<h1>1 is keeping my D hanging by a thread. Has been told by #1 that one more letter of distinction is available and the head coach is asking admissions for an additional letter. My D is in number 2 position, so very possible she will get the likely letter if an admissions says ok to an additional letter. We will know more by Wed, Oct 31. Day before deadline for #2 and ED.</h1>
<p>Her position is she is committing to #2 unless she gets that LL from #1. </p>
<p>NEED OPINIONS / ADVICE PLEASE!! Do you know how successful Ivies are at getting an additional LL? No clue if this matters, but last year they didn’t use all of them. What do you think of my D’s situation???</p>
<p>but you won’t have the likely in hand by the 1st, right? what’s back-up if it doesn’t come? is there a D3 that has a nov 15 ed deadline? if so, make sure you have LL prior to 15th so at least that door is still open. keep us posted, good luck!</p>
<p>Yikes, hard to offer opinion without knowing specific schools, because they are all so different in character and while some are kind of “interchangeable” others are not, and this is so personal, too. </p>
<p>BUT…if your d would do either #1 or #2 happily then do #2 unless the coach says he can do the LL. I think she is making a smart decision. I would only skip #2 if they were radically different somehow and I just didn’t like #2 as much and were willing to wait on that January option you mentioned.</p>
<p>Not to further your stress but with the hurricane coming, that might impact getting the LL. Check online at the schools to see if they have extended the ED deadline because of the hurricane.</p>
<p>I don’t know about financial aid - but it has been our experience that unless you qualify for financial aid at an Ivy, there is no money for athletic scholarship (or merit either). What is true is they can find more money for people who have qualified, but if you don’t I really do think you’re out of luck.</p>
<p>So, do I suggest you go broke for an Ivy League education? No. However, I do think there are a ton of advantages to playing any sport for the Ivy League, especially from an academic/balance point of view. And while GMATs etc will have to be good, there is definitely a bump given for admission to some of these top grad programs/med school depending on your undergrad.</p>
<p>Minnesota
Based on everything you have posted so far I agree with your D. Committing to #2 unless she gets a LL from #1 sounds like a good decision.</p>
<p>Well, Ivies don’t have athletic scholarships so I’m not sure what that means.</p>
<p>If what the rest of what you’re saying is that Ivies don’t “find” money for athletes who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for need-based financial aid - I don’t think that is true. No, I can’t speak from personal experience. But anectodal evidence shows otherwise. And it doesn’t make logical sense. Very, very few elite athletes would go to an Ivy if the families had to pay full freight as opposed to getting a free ride somewhere else.</p>
<p>As far as I know - with firsthand experience- there is no “money finding” for athletes in the Ivies over and above what you would qualify based on income and assets.</p>
<p>That said - an athlete being recruited by several Ivies may be in a better position to request a FA match than a non-athlete.</p>
<p>Varska - new parent here. So how can you make multiple Ivies match FA offers? Based on FA pre-reads? And what is the outcome of these negotiations if you did not even apply yet. Can you get get anything in writing? Can you have that as part of your LL? And what will happen sophomore year and beyond?</p>
<p>Hi - welcome. Short answer, you can’t ‘make Ivies match FA offers’. But if you can get a FA offer from Ivy A, Ivy B may be receptive to re-evaluating their FA offer.
Some Ivies are on record as being more receptive to matching.
Getting the offers and presenting them involve some care - a little beyond the scope of a short response here.</p>
<p>Clarification: Ivies ONLY have need-based aid. The same olds true for the NESCAC schools. Therefore, unless you’ve qualified for financial aid, there is absolutely no money no matter how great your talent. On the other hand, since they are private institutions, if a student qualifies for financial aid, it is somewhat at the school’s discretion how they meet that need. While I believe most Ivies still don’t require loans, I am not sure if it’s always the case that their determination of family contribution and student contribution are what some families would consider to be their full need (and thus require parent loans etc). For Athletes, my only point was that if you did qualify for financial aid, it is reasonable to conclude that they can either be generous with how they fill that need or not.</p>
<p>Thanks Varska. Do not want to start my CC posting with hijacking a thread but would like to get more info on this topic. Maybe we should start a new thread. Something like “would non-HYP match a HYP?” and what is the correct approach. I am sure some other readers are interested as well.</p>
<p>As SteveMA predicted, several Ivy/NESCAC schools will be closed on Monday due to Hurricane Sandy. Not sure how/if this will impact ED deadlines.</p>
<p>Hello all - again thanks for all the feedback. Good heads up SteveMA on impact of the hurricane. Early Admission deadlines have been extended atleast 4 days for #1 and #2. Not sure yet how this impacts when we will know if there is an additional LL granted or coach’s commitment deadline. Regardless, we are praying for those impacted by the storm.</p>
<p>UPDATE: WAITING ONE MORE DAY… wow, really thought this would be done by now. Called #2 Tuesday to see if D could have a few extra days past Nov 1 to commit due to hurricane related issues. Thankfully answer was yes. #1 has meeting with Admissions tomorrow to try and get another spot for the team, and if they do, then D will have it. D has told #1 if there is no likely letter then no go. Ds current coaches have launched an all out campaign calling and emailing both #1 and #2 to give D as much positive endorsement as possible. Fingers crossed, wish us luck!!</p>
<p>Your D was vastly more aggressive than my son who came in late to Ivy baseball recruiting. My son missed the LL process by a few days, but stuck it out with his #1 choice. His second choice was also an Ivy. He has been a starter since freshmen year. My point is this…if this is your D’s #1 choice and she is bringing a lot to the table, she doesn’t have to give the coach an ultimatum IMHO. What if the coach can’t convince Admissions on a LL? Then you’re crossing #1 off the list, and will not consider other options? Really? You may want to reconsider your position…just a thought.</p>
<p>Fenwaysouth: thank you for your humble opinion! So glad things worked out for your son - what a great story! Yes, D told #1 coach need the letter of distinction or she will go to #2. The reason being without that letter it would be nearly impossible to be admitted to #1 despite Academic Index 220+. #1 is a HYP. D is already promised LL from #2 which is an Ivy as well. And she really does like as well. </p>
<p>We thought this is the right strategy - but are we wrong?? UH OH</p>
<p>So the line between your #1 (waiting for answer LL) and #2 (promised LL) is extremely thin. If that is the case, that makes a lot more sense to me. But, I’m having trouble understanding how someone with a 220+ AI would have these challenges.</p>
<p>FWIW…My son’s choices were reversed. #1 choice was a BCCDP, #2 was a HYP. There was a vast difference in preference in our case. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ;-)</p>