This will probably vary by school and year but I don’t think that is a correct estimation.
What “they” (NESCACs) appear to have is 2 or 3 spots where they may get a weaker student through. They likely have another 4 or so spots where they can get an otherwise academically competitive candidate through admissions. JHU for exemple recruits 6 but all have to be academically competitive.
But the answer to your questions is yes, support exists in the later rounds. Coaches can’t always get all the athletes they want in ED1 due the the high academic and athletic standard desired.
Does this mean a typical D3/NESCAC swim coach can recruit 2-3 swimmers with slightly lower grades (slightly below the schools normal admission standard), plus 3-5 swimmers who have grades/SAT within (or above) the 25%-75% band of other admitted applicants?
if the above numbers are verified, would it mean that the coach would push for 2-8 ED/recruit/full support applicants and that admissions would be agreeable to support up to such a large number from a swim coach (because other threads had mentioned 2-3 sports recruits per year per sports)
if the team isn’t fully built through the ED round, the coach would then be allocated tips to identify student athletes he wants in the RD round, however there would be much greater uncertainty on both sides, since the athlete would be similarly applying to other D3 schools
Others can correct me, but I think we are taking about at a very minimum 50%, more likely close or above 75%.
Again, no one knows the intricacies of each program and school, but outcomes suggest that at least a few athletes get in that way. My guess is that those fall in the academically competitive group though.
of course, each coach would know the specifics of his school, and best to ask them
but it would be great news. D24 grades/SAT certainly fit within the 50-75% band, which opens up more recruit spots/tips for her. That would also incentivise her to take the SAT one more time to reach 1500+
Regarding Hamilton, its coach was just named by his NESCAC peers as Coach of the Year. This can indicate a good opportunity for a swimmer who is a good match for the program and the school.
The million dollar question would be how much of an advantage would it be for a student athlete to receive a coach tip in ED or a coach tip in RD, compared to a regular non athlete applicant. This certainly wouldn’t provide the near 100% certainty of an ED recruit slot with strong coach support, and it would probably depend on the year, the sport, the coach/school, etc… would it be just a slight advantage over a normal applicant, more similar to a walk-on?
As all my kids are sons, we could never consider the women’s colleges, but if we had girls, Wellesley and Barnard would be at the top of the list. They along with other top women’s college are worthy of consideration.
Not only are they are statistically easier to get into, but in the case of Wellesley, it is like being at the women’s dorm on the college campus that is the Boston/Cambridge area. Wellesley students can take classes at Harvard and MIT and their campus looks like Princeton’s. Plus all the quality men in the area come to you.
While Barnard is a women’s college, it is a division of Columbia University and graduates of Barnard get a Columbia degree. Plenty of men on campus and being in NYC can be great.
Many of their alumni networks are superior to all but a few co-ed programs.Given how tough unhooked college admissions are these days, all women should at least apply to some of the women’s colleges.
Of course.
That being said, my two athletic kids, each of whom went to private HS, had excellent grades in rigorous programs, along with top scores, would NOT have been admitted to any of the schools that offered them athletic recruiting slots, without the athletic hook.
Being ORM and from affluent (but not uber) circumstances are two strikes out of three in today’s college admissions landscape. While it is a separate CC thread, but the third strike these days is private HS.
@superdomestique your comment is well noted however do note that D24’s objective is to seek recruitment as a swimmer who hopefully qualifies for an academically competitive D3 program. Barnard is part of Columbia’s D1 swim team, which is too fast for her.
The Wellesley team would be most suitable for her, and she would most likely qualify as a recruit with her stats. We’ve had this conversation with her, and she was staunchly against spending 4 years in a women’s college, which we wholeheartedly understand. Maybe you could ask your two sons if they would in hindsight consider attending 100% boys school? Please share their answer with everyone.
My athletic boys were both engineering students, so in some ways didn’t meet too many girls in class. But you miss my point, Wellesley and Barnard, while officially women’s colleges, are in/near exciting cities, have plenty of men around, and both give the opportunity to be in class with men at the highest academic levels.
Both schools are academically prestigious on the same level as the Ivys (Barnard is an Ivy) and have more international name recognition than any of the NESCACs.
Would being a walk-on at Barnard be a better experience than being recruited at Bates or Hamilton? Obviously only your daughter can answer that question. However if I were advising a daughter, they academic answer would be Barnard.
Would an athletic recruit at Wellesley (near Boston/Cambridge with cross registration at Harvard/MIT) be socially better off than being a recruit at a NESCAC in the backwoods of Maine, Vermont or Connecticut?
The OP has a suboptimal athletic recruiting situation. He needs to think outside the box.
That particular box isn’t a good one since Columbia’s team is too fast for OP.
It is 100% ok for OP to compromise swimming over compromising the type of college they would like to attend. Everyone needs to be willing to make compromises when making a college list and casting an appropriately wide net. Those compromises don’t have to be the same for everyone. For us it was geographical preference.
My kid would 100% prefer Bates to Barnard, and that is ok.
@superdomestique respectfully disagree, because being part of a sports team is a complete dynamic which D24 considers very important and crucial to her college experience, including the athletic, competitive, team and social aspects of it.
You must accept the reality that D24 is not fast enough to swim or walk-on to Columbia’s team, and therefore wouldn’t be able to participate in that dynamic and compete on Columbia’s swim team.
With regards to Wellesley, being able to commute to co-ed classes at Harvard is fantastic but doesn’t make up for being at a women’s college for 99% of her remaining college experience. There is a reason why women’s college have weaker swim teams, and this is probably the reason.
I would agree that Wellesley has an excellent reputation, though also agree that the experience would be that of an all women’s school. The campus is nice, and is located an upscale suburb bedroom community of Boston, not in the city.
My sense with Wellesley is that students do not select it primarily for sports. It is selected for all of the other things it has to offer.
As others have stated on these boards that I agree with, unless you are a top D1 recruit where a full scholarship is in play, the school should be selected first for the fit, without sports. Would they choose this school, be happy and have a good college experience if they were not playing a sport.
Bates and Hamilton are not in the “back woods” by any stretch. Although Hamilton is located in a charming little hamlet of a town, Bates is in a city. I remember when we first traveled there to tour, my expectation was that we were heading into the Maine wilderness -what a surprise to see it was a small city!
All of this is personal preference, that’s why actual visits to ascertain perfect fit is crucial.
Also Barnard’s 6% acceptance rate makes it a reach for most-especially without the recruiting bump!