Last month I went on an overnight with the swim team at my top choice school. They said they’d be in contact within 10-12 days, but it’s been a month. A few days after I emailed the coach thanking them for the visit. A couple of days ago I emailed them again, just telling them about an upcoming meet of mine that’s hosted at their pool, and I still haven’t heard back from them. What’s more worrying to me is that a kid from my recruitment visit verbally committed. What does this mean? Are they not interested in me anymore?
It’s like a big game of musical chairs. They are interested in you but you just don’t know how much. They could be waiting to send an offer to you until they find out whether or not their number one prospect decides to sign or not.
You can send in another note or text reiterating your interest. You can also start lining up other schools you are interested in and be prepared to commit to those schools. My own personal advice is to find a school that is showing you the love, and choose that path if it seems like a good opportunity.
Good luck, it will all work out.
Thank you for your input. It’s been really stressful just twiddling my thumbs waiting for a response. This school is my top choice, even with swimming out of the equation, because its engineering program is the strongest and most affordable. After my recruitment visit, I really really fell in love. It’s a D1 mid major, so I’m a little slow for recruits. Even if I didn’t get any scholarship money it would be cheaper than the D2 school I’m looking at with a scholarship. (I haven’t been offered one yet, but I’d be there fastest/2nd in all my events at their school and would score at conferences.)
They wouldn’t have invited you for an official if they weren’t interested. Did they do an admissions pre-read? If nothing happened with the team that would make them give you a thumbs down then the coach is probably waiting for answers from higher priority recruits before being able to tell you exactly where you stand. But I agree it is in poor form for the coach to not respond, never mind not be upfront, to an athlete that used an official visit for them.
Have you seen if others have committed to the school on collegeswimming.com? Or have you heard from others on your recruiting trip? My daughter has been in contact with the others from her trips as they have visited other schools, etc. and has somewhat of a sense where the others are going and therefore how many spots are still open at different schools, etc. It is a game of musical chairs!
Keep communicating with coaches at other schools, keep your options open. It is a game of musical chairs, and any particular athlete’s options at one school is affected by other athlete’s decisions to attend that school or decline that offer and go elsewhere. For students who want to continue to compete in their sport as part of the college experience, keep the options open so that when the music stops, there are still chairs left for you.
I agree with those saying it’s a game of musical chairs but honestly it’s not a good sign that the coach has gone silent or that they indicated they might wait almost two weeks before contacting you. That usually means you’re pretty low on the list. Did your emails indicate your level of interest and that you want to know what the next steps are? If not and this is your first choice, I’d give the coach a call or email and let her/him know that you’d like to attend and curious what the next steps are, what’s their timeline, etc. Sometimes the coach is waiting for the athlete to show strong interest. Not clear that’s the case here, but it’s possible. More likely they are prioritizing other athletes.
Don’t lose hope. My D was being recruited by 6 D3 schools, for another sport… Some of those coaches really wanted her. Of course her favorite was interested, but not really as eager as the others. D had to apply ED1 somewhere and was not getting a good feeling from her #1 choice. While in the car with me, she got a call late Sept where the coach told her D may fall off her list. I am overhearing that and want to throwup. Literally. Of course, I don’t tell D that. Coach asked for a couple more weeks. Tis coach is being honest and obviously waiting for other recruits to commit. D is delaying commitment to other schools in the meantime. Who start telling her that the slot is there and if she decides to not apply to their school ED1 they will support her ED2 app. I feel a little better but unhappy first choice school is not showing the love. Mid Oct. first choice school asked my D to please apply ED!. OMG. I was still nervous, because unlike D1, until you get accepted by D3, nothing is certain. D did get accepted by her first choice school, but it was a roller coaster. I think it is like this for many who are not superstars… While I think D would have been happy at another school she “wanted” her #1 choice. She is doing well there, coaches are incredible, and she feels welcomed. Just go with the flow, keep communicating with other coaches and do what is best for you.
Well they told everyone at the end of my visit that they’d be in contact with us in about 10-12 days, so that wasn’t the wierd part. And I’ve definitely said at least once in my emails that they are my top choice. I know I’m slow for recruits, but I’d like to think I’m still worth a spot. It’s not even about money at this point. I know I have a lot of potential, since this past year was my first year training year round.
I have checked on college swimming, and one boy from my visit committed, and since my visit 2-3 girls comitted. According to college swimming like 4 girls have comitted.
I don’t really know what I pre read is, but they asked for transcripts and ACT. I’m wayyy above the school average and already automatically qualify for $3,500 based on test scores and GPA. So my academics should not be an issue what so ever.
It sounds like the coach has other prospects ahead of you, particularly as you acknowledge that your times do not put you in the top of their current swimmers. You might consider contacting the coach to ask about “walk on” options if you are admitted on your own, rather than through the recruiting route. Does the coach allow walk-ons, are there try outs, can you train with the team even if you don’t compete in meets etc.
@kmargie25 a pre-read is when they run your grades, senior schedule, test scores, and sometimes activity list through admissions to see if you would meet their standards for admission. Some coaches use this to determine who they need to use admission slots for (if they use a slot-based system) or, if they don’t use slots, to see if they should bother continuing the discussion (i.e., coach has little pull with admissions so athletes need to meet a minimum standard for admission). Sounds like you are fine there.
@jmk518 is right about the pre-read, but it does a few more things for the benefit of the recruit. First of course, it lets the recruit know if he or she has gotten an encouraging first look from admissions. Not a guarantee, as they all will tell you, but it give at least some comfort during the process and particularly when making your choice if applying ED. But more importantly, it says something to the recruit that the coach is interested enough in an athlete to submit the information to admissions. If a coach has board scores and transcripts, but does not send them to admissions for review, that should be informative to the recruit.
Given that the ED deadline is likely upon you, I think I would call the coach. Forget about the email. If you have been on an OV, I think the coach owes it to you to at least tell you where you stand. During the call you should ask about the results of your pre-read (if you know that the coach sent the information to admissions) and open tryouts.
Thanks for all your help! Luckily this situation has been resolved. The coach called me apologizing for not responding and offered me a walk on position. He said maybe if I cut a lot of time there might me the opportunity for money.