Hi! So I don’t want to go into too much detail on this thread, but I have heard rumors that the recruiting process is unreliable at Haverford. I know that at a D3 school, coaches have considerably less impact on admissions committees. As far as I can tell, I am qualified for Haverford by standardized testing and extracurriculars, but for my GPA is a little low. With that in mind, do you think I have a chance at admission? I really love the school, and would love to attend, but I don’t want to have my hopes too high.
There are rumors about the Men’s Lacrosse program at Haverford being unreliable in terms of relying on predictions about the likelihood of acceptance. As a D3 parent, and a Bi-Co community alum, I have not heard about specific other teams where that has been as big a problem but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in other programs. Haverford places tremendous emphasis on fit with the Quaker values, including Honor Code, consensus, etc. And, as one of the smallest of the top LACs, they are really looking hard at each applicant. So admissions is not just about the numbers.
The challenge at H’ford, and other top D3 schools, is that a recruit is expected to apply ED to “hold” the spot on the team – which means foregoing the chance to apply ED1 elsewhere and lock in a roster spot at a different school. Haverford ED acceptance for recruited athletes does not seem to be as generally “a sure thing” once the student’s has gone through an academic pre-read, as it can be at some other schools, like NESCAC where there is a somewhat more predictable system of “slots” and “tips” (also goes by other names.) So, ED1 applicants have chosen Hford, and then been deferred or rejected, throwing their recruiting plans up in the air, because the other schools which had been interested have often, now filled their recruiting needs through their own ED1 recruits. ED2 is the second round, often used by athletes who did not get in at their first choice, ED1 school. But the challenge is finding D3 programs which are still looking to fill out their roster at that stage.
Long way of saying, for a student whose gpa is below the mid-50% range, that could be a big question mark. Best bet is to talk to the coach very specifically about experience with admissions with students whose academic records are like yours.
You can search here for the lacrosse threads.
It appears that Haverford doesn’t do pre-reads, but will tell students if they are qualified to attend. Basically, you can get a ‘no’ but not a ‘yes’. There might be 2000 applicants who are qualified, but only space for 500. The coaches don’t get many of those 500 spots.
Hi! I really appreciate your advice. When I decided to stick with regular decision, I recognized that there was a risk there in terms of missing recruiting slots. I think that having a thoughtful admissions committee will hopefully help me, especially if they look at my extracurricular record. Reaching out to the coach more specifically is probably a good idea; I am planning a visit, and I will hopefully have a chance to discuss my potential at Haverford in more detail then!
That’s definitely a good point about limited slots at a small school. I am hoping that a combination of my actual academic record and my connection to the coach will help me, however I know that, realistically, there is no way to be certain.
EllaNoble,
There is never a guaranty in athletic recruiting, as in college applications as a whole. Some schools, however, do tend to be more predictable about the level of coach support that is accepted by the admissions committee. Haverford is a great school, but is unpredictable as far as athletic recruiting. This is not limited to LAX. I have heard this in other sports.
My sense is that the academic backgrounds of recruits do not waver much from that of the general applicants. I don’t think that having great board scores will overcome a “not so good” GPA. I also suspect a GPA with generally high grades in hard courses but with a slip-up grade would do better than a GPA with overall lower grades (a 3.65 in hard courses with all As and one C would be better than a 3.65 predominated by B+s). However, this is just my sense based on a handful of stories. Your best bet would be to approach the coach as ask directly. Be very specific in your questions, making sure to focus on the impact of your GPA. Good luck.
If you are still interested I would reach out the coach and make sure he/she knows that you are still interested. By now the coach knows whether all their ED recruits got accepted. The coach may still have some influence.
My son is a lax recruit and was accepted ED. One thing the coach told him was that the school pays a lot of attention to the application itself so make sure you put your best foot forward on your application.
I am sure you will land in a spot that is great for you!