My S21 recently sent his materials in for pre-read at Haverford. I’m wondering how accurate a positive pre-read is, as my son knows of another male 21 recruit who has announced his “commitment” there. I had thought that Haverford does not slot like the NESCACs do. Also, does anyone know how long it takes to hear back?
A positive pre-read does not necessarily mean the coach will offer their full support thru the admissions process, which is what would be the next step.
Coaches typically ask admissions for pre-reads on a higher number of prospects than the number they ultimately intend to offer their full support.
Perhaps @OldbatesieDoc is still around to share their experience?
My understanding is that support is that Haverford’s athletic recruiting is way different than NESCACs. Basically, everyone has grades/scores in the same range. I do know of one student who thought he was recruited and applied early only to be denied.
@OldbatesieDoc is definitely the one here to ask, but I would push the coach on the predictive value of a pre-read.
Agree that specific questions for the coach would provide more clarity – how many recruits with this level of support and this range of stats have been admitted, deferred, rejected in the past 5 years.
A NY Times series about H’ford recruiting from almost 15 years ago showed that coach support at H’ford may be a “feather on the scale” in admissions, with highly sought after recruits not just getting deferred but rejected in ED round. From discussions here on CC, more recent H’ford recruits report similar experience and uncertainty.
In some ways, it is understandable that recruiting at Haverford is different. It is a smaller LAC than its peers so a couple of recruits who are not good “fits” for the campus culture can have an out-sized impact on the community. Similarly, students have to really want to be there, and embrace the distinctive Quaker influence on campus life, including the central role of the Honor Code in community life. So Admissions is looking closely at fit, not just checking a box that an applicant has coach support and is an appropriate stat range.
Most on CC know this, and posts are often referring to higher end academic D3s and Ivy’s but it is important to note that many D3 schools do not have true “slots”. And the coach may not have much and sometimes no impact on admittance. This can be true for both private and public colleges.
You may want to get input from @GoatMama . Knows this school as an athletic recruit.
There are some old threads on this athletic recruiting section that explain the Haverford pre read process. The admissions office approves the prereads for students and deems them admissible, but that doesn’t give the student the information of whether the coach is supporting them, whether they are at the top of the admissions pile or at the bottom.
Just be careful to have other options.