<p>What does it mean for admissions if you go an Ivy League for an official visit for track and field?</p>
<p>I have really good grades so would an official visit in addition pretty much gurantee admission? I would be on the rather low end of the team and am surprised they are flying me out.</p>
<p>First off, congrats! OV just means that the coaches are very interested in you. An OV does not guarentee you admissions since the coaches want to see you first, evaluate your potential, and most importantly, see if you like the school. Unfortunately, not everyone who goes on the OV will end up getting a likely letter, for various reasons.</p>
<p>However, an OV is the way to start! Good grades are definitely a plus, but it does not guarentee anything since the coaches are mainly looking for athletic abilities and THEN academics. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks. I don’t know how they will evaluate my potential because I don’t think I’m going to participate in a practice when I’m there. We’ll see what happens though!</p>
<p>I feel like they are bringing me because of my grades in a way. They were happy with my times but after I sent them my near perfect test scores and my flawless transcript they offered an OV.</p>
<p>The coaches like your grades & scores because they know you will be liked by admissions, (at least more than the track recruit with low scores). Coaches can also guess that you have potential for improvement. Enjoy your OV and good luck!</p>
<p>Don’t overthink it; just enjoy it! Ivy coaches have a very tough job. They not only have to attract competitive runners like other Div. I programs, they have to attract top runners who are also superb students. There simply aren’t that many of them out there. I read that out of the best 100 runners in a particular event, only around 10 will have the grades and scores such that Ivy-level schools can get them through admissions. And those 10 will have to be won over from all the other Ivies who will also want them. Also, some will want to run for better track programs like Oregon or Texas or Tennessee.</p>
<p>So, the Ivies take some kids who are great scholars with decent times, some who have great times and decent academics, and some with very good of both. If your grades and scores are that good, then at least they know that you’ll be able to handle your classes in addition to your sport obligations. They must also believe they can help you improve once you get there. This is especially true if you got a late start in the sport, or you come from a school that’s not nationally known for its running program and thus they can assume you are undertrained or poorly trained.</p>
<p>OK thanks for the advice guys. That’s helpful and puts things into perspective.</p>
<p>pseudoreal,</p>
<p>Congrats on your pending OV! TheGFG is spot on. Enjoy and take it all in. This is all about “fit” for you and “fit” for them. This is the perfect situation to determine if you want to spend the next 4 years at this school studying, and playing your sport. This is all about you.</p>
<p>You’re correct, you will not be participating in a practice as the NCAA has rules against that for Div 1. I strongly urge you to review some of the other threads on this site to review potential questions and situations. You have a golden opportunity to move this recruiting process to the next level…be prepared, have fun, and take it all in.</p>