<p>mayhew, academic letters of rec are probably not terribly high on the list for athletic recruits. However, make sure your daughter understands that one, and possibly two of her current or recent teachers in core subjects will be needed to write letters in support of her application. If the timing works out, and teachers are open to it, you might ask them to commit to writing the letters over the summer, to be ready to go in September or early October. Waiting until school starts to approach teachers for letters that may be needed in just a few weeks can create unnecessary stress on everyone. Each school has a different process for requesting these letters. It’s just another piece you could get figured out this year, so you can move quickly when you need to.</p>
<p>Good advice, Riverrunner, thank you. Just the other day, D and I were talking about which teachers she would ask to write the required rec letters - it sounds as if it is a good idea to ask the teachers early. Then, at least they can be thinking about them over the summer, and be ready and prepared to formalize them when needed. The biggest upside of it all will be for D to enter senior year with almost all the hard application work done (essays, etc.)</p>
<p>I’ve been reading the various posts on athletic recruitment and have a funny story to relate. D is being recruited by a highly competitive DIII LAC. Prior to doing her official visit in October, she received an email from the coach telling her to let him know when she applied and he would give her a tip. We assumed that meant, he would give her a tip about how to fill out the application or a specific person to send it to. During her official visit, D asked the coach what the tip was and he gave her a puzzled look and explained that he could advocate for certain recruits and that she was one of the few he was willing to do that for. After returning home, I read on this site that a “tip” appears to be similar to a “slot”. We knew about slots from other recruiting trips, but had not heard of a tip. She asked him if he had slots and he told her no that he could advocate for certain players, but could not guarantee admission. Does anyone have a sense of how much weight a tip carries at a school that doesn’t have slots? D applied ED, has over a 4.0 at a private prep school, plays at an elite level in her sport, has ECs, but test scores are at the low end for this school. D seems completely sure she will get in, I am less so.</p>
<p>sportm, I don’t know the answer to your question, but I had to smile at your daughter’s certainty. That’s how DS is - he’s sure that his running, grades, and test scores are going to guarantee him a spot into any school he applies to, and I keep warning him that I don’t think he will get in everywhere! It will be interesting, whatever happens.</p>
<p>Depending on which prep school she attends, her chances could be very good. Does your school have a “relationship” with the school in question. Generally a gpa that high from a prep school is extrememly rare because these schools are so rigorous, so low test scores could just be indicative of test anxiety.</p>
<p>Sportm-be careful- a tip is not as good as a slot-it seems to me that it means that your child has to be as good as most accepted students in every other way, but the coach tells the admitting office he would like to have her. Then admissions decides if they agree.
Our S was heavily recruited for a “soft” sport by several LACs and based on what we were told after determined questioning, he was not good enough at 2 schools from his standardized test scores to be sure to get in with a “tip”, and the coach would not give him a “slot”. One coach wanted him to retake his 31 ACT, and after he got 690/640/640 on his SAT2s, a second coach who had still encouraged him to apply ED, admitted he wasn’t sure he would get in after some grilling from me. He has a 95 average in IB at our HS, and stellar recs and ECs.
So just make sure your D doesn’t burn all her bridges.</p>
<p>sportm:</p>
<p>I’m assuming that you are talking about a NESCAC school. Having gone through the process, my understanding is that each coach will have influence on the admissions process (“tips”) for a set number of players. However a) each of the players still has to meet specific academic standards and b) those standards will vary depending on where the players is on the coach’s list. </p>
<p>Against that background, as Oldbatsie suggests, you need to pin the coach down on the likelihood that your child will be admitted with the coach’s support.</p>
<p>Wow
OldbatesieDoc’s story…</p>
<p>shows how kids can be great candidates but getting the bottom line from a coach can be difficult.</p>
<p>a friend’s student is signing with a great school—not an ivy…though the student had 2 ivies who pursued and made offers…
in the end the student and parents like the coach of another school and felt that the one ivy was very cagey about status of aid, playability etc…</p>
<p>a complicated system for sure</p>
<p>OP (monstor): To be signed (LL or LOI) onto a good baseball team you should be on the radar of multiple college coaches now. If this is not the case talk to your coach and see what he thinks. Next summer when ball players start committing/signing, it’s just the announcement. The relationships and recruiting or deal making for the baseball recruiting class of 2011 starts now. And goes into high gear in January and February.</p>
