in addition. He did not write the essay and never finished the pre read there. Realize though that a pre read is different than a likely letter review. For a likely letter review, a complete application will have to be filed.
Based on my experieince, and well aware that some here disagree, the process is 1)coach says he wants to do an admissions pre read in the summer prior to senior year, 2)test scores/schedule/transcript provided to coach, 3)green light from admissions pre read communicated by coach to recruit, 4)offer by coach to seek a likely letter, 5)submission of complete application and addenda (official score reports, transcripts, recommmendation letters, etc) to the admissions office, 6)Sometime after October 1 senior year review of application by designee/committee in admissions office to decide whether to issue likely letter, 7)communication of likely letter decision from admissions to recruit.
What @Ohiodad51 said, with the addition of OV right before 4, with likely letter offered to a few at the OV, and later to others.
Can you clarify . Does the recruit in the situation above have to submit a formal Early Decisoin application to admissions or is this all the information without a formal Common Application? Are there situations when admissions does not admit if the recruit sends in an early decision?
While this may vary by college, in general the preread is before the formal app is submitted.
Yes. The preread is exactly that - pre. Admissions may give feedback after the preread on any deficiencies that need to be corrected in the full application, or they may not. But until that likely letter comes, nothing is written in stone.
You may be confusing pre-reads (normally done in the summer) and early reads, which are done in the fall (generally October). As OhioDad pointed out above, using slightly different language, pre-reads are just a quick thumbs up from admissions based on grades and test scores–they say you are academically viable. Early reads happen after an athlete has committed to one school, generally after completing his/her OVs. The athlete commits to the coach, then submits an ED application, which is read by admissions (generally in October). A likely letter is (hopefully!) the result of an early read.
what @classicalmama said. If you peruse this forum, you will see that we all are guilty of a lack of precision in language, which at times can lead to misunderstanding since in my experience the coaches are very precise in the language they use. For that reason, I try to constantly beat the drum to make sure you are defining your language when going through the process.
A “pre read” in the Ivy is just that, a quick look at the basic academic stats done by either the admissions liason to the athletic department or an athletic liason to the admissions department (different schools do it differently). I believe this is intended not only for the recruit, but to let the coach know that he or she is not wasting their time recruiting a kid in a specific band (where that applies). Results of pre reads are virtually always relayed informally, and should be clearly understood to be both preliminary and general.
Likely letter review is essentially the actual admissions decision, and requires all of the components of a completed application. Again in my experience this review is done either by a subcommittee of the admissions committee at a designated time, or by a specific admissions officer whenever he or she dang well wants to. When my son went through the process, some schools asked him to submit his application ED, some told him that he should submit RD and then change it to ED after receiving a likely letter and some didn’t seem to care. From discussions on this site, how the application is submitted seems very much school and sport specific, and as always the recruiting coach is the best source of information.
Lastly, yes, recruits are at times not offered a likely letter even though the coach has asked that they be considered for one. The Ivy Common Agreement, and everything else out there, is very clear that “coaches recruit, admissions admits”. There are several threads about kids who were told they had passed a pre read and then at the eleventh hour found out that there would be no likely letter for one reason or another.
Hi! My son is a jr and just sent a bunch of letters out to coaches, several at ivies. A few immediately asked for transcript and sat screenshots. Would this be for pre-reads, even tho it’s just November of jr year? Thank you for any information !!!
Nope. That would be a pre-pre read. That’s solely for the coach to assess whether your son in even in the academic ballpark. It’s unlikely to progress further than the coach at this stage. The coach just wants to know whether from an academic point of view if further discussions would be worth it or a waste of time.
Also, for future reference, what you did is hijacked the thread, which is quite rude to the original poster. It’s always better to start a new thread with your own question.
Ouch!!! I had no idea I was being rude, so sorry. Thank you for the info.