I just recently had an official visit at Columbia and I wanted to commit because it was my top choice. I e-mailed the Coach to set up a phone conversation and she told me over the phone she couldn’t offer me a spot now. She said my AI was 1 pt below. She said she has offered 2 spots already and she will call me on Friday to update me on where I stand. Can someone explain what this all means? Do I have a chance to get a spot?
It sounds like you may not be in the top tier of recruits at Columbia, and you may need to stay in a holding pattern until the prospects above you make some decisions. This is not at all unusual in recruiting, and often recruits who are not in the top tier at a particular school go on to compete successfully at the school. The school’s don’t get all of their top prospects, just like not every prospect ends up at their first choice school.
I would honestly be more concerned about being “one point below” on the AI index than how many offers are out now. Do you know what the coach meant by that? Is it one point below ideal? Is it one point below what she can take? i would want to find that out, and see what opportunities there are to raise the AI over the net month or so.
Good luck!
Agree with @Ohiodad51, the “1 point below” thing is a little disconcerting. She had your transcripts and test scores before scheduling your OV, so she knew your AI. They don’t bring out kids that are below the cutoff.
Nothing to do but wait until Friday - good luck.
@Ohiodad51 : “The school’s don’t get all of their top prospects, just like not every prospect ends up at their first choice school.”
Great point. More of the kids need to understand that the colleges are looking, too.
It is good that the coach promised to call you on Friday.
Different Ivies have different procedures for working with AI. Of course the absolute minimum is required for each recruit.
But some schools require each recruit (or each recruit on certain teams) to meet the applicable standard, while others average-out team AI so that a high AI recruit can offset a low AI recruit on the same team, as long as each is above the minimum. The policy can change from school to school and team to team.
So the adequacy of your AI may depend on the matriculation decisions of others. Not much you can do right now. I suppose you could ask the coach if slots would be available after you retake any tests that are components of AI and wait for the results. I would not draw any negative impressions from the fact that a likely letter has not been discussed. There are only two levels of support: slot or no slot, and you are in the running for a slot.
If you go to the roster, you can see 14 freshmen listed. Don’t know how many are walk-ons or how many are in your event. But that might give you an idea of how many slots will be available for your class. (Only four seniors and seven juniors, so a lot of attrition, but that is another story)
Correct. I think OP can deduce that she is above the cutoff, and that the team computes an average AI, where an individual’s relatively high AI can offset another individual’s relatively low AI.
In the stated circumstances, three possibilities come to mind. Coach: (1) whiffed on a high AI recruit, (2) lost a high AI current team member, and/or (3) is computing numbers based on the assumption that current outstanding slot offers will be accepted–which could change.
OP, what is your AI? Is it on the low side, in which case these suppositions would be reasonable. Or is it high, and it seems like the coach is blowing smoke?
I actually calculated it myself. It’s a 224. I have a 30 on the ACT, a 4.3 weighted GPA and 3.8 unweighted, and a 740 on one subject test and an 800 on the other. So I was a bit shocked when I heard I was slightly below. The cut off for last year was apparently a 217. What do you think?
I’m also taking the ACT on October 24 – and the coaches know this but I think they need to know everyone’s AI well before I get the test scores back.
Thank you so much for your input by the way
Thank you so much. I am waiting it out and seeing my other options. I also went on a Brown official and talked to the coach today and she said she would get back to me after her last recruiting trip.
Congratulations on doing so well academically in high school. Given where your AI is, then it is obvious the coach is not referring to the AI floor when he or she says you are “one point below”. The AI floor is a League wide standard below which no athlete may be recruited. I believe the floor is somewhere in the high 170s or low 180s, well below your level. That said, the coach could be doing what @fenwaypark describes above where athletes with higher AIs are used to balance out athletes with lower AIs (called “Dumbbelling”). In that instance, it may be that the coach has another swimmer who she values equally with a slightly higher AI, and you are in the position of having to wait to see if that other swimmer commits. It could also mean that the coach has certain AI targets he or she sets for certain events, and that you are just below the target number. If that is the situation, then things may be a bit more complicated. Hopefully, you will get some clarity from the coach when you talk on Friday. Good luck!
The coach may set AI minimum based on a swimmer time. For example a swimmer not expected to make the travel team might need an AI of X, a swimmer who would make the travel team would be allowed to have a lower AI, and a swimmer who could score points at the Ivy League championship would be allowed to have a still lower AI.
If you raise your ACT score by 1 point this will more than raise your AI by 1 point, but you won’t know that before the ED deadline. The coach has two offers out, and there have been no verbal commitments to Columbia this year on swim swam or college swimming.com . If both swimmers decline then the coach may offer a you a slot even without improving your ACT Scores. If only one swimmer declines the coach may offer you a slot or wait until after your ACT scores come back. My advice is to contact the coach at least once a week, study hard for the ACT, and practice hard to help with the stress.
Good Luck!
thank you so much! that completely makes sense. I have been scoring really well on practice tests, just scored a 33. Should I let the coaches know that?
Those numbers would not be a 224 ai. The ai calculators aren’t correct.
Based on my ai calcs done by actual admissions offices, I’d say your ai is around 218.
With a 33 act and your GPA you’d be around 222.
I misread your first post. With a 3.8 uw and 30, 216 is about right. So if he said you missed by 1, that seems legit.
With a 33 and 3.8 you’d be a little over the 217. Around 219/220.
They use unweighted, not weighted gpa, BTW.
Last year, we found the Tier One calculator to be dead on to what was calculated at 4 Ivys if I remember, and off by a point from what was calculated at another. Using that calculator, and using your current ACT, unweighted gpa and SAT2 scores, your AI is 222. I think it safe to assume that is what Columbia has calculated for you as well. Although it sure wouldnt hurt to ask the coach when you talk to her.
@Ohiodad51 just wanted let you know I got the spot!!
That is excellent. We are all very, very happy for you, swimmerx1234.