<p>My son is in conversation/receiving some official visit offers from various genres of schools (a couple DI state schools, an Ivy, and some DIII NESCAC and other LAC's). I know/think that the NESCAC schools use "slots" based on something similar to the AI? But what about other selective LAC's? Do they have a system like this as well? Coach sent a letter saying we'd really like to you to attend the school/be on our team next year. Please come for an overnight with the team, etc. Son has pretty good stats (2040 SAT, 3.3 GPA - but from a rigorous New England Prep where counselors say GPA gets a 0.5 bump by colleges). He would be an immediate impact player as he is a DI level player and is also recruitable for a second sport at the DIII level. Lots of leadership/service EC's as well. Any thoughts???</p>
<p>It is a very good sign that he has been offerred an overnight. (DIV III do not have “official” visits which are paid.) If your son likes the school, it sounds like a great opportunity. </p>
<p>From reading here of others’ experiences with DIII schools, the admissions departments have all the power, so slots are not defined nor can be promised. Be sure to have other back-up schools in case the coach’s pull is not enough. </p>
<p>For the Ivy, one can request a likely letter, IF that school is his first choice, and the coach wants him. You can search for the Academic Index to start evaluating his scores in relation to recruiting. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Keylyme – My S will be on a NESCAC soccer team this fall, and yes, the NESCAC process is as you described. Provided the student doesn’t drop below some (undisclosed) minimum level for admissibility, the stronger an athlete he is, i.e., the more the coach wants him, the lower his academic credentials can be. At S’s college, the coach told him he had 3 slots and another 4 names to go on a list to admissions. He told S up front he was not going to use a slot for him (your son sounds as if he may be NESCAC slot-worthy) but that he would include him on the list. He had S submit all his academic/EC info so coach could get a pre-read from Admissions. S “passed,” but coach encouraged him to apply ED to improve his chances. He ended up applying EDII (Jan. 1) and was admitted. His test scores and GPA from a selective private school in the East were higher than your S’s right now, but if your S has superior athletic abilities to balance that out, and if coach will use a slot for him, he should get a NESCAC admission.</p>
<p>The other LACs S was recruited by were UAA, Centennial, or Liberty League schools. UAA coaches supposedly have much less influence in the admissions process, though the ones we dealt with do give lists to Admissions. S had more contact with schools in the other two conferences. Those coaches had slots also and, as most coaches seem to do because they want to be able to end their recruiting season early and have their team set, they urged S to apply ED. At those schools, S did not need the boost with admissions he’d get from an ED application and they weren’t his top choice, so he held off making any commitment. Our impression was that the Centennial and Liberty coaches were pretty much able to get their candidates admitted, provided they applied ED if their grades/scores called for it.</p>
<p>Some observations: your comment that S “would be an immediate impact player” reminded me that S’s NESCAC coach told him that is the language he uses for the players on his Admissions list;Admissions expect these recruits to be at that level. Incoming players often nudge not-so-strong upperclass players off the team as their playing time decreases because of the “fresh blood.” </p>
<p>If your S wants the Ivy and can get a likely letter, great. As for the DIII schools, the players who are recruited but are unwilling or unable (for financial reasons) to go the ED route often face decreased or an abandonment of coach support the longer they delay committing. At one school S liked a good deal athletically but not not so much academically, the coach expected to have all 8 of his positions filled through ED. S recognized that the coach was not going to hold a roster spot for him so he could apply RD. I think this generally is true, but others could tell you if exceptional athletes who apply RD are treated differently. Make sure the coach will guarantee S a roster spot.</p>
<p>My D. was offered a visit to a UAA school after a sports clinic. The coach wants her to apply Ed, but I don’t like the financial implications, since we don’t qualify for financial aid.</p>
<p>Marymac, Is your daughter looking only at D3 schools? How might things look financially at the other schools on her list? (Are there other schools known for good merit money, and is she a good fit?) Is the school that wants her to apply ED her favorite?</p>
<p>ED isn’t binding if you can’t afford it after seeing the financial aid package, correct?</p>
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<p>That’s correct, but if you go in knowing that you won’t qualify for financial aid and your family can’t afford the school, there’s little point in applying ED. If the school offers generous merit money and the student’s grades/test scores put him/her in the range for merit that makes the school affordable, that’s a different story.</p>
<p>What sport are we talking about? Nescac has different rules for each sport. At an Amherst Camp, Coach Mills gave a great presentation about how recruiting works in the Nescacs… let me know if football is the sport and I’ll dig up what he had to say. My son did not end up there but the information was invaluable in navigating the process.</p>
<p>Jerseygirl, I’d like to know what Coach Mills had to say. It would be helpful to many CCers.</p>
<p>The way the coach Mills explained it…a 2100 on the SAT and football ability and you are in without any help from him. …anything else he would need to work with admissions. This was part of his speech at the camp. (I loved him by the way… I think they should film his speech to show to all football Parents). The farther you are from the 2100 on SAT, the more he has to give to admissions, so the kid has to be worth it. Lower the score the better you need to be. Nescac football coaches get 14 picks that they can use with admissions. It is important to know if the coach will use a pick on your son. In our case the coach (not Amherst) was upfront and told him at his visit that he would be willing to use the pick and that was one of the deciding factors for my son. </p>
