We know a few people who are saying they have committed to Ivy League schools as juniors, but I don’t understand how that is possible because it seems like it is not allowed. Has anyone had this experience?
Likely they mean that the Ivy coach has agreed to support the application, they’ve agreed to apply and attend if admitted, and they’ve stopped looking around. That’s usually what recruits mean when they say they’ve committed.
This can vary by sport. But if what you’re thinking is that “committed” means an admission in hand or, for NLI schools, a signed NLI, that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, for most recruits I’d say they are telling people they’ve committed well before anything “official” happens. It’s just a verbal agreement but very common to share once a decision has been made. (And, contrary to what some might assume, it’s usually not shared to boast but just to stop the sometimes insane number of texts and questions from coaches, teammates, other parents, etc.).
I think @politeperson is correct, that’s my understanding. We know someone who committed to an ivy in spring of junior year - this person has very top academics and test scores and very top sports stats. My understanding is committing to an ivy that early is not that common and only possible for the rare super elite type athlete that ticks all the boxes at the highest level of both academics and sports. But as noted this is technically verbal only until the likely letter and acceptance arrive. Curious about how many 2021 athletes are committing earlier this year in light of possibly fewer roster spots, and how many rosters are already filling up earlier than usual given the lack of official visits and uncertainties of gap years on 2021 admissions.