An Ivy League coach asked my D for her transcripts so that he can conduct a preread on her. Another top D3 LAC also asked her to conduct a preread. One D3 local school that has been texting, talking to and going to her games have not asked for one. However, every correspondence he tells her that he is very interested in her being part of his team. After watching her play and my D attending his Prospect ID camp, before COVID shut everything down, he sent her this text: “As a 2021 prospect I foresee you coming in competing for a top 20 roster spot where you will earn a lot of minutes and make an immediate impact as soon as your freshman year. Your performance at camp further reinforced my confidence in you and I am looking forward to continuing the recruiting process with you.” Since then he has called, texted and even had a couple of his current athletes call her. I was just wondering why he hasn’t asked for a preread…does that mean that perhaps she has fallen on is priority list? Would it be appropriate for my daughter to inquire if he wants to do a preread?
Is it a school that has prereads? Not all do. Others with more experience can chime in, but at this point I would think your daughter could ask the coach where she stands in his recruiting list.
I don’t know if i has prereads…how do I find that out? She actually just got off the phone with him. He told her he has a spot for her on his team and for her to send her transcripts for early estimator. Is that the same as a preread or is that different? I’m sorry for my ignorance, I’ve never gone through this.
Usually pre reads are done at the more elite schools such as the Ivies and the Nescac LAC’s but it certainly is not something that all schools do. I’m not familiar with the “early estimator” phrase but it sounds like a pre read of sorts. Its important to note that pre reads are not guarantees, they are simply a way for schools to know if you have the grades and scores to be successfully admitted into the college. Once a pre read is complete, if the coach tells you they will support you and you had a successful read then you have a good chance of getting in, but its not certain. Each school is different. Ivies do “likely letters” but those aren’t until early October. Usually if a school is interested and asked for some sort of pre read its a good sign so I would certainly have your daughter send her information to the coach.
I know that at least MIT doesn’t do pre-reads.
Part of the rationale for pre-reads is that the school is sufficiently difficult to get into that a recruit needs some certainty about admission, particularly if applying ED. For example, a sought-after athlete being recruited to Amherst and Williams wants some certainly that Williams (which turns away lots of academically high performing kids) will admit the recruit if he or she is going to turn down Amherst. This can be done by pre-read, but schools do use other methods. Some have an athletic advisor who “gets a strong sense” of admission without an actual pre-read. Some just don’t do them, but rely on their name to get athletes to apply and over-recruit (MIT and Chicago are so reputed). My recollection is that Haverford may not do pre-reads.
But your daughter should definitely ask for one. She can say something like, “given the other pre-reads pending, my family will not let me apply unless admission is fairly certain. Will you perform a pre-read with admissions?” If the coach says “we don’t do pre-reads.” The follow up would be “then how will I know whether I am a likely admit.” See what the coach says. If he or she says, “there is no certainty,” then you can choose (or not) to adjust objectives based on the odds.
A friend’s D20 was recruited at MIT - she didn’t have a pre-read, but the coach told her she would need slightly higher test scores to be accepted, she managed to make them and then she was indeed accepted RD. Not exactly a pre-read because admissions wasn’t involved, but it was similar in many ways.
My daughter just got off the phone with a coach with one of the academically elite teams that did a PreRead on her. The coach told her that it was a very positive PreRead and relayed that Admissions stated that my daughter would be a very competitive candidate for admissions. I wish they would just say they think she’ll get it! Anyways, the coach asked my daughter if she had given any more thought on ED. Since this is her top school, she informed the coach that she has decided to apply ED to the school. The coach screamed and was very excited. She said that she was going to let her assistant coach know as well since she has been speaking to the both of them equally.
I’m hoping that this is a very good sign that she has a shot at getting in. She doesn’t have to disclose to the other schools that she’s doing ED elsewhere does she? Also, if we can’t afford it after the financial package they offer, she does NOT have to enroll does she? Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this whole process.
Be sure and ask for a financial preread as well. Everyone my son has talked to offered both academic and financial prereads so that you understand the financial piece before committing to ED.
Did the coach make an offer, that is, did the coach explicitly say they would support your daughter’s application with admissions?
Yes the coach said that she would support her application and offered her a roster spot. I told my daughter that we need to do a financial preread too.
