NESCAC Recruit - anyone with similar experience?

Athletic Recruits
1

S is a rising Senior who committed to a top 5 NESCAC school in March after successful camp/overnight visit. Coach committed back to support him and we are awaiting the results of the pre-read. He told us he hoped he would not need to back him but would do what he had to do to get him in. Here are his stats:

  • upward grade trend: strong junior year with 3.9/4.6 W/UW GPA with six Academic classes; 2 Advanced and 3 AP classes (AP Physics, AP English, AP World History)
  • Overall grades aren’t as good, but still strong, 3.72/4.22.
  • APUSH - 5; AP World History - 5; AP Eng Language - 5
  • 2060 SAT (re-took in June, awaiting new score, S thinks he did very well)
  • attends top 10 nationally ranked public HS
  • 5 AP classes in senior year (AP English Literature, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Macro, AP Micro)

Softer Stats:

  • alumni (mom, aunt, grandmother, and great grandfather)
  • Selected as one of two English tutors for the grade
  • 3 sport Varsity Athlete since Sophomore year
  • 2 sport Captain, all-League in top sport, state champion
  • works 20 hours per week
  • had interview and has shown demonstrated interest

I know that S will be able to find a school that he’ll thrive in, but worried he committed so early. Anyone have experience committing to NESCAC school this early? Seems very risky, but S really loved the school. Coach seemed like a good guy but the process seems odd to me and we’ve not heard back from the pre-read.

2

My kid went talked preliminarily with some of NESCAC schools but went elsewhere, so we are not fully immersed in the NESCAC tips/slots etc. Even so, there is a tremendous amount of trust required as you move through the recruiting process, which can be very difficult, certainly for adults who expect detailed information about such a big financial commitment as college costs. Pre-reads could not begin until July 1 – a week ago – and when we were scouring this board for info on pre-read timing, it seemed some people heard back within a week or two, others a month or more – it seemed to vary by school, sport, and strength of recruit.

Broadly, I would think some questions to ask coach include – what percentage of recruits/how many recruits with your child’s stats have been admitted/rejected. Is your child getting a tip or a slot? Or is he expected to get in on his own, without support? Presumably, your child is being asked to apply ED1. The good news with that is, you get an answer pretty quickly. The negative potential is that a surprise deferral or even rejection can throw the best-laid plans into a mess.

As a very risk-averse type myself, I would be nervous about shutting the doors on other schools before the positive pre-read has come back but that is a delicate dance, to let other schools know you might be interested if your first choice doesn’t pan out. Did the coach indicate when you could expect to hear on the pre-read? Perhaps if it doesn’t seem too forward, an email on Monday from the student to the coach asking about progress would be appropriate. Hang in there, it is exhausting.

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Thanks, Midwest. It really is exhausting!

The coach told us we should hear back by July 15 and told us he thought S would get in (virtually assured us, but did say admissions makes the call). He said that there were three levels - No help, little help, or a lot of help. He told us in March that he would use whatever level he needed to get S in the school, but because of his academic load and grades he thought it would be easy. Admissions guy who visited the school told S that if coach thought that, it should be fine. After that, S basically stopped all communication with a dozen other coaches (part of being 16, I guess). We saw the coach a few weeks ago and he was just as positive, even talked about where S fit in on the field.

S trusts coach completely and would be a strong player at nearly any DIII school. Coach also knows we are not using Fin Aid as a factor. I guess i should be as trusting as my boy!

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Personally, I think it goes against the sprit of the NESCAC student-athlete for schools to effectively guarantee admission prior to submission of an application. A friend’s daughter had a similar commitment from a Middlebury coach and it just made me sad that the NESCAC has begun chasing athletes like a D1 school.

5

^^^^
There are other DIII schools trying to lock kids up before their senior year. We have 2 friends with rising seniros that will be playing a sport at Kenyon and Skidmore and have “committed”. Another one talking with Tufts right now about a different sport.

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To be fair to the coach, this was more about my son wanting to attend this school than the coach telling him he had to say yes now. I don’t think the coach did anything wrong, I just hope we can trust the process and that the coach has a good sense of the admissions office.

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@BeagleAG I would have a great deal of confidence that the coach knows exactly what will pass muster with admissions.

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Beagle,

I am not sure what your concerns are. Are you concerned that your son decided where he wanted to attend college late in his junior year? That doesn’t strike me as too early (8th or 9th grade may be too early, in my book). Are you concerned about risk? What’s the risk? You wait to hear about the pre-read and if it doesn’t work out, then your son has plenty of time to regroup and look elsewhere. I know a number of non-athletes who would love that opportunity.

