<p>River’s advice is good. Don’t lose 2…for 1 who wants you to wait a long time…
Accept 2 and rejoice! Call 1 and thank them and let them know you have made a decision.</p>
<p>It’s meant to be, Piano. Take the 2 and beat the hell out of them at your first meet!</p>
<p>Plus waiting so long means there’s more than one prospie ahead of you on their list…</p>
<p>I’m completely agreeing with Varska - take #2, and then you’ll have closure with #1. When you call #1 to tell them thank you & that you will be accepting #2, you will know exactly where you stand with #1. #2, whatever school it is, sounds pretty fabulous! In our household, in the world of recruiting, we truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and the ride ends just as it should. CONGRATULATIONS!!</p>
<p>piano, you’re getting great advice here; you’ve rallied the collective minds of the best athletic recruiting CC parents on the site. Congratulations on managing your recruiting so well. We can’t wait to hear the next chapter, and I promise, once you’ve decide what to do next, your memory of this process will fade, and you’ll wonder how you considered anything but the school you match with.</p>
<p>Just to be clear. You mentioned you were looking mainly at Ivies. If this is the case, did they offer you a “supported spot” or a likely letter. There is a world of difference.</p>
<p>Very good point, trackpop. I would not be too hasty in making the final call to #1. In fact, I would wait until I had my likely in hand before making the final call. I’d suggest you make another call to #1 now and say that you have thought about it and while you understand that they have their process, the idea of waiting makes you very nervous since so much is at stake and that you would really like to know where you stand with them. See if they move at all. If they don’t, call #2 but make it clear that you need your likely in hand before you will change your app to ED. Keep all options open until you have your letter. THEN make the final call to #1 - and yes, beat them next year!</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>Do the ivies typically give likely letters very close to the ED deadline? (there is still one more O.V. to do) My aspiring ivy athlete would probably be recruited to help the team academic average, as my athlete is on the cusp athletically. Can ivy rowing coaches provide likely letters for all their recruits? (without coach help, kid falls within range, but not particularly a “stand out” admissions candidate)</p>
<p>Yes, they can and do give likelies close to ED deadline - and beyond. As far as I know, at least in the rowing programs I am familiar with, they do not give them to all their recruits.</p>
<p>“…do you have to say that the school is your first choice”</p>
<p>Yes…to every school you’re looking at. In return maybe the coach will say your child
is their #1 recruit.</p>
<p>This is a business to them, so play by their rules.</p>
<p>LLs can be issued at any time — even students who apply ED may get a LL between the ED deadline and December 15 or whenever admission decisions for non-recruits are announced. With respect to timing, the earliest LLs are probably already out or on their way as of today.</p>
<p>It’s hard to advise pianoforte because it depends on where she stands with the coaches, where she stands in terms of academic admissability, and what the time frame is for LLs at that school. Some ivies have a committee that meets once/week, for others it’s the dean who decides within 2 days. Some top recruits may still be shopping around or they may not be admitted after all. Some schools require their recruits to immediately sign that they accept the offer of admission, even if they’re a SCEA school, others don’t, and recruits change their mind.
An important question to ask at school #2 would be when she would get her admission decision.</p>
<p>So I just committed… :)</p>
<p>Good for you!!! Did they tell you when you will get the official admission letter? In the meantime, hold off with contacting school #1.</p>
<p>Nice job, piano. beenthere is giving good advice. If you’re waiting on a likely letter, sometimes the coach can fax you a copy or otherwise give you assurance that it’s “in the mail”. Good idea not to burn any bridges until you are certain of admission. You WILL see all the coaches involved over the next four years, so I agree with those who have advised you to give each coach you’re still in communication with a courtesy call to let them know you’ve made a commitment once you have the LL. These small things matter.</p>
<p>She said they generally only send likely letters to people who have questionable academics (I didnt really understand that part haha), but that no one they have supported in admissions has ever not gotten in. They are given 14 slots and they said i now have one of these slots. They said that with my academics, I especially shouldn’t worry. Should I trust them or insist on an LL?</p>
<p>HUGE congrats Piano!!!</p>
<p>I’d ask for a letter…others may have other opinions.</p>
<p>piano, yes, you should ask for the letter. If pressed, you should say you are giving up some other opportunities to accept their offer, and there’s just too much at stake to hope everything works out OK. This is not an unreasonable request at all, and you (and your mom!) need to be able to sleep at night between now and December. You can also be very clear about how much you are looking forward to going to this school, working with this coach and so on. This is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with the school and coach. Being direct, honest and clear about what you need is never wrong.</p>
<p>Ask for the Likely Letter…it sews up one slot for you so there are no surprises.
It can be faxed…although our student had to wait for the snail mail…the coach told our scholar it was in the mail. You want and need that LL–regardless of the “all of our recruits get in” mantra…"your grades are fine etc…
Committing and giving up pursuing elsewhere demands a LL.
The LL brings peace of mind until Dec 15 or whenever the official package arrives from admissions.</p>
<p>Good advice to keep a low profile til that piece of paper is in your hands…then as River says, give the courtesy of letting other coaches/schools know you have accepted a LL and are commited.</p>
<p>Congrats–won’t be long before that lovely LL is in your hands. Well played!</p>
<p>As anyone who knows what we went through last year, after hearing “we always get our top recruits through” countless times by the very reputable 1st school committed to, I will say “ask for a LL”!!! It was a hard lesson to learn, the need to have the school’s commitment to you in writing, no matter what the coach says, and what admissions has apparently already said. There are girls taking unintended gap years that were in my D’s recruiting class with 1st school she committed to. When my D did get a LL, going through RD with her current school after 1st school’s ED/EA failed her, it was a beautiful moment! You may be walking away from other opportunities; my D said goodbye to numerous schools when she committed to school #1. I would be remiss in not warning you about what can happen when there is nothing in writing - you are taking ALL of the risk. In the meantime though, CONGRATULATIONS!!</p>
<p>Is it an ivy league school? I know that coaches at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown will give you a LL, regardless of amazing academic excellence. It sounds to me like the coach might be gambling that you will get in without her using one of her LLs. Frankly, I have never heard that LLs are only giving to shaky recruits. (Also, I know that at two of the schools above, each had at least one female rower who was not admitted despite the coach’s assurances that they always got their recruits admitted.)
So, while it probably will work out, what would stop you from asking your no. 1 school next week whether they can give you a LL?
Also, this may actually be a case where a “paranoid” mom or dad could make the call and talk to the respective coaches next week.</p>