If your daughter has accepted an offer, yes, she should let the other coaches recruiting her know. It is only thoughtful to all the other recruits out there, once your daughter lets the other coaches know they can move on to their next recruit on their list. If she has other offers and has a second choice school she can ask that coach if things don’t work out if she can get back in touch.
@PilarEllis, the answer is that you never do know for sure. In fact, I have NEVER heard of a pre-read that conveys the notion that you are “in.” Ours always said “this is not a guarantee of admission.” In truth, how could an elite college say that? What if an applicant had committed armed robbery which, of course, would not show up on a transcript, board scores, or school profile. I have heard stories (from coaches) where things did not go as planned. So, Admissions reserves their right to change their mind when they review the full application.
Honestly, I think this is fair. First, admission is supposed to be analyzed by Admissions. It is not a decision made by the coach. The coaches do have “input,” the significance of which depends on a number of factors. Second, the process (in particular timing considerations and deadlines) is not supposed to be different for athletic recruits than for others.
Be pleased that you have far more comfort than non-athletic recruits about your choices. Make sure that the application is befitting an elite school, and try to chill. Things are good.
For what its worth…regarding the pre-read - in talking to a coach last night, he said that admissions gives each pre-read a “score” based on their confidence in the kids ability to succeed at that school. For some kids, the score might be “conditional” based on their seeing first term grades. For other kids, admissions might need to see their application in full before deciding for sure. The best score is one where AO is “confident” of admissions because of the kids test scores, grades and the rigor of their classes. I think the coach can provide this information, which will give you a better sense of the likelihood of admission.
Coach also said that, if application is in early, he can usually get a likely letter within a week.
Yes, I would expect if Admissions came back and said that admission was dependent on senior grades (or a higher test score or whatever) this info would be passed on to the athlete. But all these nuances (including the possibility of likely letters) varies school by school.
Is the likely letter sent directly by Admissions to the student athlete or does the coach get it first from Admissions and delivers to the student athlete?
Do the contents of a likely letter vary between the colleges that issue them, or are they substantially similar? In our case, the one my son wants is a likely letter from Penn.
Thank you for any thoughts or comments on this.
Likely letters are sent from admissions to the recruit (perhaps there are exceptions but I don’t personally know of any). There is some variation but in the Ivy League they’re substantially similar. Which is to say that under conference rules a likely letter “will” have the same force as a letter of admission. So while it is not a letter saying a recruit has been admitted, it is a letter informing a recruit that when such letters are sent, he will receive one.
@playsports - Unless things have changed, for Ivy schools if your child is applying ED, he will need to submit an application after October 1st to admissions (with the coach knowing it it is done, as the coach supplies a list of his recruits to admissions and post positive admissions pre-read). Likely letters are sent out by admissions approx 2 weeks after the submission of a successful application. The coach will walk your child through the process - most likely on a phone call with you too - when it is at the offer stage.
The coach will tell you to apply ED and that you have passed admissions and to notify him/her if a likely letter doesn’t show up.
Likely letters are not released prior to 10/15. Of course, so much is changing this year - but that is the schedule that was told to my child by a Ivy coach. Official acceptance will come at the regular ED decision date in mid-December - but a likely letter is pretty much an acceptance (you tell all other coaches you have committed) and unless there is a change in your child’s grades, behavior etc - it would be time to celebrate your child’s hard work both through their sport and school.
^agree with most of this but a minor clarification on the dates: I believe schools are allowed to issue likely letters starting Oct. 1 and can accept applications before then.
My opinion. D3 cannot assure admittance with out without a preread. Sure, coach is not going to tell a perspective she/he is in without some kind of assurance. But here is the issue. Athletic admittance at this level is a game of musical chairs. The coach has a list and has prioritized the list. Their first choice may have another first choice and when that person decides to apply ED1 to another school the list shifts. And on and on. My D’s first choice did not support her until the list shifted. But, my D wanted that school for academic reasons and was willing to hold out, for a while. It worked out, cause list changed, my D got on the supported list and got admitted to her first choice school playing for the coach she wanted. She is going into her 3rd year and loves it. My D had other schools tell her, let them know if she did not get in, and they would support her ED2. I found the whole admissions process for D3 stressful. Best of luck to you and your child. And while we did not need FA, make sure you get that FA preread before you commit to ED1