So really, there isn’t much not to love about Bowdoin, but I want to post a serious caution for athletes being asked to apply ED without a “slot” or full coach support. There are at least 5 very bright young athletes in a variety of sports that were offered spots on a roster but “I can tell admissions I want you, but I can’t offer my full support”, or some variation of that from last year who were denied.
All these students were extremely qualified academically with higher than the average Bowdoin test score, and 4.0 or higher GPAs. These students used their ED spot on Bowdoin, and were either deferred and rejected, or rejected.
They were all from the NE, and 4 of the 5 I know of were girls.
My DD was of course, one of them. With her 34 ACT, 97 average in a full IB program, recommendations stating “best student I ever had”, with 2 years of higher level IB physics, and BC calc, meaningful other activities with leadership, she was deferred and then, heartbreakingly, rejected.
She was wait-listed at Amherst, offered a boatload of money at Smith, accepted at Bates, Hamilton, Haverford, and Middlebury. So no harm done in the long run, but there was a lot of stress, tears, and last minute essay writing that could have been avoided if we hadn’t decided she was good enough to get into Bowdoin with a “tip”.
Beware. I wouldn’t recommend anyone serious about athletics waste their ED pick without a slot. By the time RD rolled around, she was looking at a “walk-on” at a couple of those schools, where they had offered her support in ED1 which she didn’t take.She also wouldn’t apply ED2 at another school- she was certain she would get in eventually because her stats were so good and the coach wanted her.
Live and learn.
Thanks for sharing this @OldbatesieDoc - it’s very eye opening. My daughter is just starting to connect with coaches in the NESCAC but loves Bowdoin. Your daughter sounds like an amazing student who could have gotten in ED on her own so it’s clear that a coach “tip” had no impact at all. Do you know if certain sports get more support or was it across the board? Sounds like it was more likely to happen to female candidates, which is also disheartening to hear but I know that males already have a better shot at LAC in general.
Glad it worked out for your DD in the end!
Wow! Shows the dirty underside of college athletic recruiting. All should take note.
It is really too bad that your daughter didn’t get admitted to her first choice school because she obviously had an outstanding record. But, she does have wonderful alternatives.
To the coach’s credit, it sounds like he/she was quite clear that he couldn’t give his “full support” or any assurance of admission. I suspect there are certain coaches who might be less forthright.
Also, I suspect “soft support” matters more for some sports than others.
“Wow! Shows the dirty underside of college athletic recruiting. All should take note”.
Empireapple what is the dirty underside, seems like the coach was pretty clear? He couldn’t offer full support. Translation absolutely no promises made. Ultimately the OPs child got into great schools but apparently didn’t fit what Bowdoin was looking for.
OP I’m not sure what you are warning? If the message is only use your ED where you have a coaches full commitment, agreed if that is the school the kid wants. In your case sounds like your daughter wanted Bowdoin so knowingly took a risk and unfortunately it didn’t go her way (but great end result).
The only guarantee is a guarantee.
We were in this situation last year. We knew when my son applied to UChicago that even with the coach saying he would advocate for my son, there was a chance that he wouldn’t make it through admissions. One month before the ED deadline he received a likely letter which definitely took the pressure off.
When people talk about the admissions boost a student gets in the application process by being an athlete, there is also an added level of stress in the process. You know that a great student and athlete using his ED at another institution is more of a sure thing then at the highly selective DIIIs, but do you turn down the admissions boost you do get, and hope that is enough, or do you use your ED bullet at another institution? Of his final three choices, UChicago was the most stressful in that regard. He felt he was a lock at the other two very good schools. But, when he looked at the options, a UChicago education and the “Life of Mind” and “Open Discourse” ideas that they presented won him over so he decided that it was really where he would prefer to go, but he would have been fine at the other two. He felt pretty good about getting into his backups if he was rejected or deferred at UChicago. It was a real life “Game Theory” exercise.
For us it worked out, but I do know there were others that it did not.
We just didn’t realize how long the odds were. Coach wasn’t dishonest. It’s really that the “tip” was useless. I also wish the AdCom had rejected her outright. Deferring her and then rejecting her was not only “mean”, it kept her from applying ED2 elsewhere.
Why? If you are deferred, you are free to apply ED2 aren’t you? Or was it that her heart was set on Bowdoin and didn’t believe she need to apply elsewhere?
She was so sure she would get in eventually-only reason she didn’t was demographics-
Deferrals from ED1 are really tough. Do you give up on that possibility by playing the ED2 card when clearly the ED1 school was the top choice? Or hang in there because some of those deferrals are indeed accepted in March? Athlete or not, it’s a tough spot to be in…
OP, I am interested to know if your daughter and/or the other 5 students had positive admissions pre-reads, and were rejected/deferred/waitlisted?
