<p>(Argh - I wrote this all out and took too long and lost it! Here's the shorter version)</p>
<p>My dd is a Junior athlete. She'd like to play in college, but will not go to a lesser academic school in order to do so. Academically, she qualifies for any school - but we all know that doesn't mean anything these days.....</p>
<ol>
<li><p>JUNIOR DAYS
she's going to a weekend at one ivy soon. She was invited by another ivy to attend theirs, but she has a commitment for all-county band. She's interested in this school. Is it important to make the 5 hour car-trip after the band commitment, and get there late? Or will there be other Junior Days?</p></li>
<li><p>TIMELINE
I'm getting ahead of myself here, but..... here's the timeline I'm concerned about:</p></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>dd is recruited by an ivy (via something other than a NLOI?) or non-ivy (via NLOI)</li>
<li>dd commits</li>
<li>dd's other applications are still 'in the works' at other schools</li>
<li>dd is accepted elsewhere, with a substantially sweeter financial aid package</li>
</ul>
<p>Our older dd has a fabulous grant at an ivy. The chance of younger daughter also being accepted there is, of course, remote. But possible. And, if younger dd were accepted there, she'd go and find other activities to replace her current sport (the money saved will be very handy for medical school.....)</p>
<p>Is the commitment via recruiting a binding contract? In which case, we'd need to weigh the firm offer vs the unknown.</p>
<p>Or is there an 'out' for financial considerations?</p>
<p>I got a little confused here : “And, if younger dd were accepted there, she’d go and find other activities to replace her current sport,” but it sounds like she is being recruited for her sport?</p>
<p>In terms of recruiting agreements with the Ivy’s - you might want to search for the threads regarding “likely letters” used at Ivy’s. Coaches may offer a likely letter to a recruit - typically to an athlete who is willing to commit to attend that school in return for the admission’s office commitment via the likely letter. Exceptional athletes (GFG’s D comes to mind ) might not have to make that commitment. The commitment is not legally binding, but would be considered very bad form to back out on it. </p>
<p>If your D were offered a likely from the Ivy you described that her older sis attends, sounds like she would want to attend and would get a good financial package? Seems like that would be a great outcome, but maybe I am missing something?</p>
<p>We received a financial aid pre-read before son committed to an Ivy. They did that at the same time as his admissions pre-read to find out if he was “likely” to get in.</p>
<p>If you athlete makes an “official” Ivy visit (early in senior year, after working with the schools/coaches over the summer) one of the things the school will do for the parent during the official visit is orchestrate a meeting with the FA office…for a verbal discussion etc so be prepared and bring some #'s with you… there is plenty of down time for parents while the kids are being recruited by the team!!</p>
<p>What is “junior days”? We’ve done plenty of unofficial visits, some as early as my son’s freshman year. He’s spoken with lots of coaches. My daughter is a DI athlete and also went on unofficial visits, but never heard of “junior days”. Is it specific to certain sports?</p>
<p>I’m only familiar with baseball, but I would think that Junior Days are for most sports.<br>
Junior days are for recruits to spend some time on the campus, go to informational sessions about the school, and get to know the coaches and players. I think they are a great idea as they are usually held before the recruiting process really heats up. They spend the night in the dorm with someone from the team and usually go to a sporting event as well. Schools hold several sessions on various topics (majors, financial aid, scholarships). They get a real taste of campus life and how they like the team.
I don’t know about other sports, but the official visit comes way too late in the process for baseball, so Jr. day is a good way to have a similiar experience. Only drawback is the parent foots the cost of transportation and their hotel stay.</p>
<p>junior days are for all athletes (recruited and non-recruited), I think</p>
<p>my D passed on “junior days” because she knew she’d have unofficial opps and official visits.</p>
<p>in the end she only did 3 officials, no unofficial visits. Although in her sport she knows the college coaches from national and international events, so she already knew many of them. And we live close to her first choice so she was called over several times for meetings, which is sorta like an un-official I guess.</p>
<p>Do the schools always call them “junior days”? My son has been getting lots of emails for “invitational recruiting clinics”; some are day-long, others are a few days. They are all for a limited number of invited athletes and include school tours and information sessions. He has been getting these since before he was a junior, though. I have never seen anything advertised as “junior days” in either my daughter’s or son’s sport.</p>
<p>Again, my experience is based on baseball, but invitational recruiting clinics are usually not the same as Junior Days. The biggest difference would be that at Junior Days the recruits are not allowed to participate in athletic events at all, no working out with the team, no participation at practice, etc. It is not meant as a “showcase”. Usually clinics involve either coaching instruction or recruits showcasing their skills in their particular sport. It is the school’s way of getting the athletes that they are really interested in there at one time and it gives the athletes a chance to assess the school and program.</p>
<p>My son’s sport has Junior Days at many colleges. Not all colleges do this. They are typically set up like this: coaches invite 11th graders to come to their campus. They start with a continental breakfast spread and then go on a standard campus tour with Admissions, eat lunch with the coaching staff, observe the team’s practice for about an hour (NCAA rules don’t let the kids participate), and participate in a meet-and-greet and/or Q&A session with coaches, administrators, players, and parents. They last about five or six hours.</p>
I recently received a junior day invitation myself. The school that sent it said that I was a “high-priority” recruit. The thing is, the school hasn’t even seen me play; they only really know me from my grades and SAT scores. Not that I think they won’t be interested in me once they see me play, but can they genuinely already be interested in me at this point?</p>
<p>I think it is mostly marketing–they want all the possible recruits to think they are “very special”. Enjoy the attention, but take it with a big grain of salt. Once October of senior rolls around, and they’ve flown you out for an official visit, told you that you are on top of the list, and offerred a Likely Letter, then you know their “love” is real.</p>
<p>^^agree with mayhew and fauve. For many Ivy sports, July-October is serious recruiting season. The coaches finally take the microscope to the transcript and review athletic stats. Many good athletes are cut due to academic shortcomings. Not big ones, just enough that the coach can’t submit them to admissions with any hope of success. I didn’t know this when D was a recruit, but she’s a soph now, and sees recruiting from the other side of the table.</p>
) might not have to make that commitment. The commitment is not legally binding, but would be considered very bad form to back out on it. </p>