Son is doing several overnight visits/recruiting trips over the next few weekends at D3 LACs (not sure what exactly to call them after reading various responses to other posts). Most are in the same conference. What questions do coaches generally ask on these visits? Should son reveal what other schools are in the running or simply say “other LACs”? Do coaches put pressure on athletes to give a verbal “commitment” and if so, what is the best way to respond? Any other advice or input is greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!
my son swims for a D3 program and his younger brother is now also starting his recruiting visits
the coaches at least with regards to my older sons visit NEVER asked for a commitment right then and there
they will ask what other schools are in the mix and yes it is okay to share a few
in fact the coaches my son met thought it was a good idea to look at the different schools meet the team etc to figure out which was the best fit
one thing that is almost a definite at the higher ranked academic schools is that coach will expect his top recruits to apply ED
have your son observe how the team get along with each other as well as with the coaching staff
coach will ask team how they think recruits will fit in on team etc after visit
The coach will almost certainly ask what other schools your son is considering. I think saying “other LACs” is being unnecessarily vague. I wouldn’t list off a laundry list of schools, coach want’s to find out if he’s competing against 1 or 2 other peers schools, or whether he’s just another name on a long list of schools.
If the visit went well and the coach really wants him, he may offer a spot, but it’s almost never a “this offer expires when you leave this room” type thing. He’ll have a few days/weeks to consider.
We advised our son to tell coaches who asked for a commitment that he had promised his parents he would not commit until he had a chance to talk it over with us. He never had anyone push him for a commitment, but that may be a viable tack to take. As far as what schools, I agree with @varska. List the top two or three other schools under serious consideration. And if one happens to be the visited school’s rival, so much the better.
What about a list of questions to ask the coach/team? There is a laundry list of potential questions but it would be good to narrow it down. My D leaves for the first of a few overnight visits to D3 schools on Sun
Honestly, I think lists of generic questions are worthless. Most of the basics will probably be covered in the normal dog and pony show. Your daughter would be better off sitting down and thinking about the intricacies of her sport, and what is important to her and then maybe jotting a few notes. What is it that your daughter is most nervous about? What does she find hardest to deal with currently when balancing her sport and school? If a parent is going, then questions about handling medical insurance for sport related injuries, academic support available, scheduling/class priority, things like that would be appropriate I think.
The college coaching community in practically every sport is a close one. Especially within the same league. I do not think it is a productive tactic to try to keep unofficial visits close to the vest, especially within the same league. Coach will find out sooner or later. To be sure, revealing the visits is a nice way to circumscribe the group of schools mentioned.
(I know someone who was recruited by a D3, applied early, but was deferred. The day after the deferral decision was released, got a call from one of the schools mentioned to the D3 coach as another school of interest. Think they talk much?)
I agree with varska that it is unlikely that your son will be asked for an immediate oral commitment. But if he is, I think his first question should be “What are you offering and what would I be committing to?”
Typically, all that a D3 LAC coach can offer is help through Admissions for those who apply Early. If this is the case, try to find out the extent of help the coach is able to offer by asking the percentage of applicants who were supported by the coach that eventually were admitted in recent years. In this case, oral commitment=promise to apply Early.
If a coach says he is able to offer admission with similar certainty to an Ivy slot, that is a whole different ballgame. But even in this case, your oral commitment=promise to apply Early.
In either case, I would not suggest using excuses for deferring a response–if in fact you do want to defer a response. Coaches have heard all the excuses before. If you do not want to respond immediately, tell the truth and say you want to complete all the visits that have been arranged for you before you decide. At your last visit, just say you need a couple of weeks to decide where to apply early…if that is true.
I think the student can ask about the team and where the coach sees that recruit - am I your 16th goalie? do you run a zone defense? do you have anyone else running the 1600 meter? The student can also ask about practices - do you practice in the am or pm? Conditioning requirements? conflicts with classes like long labs?
Questions for the coach:
- Chances for admission? If you haven't had a pre-read, ask for one.
- Where am I on your list of recruits?
- Will you support my application with admissions? What level of support?
- Do you have team tryouts. Will I have to try out? Are there cuts? Do you cut recruits?
Answering questions about other schools of interest. First, note that the reason that the coach asks this question is the flip side to question no. 2 above – where does the school land on the students list of preferred colleges. The coach asks this question so that he can assess realistically how hard he will need to recruit the athlete (just as the athlete asks so that he can assess his chances for admission and playing time). Take for example the athlete being recruited to MIT, Harvard and Stanford, and LAC ranked 100. If the No. 100 LAC coach learns that the student is being recruited to Stanford, he might assume that he has no chance with the recruit and stop pursuing the kid. It is akin to an adcom “protecting its yield.”
So, how you respond to this question depends fully on where the athlete is in the recruiting process and what you are hoping to receive from the overnight. Are there really 4 LACs in the same conference that are “neck and neck?” Then you probably want encourage coach support to the fullest by revealing less. I would suggest only revealing the schools that are ranked lower (and by “ranked lower” I mean schools that most kids would not prefer over the OV school) than the school at which you are taking the OV.
Have you been promised strong coach support at all the schools? Or, is the student taking an OV for “practice” for later, more important OVs? Then it probably doesn’t matter.
By contrast, if your athlete has been promised support strong by two colleges and the kid just cant decide between the two, that certainly could (and arguably should) be revealed to the coach even if most students commonly would prefer one of the two schools over the other. This could tell a lot about the coach (does he “bad mouth” the other school), and it could illuminate some important differences about the schools about which the recruit was unaware. I don’t think it would dissuade a coach if he knew that he was in contention with only one other school.
Of course, ultimately, you need to decide how all of this shakes out based on the state of your recruiting process.
Finally, the only commitment a D3 school can ask for is for an athlete to apply early decision. Expect advocacy on ED applications. Answer could be, “I really want to apply early, I just need to finish up the rest of my OVs and talk to my parents.”
If you apply ED, you may be giving up your opportunity at need aid and/or merit aid. Be sure you talk with the financial aid office before going that route.
If you are accepted ED, you give up your chance to compare financial aid packages because you agree not to apply anywhere else.
Typically, schools do not have different financial aid formulas for applicants in the Early and Regular rounds…
Once again, I am agreeing with fenway. The D3 schools (at least the NESCAC for sure) expect applicants to apply early IF the athlete wants coach support through admissions. If not, then athletic prowess is regarded by the adcom about at the same level at all other ECs. I know a couple of recruits who did not apply early to the NESCACs and were waitlisted, even though they were well within the mid 50% of applicants.
Thanks so much to all of you for the great insights and helpful information. We really appreciate it! This forum is more useful than most college counselors and athletic recruiting services!
Fenwaypark, I think you are right about financial aid - my mistake. My understanding is that merit aid may not be available for early decision applicants, unless it is automatic based on a published index of scores/gpa.
And NESCACs may not give merit aid in any case . . .
Need base financial aid can be presented to recruit via a FA pre-read prior to OV.