<p>not much action in the recruited athlete forum so I thought I'd post this here.</p>
<p>anyone else find it stressful for your athlete to be "highly recruited" and supported through admissions but not "in" until admissions accepts them, and acceptance is past the time all the other colleges required commitments? So if for some reason they are not admitted they're left with nothing.</p>
<p>Is it like this for others?</p>
<p>I suppose if I were such an athlete, I’d apply EA or ED and, like any early candidate, have the paperwork already done for other schools and ready to send in if I learned in mid December that I didn’t make it into my early school.</p>
<p>Being left with nothing isn’t acceptable.</p>
<p>schools that recruited all required “commitments” before the EA answer (November/December) coming from admissions, mid October commitments requirements, from most. They do it for the obvious reason to force a commitment so they can hopefully get the best athletes. None of them want to be the coach who says come anyway if the “better school/team” doesn’t take you.</p>
<p>so it does set up the having nothing scenario…stressful!</p>
<p>This goes back 10 years, and your child’s circumstances could be different, but . . . my S was a talented, recruited athlete who was also very bright and at the top of his class. He applied to the schools that interested him academically and THEN dealt with the coaches. He got into his first choice school, talked to the coach, and got a scholarship. </p>
<p>I know this is an unusual route but it worked for him.</p>
<p>I would encourage your child to apply to schools that interest him in ways other than sports just in case . . .</p>
<p>This is an incredibly stressful situation but the coach should be able to give you a clear idea of whether or not your son is likely to gain admittance. You need to find out where your son is on the coach’s list. If the coach cannot assure you that your son is a top priority, then your son should not chance being left with nothing. Talk to the other coaches who are recruiting your son and compare what they are saying. Coaches are very good at selling recruits, using language and phrases that imply, but do not guarantee anything. Ask the coach directly if he is recruiting another athlete ahead of your son and see what he says. You can sometimes find this information out online by looking up articles on other top recruits who play your son’s position and/or on the message boards for sports affiliated with the college. Or, have your son’s coach call the college coach and find out for you. It is in the college coaches best interest to have a first choice and a couple of back ups who think they are the first choice. It is in your son’s best interest to make sure he ends up with a solid guarantee of admission at a school he wants to attend and play his sport for.</p>
<p>We’re in the same stressful boat. Because of financial considerations, DS cannot apply ED as several of the coaches have suggested. I can’t wait until all of this is settled!</p>
<p>or for more on what can go wrong, read this article. (This story really aggravates me.)</p>
<p>[Cleveland</a> High School Sports - cleveland.com](<a href=“Cleveland High School Sports - cleveland.com”>Mentor football player loses scholarship offer from Eastern Michigan - cleveland.com)</p>
<p>excerpt:
</p>
<p>I just heard last night about a kid who applied to Caltech, MIT and Duke (no others) on the belief the basketball coach would get him in. Left high, dry and scrambling in April.</p>
<p>Despite full ‘support’ of coaches at 2 Div III schools, we’re going on a weeklong match/safety tour next week across several states.</p>
<p>D2 is a freshman this year at a DI school. She verballed spring of junior year, was accepted in September of Senior year. Applied to just this one school. Made us very nervous! Signed her letter of intent in March and that was it! Once she verballed most of the other coaches stopped contacting her but several said to stay in touch if things changed. We found that the coaches were very open and honest. We knew where she stood on the depth charts so to speak. If they truly want you, you will know!</p>
<p>Been there, done that, bit nails until Dec 15. There is nothing anyone can say until the piece of paper is in your child’s hands.</p>
<p>If your athlete doesn’t have a commitment letter from admissions by the end of next week ,then he probably needs to prepare to apply to colleges like regular applicants.</p>
<p>wow, now I’m more stressed:) but it helps to know others have dealt with it, such as Kate. </p>
<p>my athlete does not have a commitment, the commitment is the acceptance, that’s the issue. She does have a lot of love from the coach, but the coach is not admissions. </p>
<p>I very much appreciate everyone’s input, especially since things have gotten very real, 1 coach, 1 team, 1 school, and 1 app…this is the problem with an athlete, there is no back-up plan, just an eye on that 1st place.</p>
<p>to my knowledge, there are no “commitment letters” at highly selective DIII schools. Just the word of the coach.</p>
<p>My son’s likely letter arrived at Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>He’d verballed in July, gotten the positive nod from Admissions in August (still only a verbal acceptance …), sent in his application by Nov 1 deadline. Likely arrived three weeks later and the formal acceptance on 12/15.</p>
<p>Is a likely letter definite – what if the school doesn’t have an early decision (H/P/UVA) would you rely on a likely letter and not apply anywhere else?</p>
<p>CNP55, was this to a D3 school?</p>
<p>If you do not do something bad in a major way, the likely letter is simply a pre-acceptance issued by the admissions office that will morph into an accepance letter at the normal time. </p>
<p>They can’t issue it without your materials being on file. They do it solely because athletic scholarship schools have the dates by which students may sign National Letters of Intent, usually in the fall, and naturally good athletes don’t want to be left in the lurch in the spring based on a retracted or ill-advised verbal commitment from an Ivy coach.</p>
<p>as the recruiting process went on longer, we learned to ask more direct questions. </p>
<p>our student did not apply ED but did apply EA and Regular to multiple schools. selecting a school to attend was not made until the end of April as most schools have a May 1 deadline.</p>
<p>we learned that it’s not unusual at the d3 level for students to apply to multiple schools and to make their decision in the spring. financial aid packages can be reviewed and compared that way.</p>
<p>“and acceptance is past the time all the other colleges required commitments?”</p>
<p>good news, the two other universities that had commitment deadlines changed their minds and have left the “offers” open for D, so if the number 1 school doesn’t work out she has 2 back-ups. Pretty nice thing to have them call and say that.</p>
<p>So my stress level has lowered, it is still there because D wants number 1 school badly, but it’s a bit lower:)</p>
<p>So glad to hear your DD has those backups! You might want to discuss the great qualities of schools #2 and #3 during these months of waiting to help DD envision lives there. </p>
<p>This is a time for parents to relax and acknowledge that fate is taking over…mom and dad can’t control every outcome for their child. And the child has to learn that sometimes she may not get everything she really wants, but has the skills to adjust and adapt to new opportunities.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>