I was reading some posts regarding athletic recruiting and had a question so I decided to ask it here.
There were couple mentions about likely letters, for Ivy League schools + Chicago and how many people actually get the likely letter once they send in their applications (If offered by the coach/school to submit earlier for a likely letter). Would it be close to 100% or more like 70% of recruits that ultimately receive likely letters after submission of application?
One more question, if I get an offer to submit my application for a likely letter, should I be preparing other applications as backup? (I think I will but may change the number of schools to prepare for)
Sorry if it’s a little confusing, I can clarify some points if needed.
@21swimmer That’ll vary by conference and school. I don’t know enough about Chicago to comment. At Ivies it’s pretty rare for a supported recruit not to be admitted, and most of those will receive likely letters. There have been discussions on CC about this, and there are examples of athletes who were supported and admitted but never received likely letters. I do know a case where that happened, but the athlete applied fairly late, received a call from admissions that she would be admitted, but no likely letter was produced because the letter of admission would arrive within a few weeks. So I think once you are at the point of committing to a school, just make sure to ask the coach about the process and whether a likely letter will be sent.
As far as backups, I think it’s good to have a backup plan in mind. But the Ivy likely letter is effectively a letter of admission. So if you receive one of those in Oct or early Nov you might find you don’t end up applying elsewhere. I don’t think the various D3 versions of the Ivy likely letter necessarily carry the same level of certainty, so for those schools I’d double check with the coach.
I really don’t know why people unfamiliar with UChicago recruiting are commenting on UChicago recruiting, in contradiction to those that have gone through the process?
My child enters this fall as a recruited athlete in track.
UChicago coach interviewed my child and said he would provide support if child was committed. We asked if he would do a pre read as the NESCACS did. Coach said UChicago doesn’t do pre reads. (Maybe they do in other sports. The coach had seen the transcript and SATs before the interview so unofficially perhaps?)
The coach said he would support my child, my child said he would attend if he received firm support. Coach asked whether could submit a full application by October 1. Everything including essays and recommendations.
Once submitted ED1 about two weeks my child received an early write/likely letter weeks from the admissions office. (If we hadn’t received the letter on a timely basis we would have changed it to RD. Other athletes said they submitted it initially EA , admissions reviewed it, and the coach then called and said if changed to ED1 they would get likely letter. Same difference)
So please don’t confuse commitment before pre read. This is effectively the Ivy process. I can’t say if it’s true for all athletes in all sports.
This was exactly the process that Brian’s son went through elf or his track recruitment as well.
Please keep comments specific to UChicago.
It’s far more certain feeling than NESCAC.
Not sure if this is a reference to my comment above, but I was trying to answer 21swimmer’s question, which specifically referenced Ivies.
From what you posted, it sounds like a very clear process at a Chicago, though without a pre read. Makes me wonder if the OP might have misunderstood some of the discussions with the coach.
I’m not sure who I was relying to but it’s the general senses that I mentioned their process before and posters kept suggesting other things.
I’m not sure all UChicago athletes get likely letters. Maybe only those that are high priority? Analogous to the NESCAC slots versus tips?
And the coach had the recruits test scores and transcript before sending in the full app so perhaps there was an unofficial pre read though the coach explicitly said they don’t do pre reads. They must have a sense though before the full app is requested.
Then after the app is reviewed by admissions the coaches says if it’s ED1 you will get a likely letter. Two weeks letter it was in the email.
Perhaps it varies by sport but I know a baseball player that also received a likely letter.
Very very different than Amherst, Williams, Pomona, etc.
I thought since Ivy and Chicago both had likely letters, the overall process would be similar, but I guess the pre-read part is a little different. Glad that I now know this.
Two weeks seems like a very long wait but definitely much better than the usual two month wait from November.
@arbitrary99, Did you have a discussion with the coach about the consequence of not receiving a likely letter? My understanding is that for the LL recipients, the process is secure, but that for those who don’t receive a LL, it is just the opposite and the NESCAC system provides significantly more assurance. For team sports, I understand that the LLs go to the top 2, and then there is a lengthy list and from that list, admission is a crap shoot with little coach input. I have heard of lists of 20-25. A list of 20-25 would not be the equivalent of the NESCACs. Did you discuss this with the coach?
@gointhruaphase
We did not. If that’s true about limited LL’s then I agree with your conclusion. At the point of contacting Chicago, my child had already gone through pre reads and was doing official overnights at NESCAC’s, Pomona etc. My child did ask for equivalent certainty and asked for a LL as we knew they existed.
When I first started responding here, I did so under the impression most got LL’s; if that’s not true I can’t say how much support the other athletes get. Given how competitive many of the Chicago teams are nationally, I just assumed most received LL’s or strong support.
Pomona was similar to what you describe; there only two athletes get certainty and the others get “support” which isn’t nearly as certain as the NESCAC’s.
D3 recruiting is inconsistent and confusing. I responded on here to try to help others as the help we received here when going through the recruiting process was invaluable.
Good luck everyone; there are so many great schools so I hope your hard work gets rewarded and you end up at your dream school.
Hi , just wondering…are you in UChicago now?