<p>NESCAC schools have “slots” allowing them to admit players who are not quite academically qualified Online Extra: Amherst’s “A” List: Affluence, Achievement, Athletics really good article from the head of amherst admissions about the process. [Online</a> Extra: Amherst’s “A” List: Affluence, Achievement, Athletics](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Also, a lot of the NESCAC schools, look to get the recruits the IVY’s chase but dont ultimately accept, so they may show a lot of interest, then suddenly go cold, as they just got a better recruit. You can just watch the dance that goes on at the camps and see how it plays out. </p>
<p>Another poster, Miss Swan had similar experiences to mine. She was also told by the Amherst coach gave the most definite SAT score of 2100. Williams coach was definitely looking for the strongest players and Middlebury did not give a definite SAT number but did explain that the slot players were the best players who needed the most help in admissions because of lower scores and that the remaining recruits credentials had to be in line with “regular” applicants. </p>
<p>Film is the key to getting notice, but GPA and most importantly SAT’s are the dividing line. You will not be able to really gauge interest until you have a definite SAT score in hand. None of the NESCAC really want to sacrifice their SAT median scores, so the athletes are pretty close to everyone else. Lots of coaches show interest based on junior tapes, but most seem to really base their decisions on senior year tapes at least based on mine and other posters experience. </p>
<p>Hope the info is useful. I found it helpful for a Coach to just tell people how the process worked. That way you can see where your child fits in. The one thing I wish I knew during the recruiting process was that NESCAC coaches CAN NOT visit high schools. I read that as lack of interest, when it was just following nescac rules. knowing that would have made things a lot less stressful.</p>
<p>Good advice, btw the number are a lot different ofr Ivy Football. If you have a 1850 + and a good GPA it puts you in the highest band, that + them liking you football wise pretty much gets you in.</p>
<p>But of course NESCAC is a little different. I like NESCACs because they take no offense when you tell them, that you will definitely go there if all the Ivy league schools that want you end up turning you down.</p>
<p>NESCAC coaches can’t visit high schools??? Since when? My son goes to a boarding school in MA and NESCAC coaches routinely come to the games. It is no secret.</p>
<p>The rule as I understood it is that they cant visit the high school to recruit. Our high school has coaches visit and arranges for the boys to meet the coach and have time to discuss the options. This happens during the school day. Since we had other coaches scheduling visits, but not nescac, where he ultimately went, we had assumed the nescac coaches were not as interested as the one’s who visited. That assumption in our case was wrong. I was speaking from what my understanding of what the recruiting rule is, and perhaps one coach follows and another doesnt, or maybe I misunderstood. Just trying to present what my experience was.</p>
<p>S1 is looking at several NESCAC schools for football (all, except for Williams, Amherst and Tufts). Middlebury is the only one which gave him a definite figure…1800 SAT or 27 ACT …as the lowest scores he could bring to Admissions. The Bates coach didn’t ask for scores, but Bowdoin coach did - even though not required. He will pass on to admissions if student athlete feels it will be an asset to the pre-read. </p>
<p>The coaches all recommend applying ED, and stress that players should take their school’s most rigorous class offerings Senior year. They also warn against having interim grades below a B Senior year, prior to submission of their application. The key is to continue to achieve at the highest high level… or to be on an upward trend.</p>
<p>Can someone please clarify for me if a ‘tip’ with admissions is the same as a ‘slot?’ We have heard both terms used…and I am not sure if they mean the same thing or not. Thanks~</p>
<p>As it was explained to me, a slot (or pick, same thing) is for a kid the coach feels he must have. And Nescac allows each school up to 14 of those. </p>
<p>A tip is used for a kid the coach would like to have but he really isnt willing to go all out for the kid.</p>
<p>Of course a tip can turn into a pick if higher recruits go somewhere else. Remember, position, ability and grades all come into play. Sometimes a players grades and package is so good all the coach has to do is use a tip. this is the dance between coaches and admissions.</p>
<p>Thank you~</p>
<p>So each NESCAC school is allowed 14 slots total per year - for all sports - Male & Female…yes?</p>
<p>the 14 number is for Football. Sorry I should have been clear on that. I only have experience with football recruiting. but I’m sure that the specific number for your sport would be available on the web somewhere. Just search the NESCAC rules. I’m trying to remember where I saw them.</p>
<p>I believe I heard 14 was for football too from one of the NESCAC coaches. Also, jersey girl in ct is correct – the NESCAC coaches cannot visit the high schools. We just heard this from a coach recently. Regarding the 1800 being the very lowest acceptable SAT score for Middlebury – any indication how important GPA is there or at any of the NESCAC schools?</p>
<p>S1 looks very good on film and has performed even better at a bunch of camps/showcases this summer. Several coaches have said they want him… ‘impact player’ has been thrown around a lot. He is waiting for pre-reads to come back from admissions …and should hear any day now, I believe. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>
<p>Coach Ritter at Middlebury addressed a group of 60? players at a Prospect Day in early spring, when he referenced the minimum test grades in order for him to be able to ‘work with admissions.’ </p>
<p>Princeton Review references “very important” acceptance factors at Middlebury as being: Class rank, GPA, rigor of secondary school, character/personal qualities, EC’s, talent/ability.<br>
“Important factors” include: Application essay, recommendations, standardized test scores…etc. </p>
<p>…with “other” factors being legacy, first generation, geographical residence, interview, level of applicant interest, volunteer work and paid work experience.</p>
<p>If you don’t have a Princeton review, each school’s Admissions page should specify how they weigh different factors.</p>