There are no free lunches in D3 recruiting. With some exceptions (and I am sure they will come out from the woodwork when I pronounce the general rule), if you are a D3 (especially NESCAC) recruit, you apply early in exchange for the support with admissions. This arrangement makes perfect sense to me. If you want the adcom to give you brownie points for being an athlete, you should agree to attend the school in exchange for the added admissions support. If the quid pro quo went only one way (i.e., support through admissions, but no agreement by the recruit to attend the school), colleges would be recruiting four to five times the athletes that they do now. There would be fewer places for non athletes. Their yields would be all over the place. It just isn’t workable.

There also are no guarantees. Your son’s “commitment” has no legal significance, and he should be careful telling his friends now that he is going to attend ___________NESCAC school. It is up to the adcom, not the coach, who gets admitted to the college. On this point, the NESCAC league policy is very clear. “All admissions decisions are rendered and delivered in writing by the admissions office only. Any communication regarding the status of admissions decisions conveyed by non-admissions personnel should be considered preliminary, unofficial, and subject to change.” So, be cautious about buying the sweatshirt and auto decal. It is absolutely normal to sit on pins and needles for several months, but things look infinitely better from the rear view mirror.

If you are worried about your son getting burned by the coach, do as MidwestMom suggests. Ask the coach: 1) how long is the recruiting list; 2) where does your son fit into that list; 3) is your son guaranteed a roster spot on the team; and ask whether he cuts recruits. I also agree with MM that your son should continue communications with other coaches until you get that letter from the adcom.

Those things being said, I think the folks on this site would agree that athletic recruiting is a terrific tool in college admissions. D3 athletics (particularly the NESCAC) is fabulous for deep friendships and leadership opportunities (and the parents get a kick out of watching as well). If your son likes the school, the school is strong academically, and you have a positive academic pre-read, I am having trouble figuring out what could be bad.

9

The responses you have received are great. I have gone through the athletic recruiting process twice in the last 5 years with one son just graduating and one starting this fall in a Nescac school. It does take a leap of faith and some sleepless nights once that ED button is pushed. That date in December does not come quick enough. Email the coach, ask specific questions with regards to your concerns and hopefully the answers help with your comfort level. Ultimately, it is all up to the Adcoms.
Fingers crossed and good luck

10

Beagle: I am glad that your S has received a genuine, but qualified expression of interest from an a coach in an unknown sport at a top 5 NESCAC. While a positive sign, it simply means that he coach is interested in obtaining a pre-read from admissions as part of the process of setting his board. Coaches at NESCACs almost always show interest in a recruit, like your S, who is a good athlete with strong academics, but that is a far cry from the promise of a slot following a positive pre-read.

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Just coming back to say – there are a lot of unknowns in this process, and as a parent, it can seem like we are being asked to speak a foreign language, with idioms and expressions that have meanings we don’t necessarily understand. For ex., some coaches told my kid was he was “in his top 5” or “at the top of his list” and then . . . nothing. We had conversations about playing time, role on the field, and thought kid had a roster spot, but realized those decisions had not been finalized. It all worked out, but we learned from mistakes along the way.

NESCACs, as I gather, can have a more formal, and therefore predictable, process than some other D3s, so you should have clearer information once you hear back on the pre-read. Be prepared to ask specific questions about admission – extent of coach support, numbers of recruits admitted/rejected/deferred with your kid’s record etc., as well as about roster spots – is the kid guaranteed a roster spot for 1 year? 2 years? Are recruits cut? How many players in kid’s position/role does coach contemplate bringing in this year?

And again, just the risk-averse parent in me, but I would be prepared to move forward simultaneously with other programs of interest, particularly depending on the summer recruiting process for your kid’s sport.

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Thanks to all who replied. Other perspectives are quite helpful.

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@BeagleAG My son also verbally committed to a NESCAC school in March. Prior to verbally committing, the coach requested son’s transcripts and test scores. After reviewing his academic info (which had rigorous classes and SAT scores in top 1%) The coach then told my son that he had his full support and 100% of his prior recruits with his support have been admitted in December of senior year. My son then contacted all of the other coaches that had been recruiting him and told them of his verbal commitment because he didn’t want them to spend any more of their time recruiting him when he knew he wasn’t going to attend.

My son submitted his end of junior year transcript and official test scores at the end of June. He heard back from the official pre-read 4 days ago.