<p>also, one point not stressed enough on these boards, your HS or junior club coach relationship with college coaches is very important. Often a junior coach recommendation (phone call) to an Ivy coach is the 1st and most important step in a recruiting process. Talk to your coach and find out if he knows the Ivy coaches you’re interested in.</p>
<p>I have to laugh when I read pacheight, our coaches are all excited when SUNY Fredonia comes by… The IVY coaches? They couldn’t tell Brown from Bucknell. I bet they can recognize Harvard tho. We had to do it all ourselves.</p>
<p>^^ Ditto. None of our area high school coaches know anything about college recruiting. They can help a little with the area colleges and that’s it. We had to learn it all ourselves from the NCAA Clearinghouse info, this board and others. We also listened to some of the area college coaches speak on recruiting. At first we tried to pass on some of what we learned, but the high school coaches weren’t really interested.</p>
<p>I’ll see you and up you one. My S has never had a coach, not a single real coach in the entire state, or even in the adjoining states. Obviously an individual sport :)</p>
<p>OOO, interesting…Archery? Golf?.. Our HS coach has never done my son’s sport. The assistant did it in 8th grade…He started with a club last spring after being disappointed with his season-made sectional finals, but just couldn’t break thru to States-so we drove 2 hrs once or twice a week to redo his mechanics…</p>
<p>I did see the official write-up today (corroborated by the Brown coach). My son’s friend has indeed verballed to Brown (in October of his Junior year). The coach said verbals almost always hold up and that he will receive a likely letter in October of his senior year as long as his academics hold steady. My son says he is an average student with no honor/ap courses. This is a good friend of my son’s, so he does know what classes he takes. He goes on record (per Brown) as the youngest athlete to have verballed. In order to not go, he would really have to mess up - trust me on this. I know it goes against what a lot of people think, but this is the reality of recruitment for hard sports from top prep schools. Our school is kwown as an “Ivy pipeline” for athletes, particularly basketball players.</p>
<p>^^ no one is saying that junior athletes don’t commit to a college, verbally and otherwise. What’s been said is that the school can not “officially” commit back until after July 1st of the senior year.</p>
<p>great news about the lad going to Brown for b-ball. it’s amazing how sports helps kids get in to top schools.</p>
<p>I have to say, that it really upset me that my genius son wasn’t as “valuable” as my athletic son, but then I decided if son A had spent all the time studying that son B spent at practice, he would have had a 100 average in HS, so I have come to terms with it.
Both boys had similar grades in the same courses, just took son B a lot more effort. If it hadn’t been for the competitiveness between them, son B would never have gotten such great grades…</p>
<p>OK
spring boarding from my questions about the baseball player</p>
<p>I have noticed at our hs early commits/verbals in Jr yr seem to be in</p>
<p>baseball
football
swimming</p>
<p>and sports like</p>
<p>soccer
tennis
rowing
track/field</p>
<p>seem to come later/after - at the beginning of Sr yr/mid Sr yr during the EA/ED rounds</p>
<p>What about where you are?</p>
<p>no, in our area it all goes down in September and October. lots of talking happening for juniors in all sports right now, but final match making happens in the fall. football players is a bit of an exception to that, but we don’t produce many d1 football players around here.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t advise your athlete to give somebody a verbal early, in their Junior year. Because that will turn-off recruiting from other schools. wait until august or september to commit. But start getting real friendly with the college coaches your athlete likes, NOW</p>
<p>in hindsight I can see that my daughter committed emotionally (you can see it in the wording of emails starting in January of her Junior year to one particular college coach) but my daughter didn’t “commit” until September.</p>
<p>also, funny thing in hindsight, there was an email from the coach in April that said something like “i want you on my team”…when I finally talked to the coach in October I said “you were serious about that weren’t you” the coach was surprised that I/we didn’t believe. the coach said yes, I was serious I wanted your daughter on my team and I still do! </p>
<p>so had I understood the reality and honesty of the coaches email in April I could have saved myself 5 months of anxiety:)</p>
<p>read your emails carefully!</p>
<p>Since this thread was made I myself have gained a bit of knowledge about the process for baseball players, and from what I’ve gathered at least for Ivy League/D3 even baseball players don’t really know where they’re going until September-ish of their senior year (LL in October to make it official of course). You’re right, though, that for other D1s kids often commit earlier. Heck, I think UF already has the vast majority of its class of 2012 high-schoolers (that would be current HS sophomores) all set. Even Stanford’s gotten an early start for '11ers.</p>