When coaches want you, they usually make it crystal clear. If there is a bit of verbal tap dancing, then it’s best to move on, or at least have a plan B you are happy with. S1 had a similar situation with a top school that he applied ED for, but the difference was that he knew going in it was very risky, and he had two other excellent back plans in EDII and RD.
We personally looked at EDII as a waste of time at the school S1 was looking at. If they didn’t want him the 1st time around, then they probably wouldn’t on the 2nd.
Sounds like your D has some good alternatives to Bowdoin.
Oldbatesiedoc, thank you for this posting, and add my daughter to the list of girls from the NE with a similar Bowdoin sports recruiting experience, with a similar result (applied ED1 at coach’s request, deferred and then denied). When your child gets a call from a Bowdoin coach two hours after a sports tryout saying “we’d love to see you here and will help you get through admissions if you need it”–beware. After that call, our daughter was invited to do an early read with admissions, was told it was “impressive”–so impressive that the coach decided to give the “slot” to another applicant. The coach then invited our daughter for an official visit, where the coach told her that it was expected that our daughter would apply ED1. (At the official visit, our daughter dormed with a player on the team whose ACT was 6 points below hers). Given the very positive feedback and experience with the Bowdoin coach, our daughter was not interested in applying ED2 elsewhere after her ED1 deferral by Bowdoin. In retrospect, our daughter would have been much better off with a denial rather than a deferral. On the night of the deferral, the coach spoke with our daughter by phone and said she was “stressed and surprised.” Yes, so were we. Thankfully, our daughter ended up with great options after a very stressful RD application process. However, if she hadn’t had the grades, scores and ECs, it could have been a disaster. “We will help you get through admissions if you need it” is a statement that should not be made lightly to high school students.
@Lifelesson3 so sorry! Thanks for chiming in! Similar scene, so relieved for you and your DD, but what @57special doesn’t get is there really wasn’t any reason to think a child with our DDs stats wouldn’t get in, and there really were no “verbal gymnastics”! It was a 2 year process of reassurance that ended up with a sucker punch to the gut, especially with the RD rejection.
Thank you OP and @Lifelesson3 for sharing your experience. I could only imagine the stress your families must have gone through but glad that both your DDs have great schools to go to in the end. Do you think this cautionary note apply to all DIII schools, not just Bowdoin per se, or you think it is more relevant to Bowdoin? Bowdoin is one of the schools our DS is thinking of applying as an athlete as well.
@makemesmart I would apply this cautionary tale to all D3 schools, not just Bowdoin. You can help maximize your odds of “no surprises” by asking the coach very direct questions:
- What rank is my kid on your recruiting list? In my opinion, it would be a red flag if the coach said that your kid's test scores are high enough that the coach doesn't need to offer as much help with admissions and is therefore not high on his list. My son had test scores in the 99%, but was still listed at the top of the coach's list because the coach didn't want to take any chances with admissions.
- Historically, what percentage of the kids who have been ranked in the same spot as my kid is on your list have been accepted by admissions? This answer is going to vary widely from school to school. The answer you get from a coach at MIT is going to be drastically different than the answer you get from a coach at Johns Hopkins, for example, because the coaches at MIT don't have much pull with admissions.
- Ask if admissions will issue a Likely Letter. While Likely Letters are more common in the Ivy League, there are some D3 schools that issue them, too. An early write from admissions definitely gives you the reassurance that you are not wasting your ED bullet.
@shuttlebus
Very very helpful! I have sent this thread to my DS20 as he is just starting this journey.
I think some NESCACs work better with admissions than others. The challenge is figuring out which coaches are truly coordinating with admissions and which are relying on wishful thinking for anyone not given an official slot.
Sounds like the coach was playing the odds, figuring he could have his cake and eat it too - get the boost to the weaker prospect, under the assumption the stronger candidate would easily make it in. That will work at a state school that grants automatic admission for certain stats, but not so much at a more selective school. Perhaps the admissions office know the coaches are doing this, and have chosen to force the issue by rejecting those “sure thing” applicants. Not really fair to the students, but they know they will land elsewhere.
I can see where the option for ED2 makes the problem worse - by applying to ED2, you are in essence giving up on your first choice school, but I think I would take the deferral with such strong stats as an indication that the coach isn’t working hand in hand with admissions, so there is no real commitment on their part.
“I think some NESCACs work better with admissions than others. The challenge is figuring out which coaches are truly coordinating with admissions and which are relying on wishful thinking for anyone not given an official slot.”
In my experience in the NESCAC, if you are not given an official slot, you are always relying on wishful thinking. If the coach really wants a player on the team, he is not going to gamble with admissions regardless of how high the athlete’s academic stats - that player will. be given a slot.