In my son’s sport, more 5-stars are now playing in both the Ivy League and NESCAC than they were just a few years ago. As a result, the recruiting timeline in the Ivy League and NESCAC has been pushed up because kids are getting exploding offers from other Div I programs and they need to know where they stand with a team in the Ivy or NESCAC that is their top choice.

I have been following the recruiting in my son’s sport for the last couple of years. Many players are announcing their verbal commitments on the national website during their junior year. (The earliest announcement that I remember was in December of junior year to an Ivy). Since I have been following the recruiting process, all of the players who have verbally committed are now attending the colleges they committed to.

I will be happy when the official results come out in December, but my son (and my H and I) trust the coach and the process.

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@shuttlebus, sounds similar. Would you mind sharing the sport?

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@beagleAG Tennis. What is your son’s sport?

16

soccer…

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@BeagleAG It is my understanding that the recruiting process in the NESCAC is the same for all sports. However, I would guess that the number of slots a coach is given varies depending on the sport.

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The coach told us he had six slots and that my son had one of them.

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@BeagleAG My son’s a rising junior and plays soccer in USSDA U-15-16 and his GPA is similar to your son’s. He went to the Dallas Showcase, but we haven’t gotten any messages from the coaches since. We’re also interested in NESCAC and our next step is to go to Amherst PPA3 and have him be exposed to the coaches over there.

If it’s okay, can you answer some questions for me? Does your son play in an academy or HS? How did your son get specific comments from the coaches? And where did he get the praise (a camp or a showcase?) ? Also, have you heard of the PPA3 camp and do you have any advice? Thanks.

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@Dodalee, Happy to tell you what I know, but there are probably others who know a lot more than I. Keep in mind that my S has not been admitted yet, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

My son did not play for an academy team because he is multi-sport athlete. If he played academy they would not let him play other sports as well as his HS team. Up until his sophomore year, my wife and I thought he’d play basketball in college, so the Academy was never really an option.

To compensate for not playing Academy he played two years up, The team he played on was ranked #1 in our state and easily would beat the age appropriate Academy team he’d have to play on. For him, it was a great choice, but we got lucky that such a good team was in our area.

Regarding feedback from coaches, he starting going to camps last summer as a rising Junior. He did very well at the Future 500 camp and talked to many coaches, getting several cards and email addresses. I think a few talked to him after the All-star game and some after the individual games. Several at the camp, invited him to visit and said they were interested.

When he got home, he wrote the ones he liked and the ones that liked him wrote back… all had specific things to say so we figured it was real. Based on what he wanted he attended a few team camps after the summer. I’d say all went well. He got feedback from each camp, most saying things like “your one of our top recruits for 2017” or “we are very interested in you” or “we thought you were one of the top players in the camp”. One of the camps even gave a DI, D3, or club rating. Since all were top academic schools, most coaches asked for his grades and whatever scores he had.

In the fall, he concentrated on his HS team, but wrote a few coaches he liked with updates. Just about all of them wrote back something pleasant. When the season ended, he made a highlight tape and sent to about 20 coaches, many of the ones he’d already met and a few new ones. Most coaches wrote back and invited him to campus and one of their money making camps.

The Amherst coach invited him to FLA for a camp and asked for his schedule. I have heard of the PPA camps but my S did not attend. Since he’s the point guard on his HS team, he could not attend (and I did not really want to pay to send him to FLA). He did attend one IVY school’s camp in November. At that camp, there were several other coaches. One of the coaches approached him after the All-Star game and wrote him a few days later. The coaches at this particular NESCAC school really liked him and invited him for a visit and their ID camp. Since the ID camp was a week after the bball season ended, he went and did an overnight with the team. He was terrific at the ID camp and he felt connected to the coach. By the time I met the coach the next morning, S and the coach had worked it out.

Now we wait for the pre-read to come back. In retrospect, I think he should have waited and talked to other coaches. I believe my son to be a very good player and great kid who could thrive anywhere. By putting all of his eggs in this basket so early (March), he’ll have to scramble if this goes south. That said, I think he’s ok and the coach has done nothing to make me think it will, other than us not hearing about the pre-read yet. We’ve taught him that the grass is very rarely greener on the other side and I guess he took that to heart.

My best advice is let your child take ownership. In our case, my S found the school he liked, the coach he liked and what he wanted to study. Even if it doesn’t work out, he’ll take something from the experience. My final bit of advice is to let the kid own it. It’s odd for me, since I’m paying for this experience, but if he feels like it’s something he’s done, he’s more likely to be successful.

Hope this helps, but your mileage may vary!