thanks for all your respective responses and guidance. it seems that a logical 3-step approach for athletes/swimmers pursuing these strong academic ivy/NESCAC/CMU JHU Chicago Swarthmore would be:
Ensure you are within the Academic Index (AI) & swim time zip code of the target schools, ideally the closest possible to the top.
Forward all that information to the coaches, continue to update, engage by email/phone/zoom, … and pursue the coaches who are engaging, inviting, and promising support with admissions.
Revert that commitment to those coaches who rank you high on their list and give oral assurance of LLs. For the school of choice, commit to ED, and hope to receive 1-2 LLs in the week of October 1st
Again, way too much focus on the Likely Letter as opposed to the process. You may get one Likely Letter (or zero), but you won’t get multiple Likely Letters. The tradeoff for a coaches support ( and get a LL) is that you have to apply ED, and you can only apply to one school ED.
Fot 10/1 Likely Letters, recruited athletes generally need to have their full, completed ED application on file by September 30 (or earlier in September if the coach requires). So this date is earlier than the date non-recruits submit applications. While there may be school ) sport exceptions, there will be no LL without the application. And the LL comes from admissions, not the coaches.
So yes, you will need to determine which is your top choice in September. Don’t try to string along multiple coaches past that date; they all talk to each other, and won’t end well for you.
There are recruited athletes who do not apply ED, but they are the exception, and are invariably world-class with an Olympic medal in their safe deposit box. Assume you are not the exception.
do coaches promise LL to ED applicants over the phone/in person, or in writing by email?
are you aware of cases where the coach promises an LL if the athlete submits a full completed ED1 application on or before 30th Sep, and the LL is subsequently not issued?
Coaches never promise an LL. You and the coach verbally commit to each other that in exchange for applying ED/SCEA (most commonly) the coach is giving your app full support thru the admissions process. There is nothing in writing, nor is the verbal commitment binding to either party. The vast majority of these verbally committed students will have had a positive academic pre-read with admissions.
Yes (but again a coach never promises an LL), but it’s uncommon for an applicant to fall out after a positive pre-read, verbally committing, and applying…if things go south it’s typically due to disciplinary issues.
Likely Letters comes from admissions. Coaches do not offer Likely Letters. Nor will they guarantee one. Most will not have LL in their vocabulary.
The coach will say something to the effect of “I will fully support your application with admissions.” How this is communicated will vary although invariably verbal, and really does not matter if it’s written because it is not legally binding. And yes, there are instances where the application is rejected.
If the student does get a LL, that is tantamount to an acceptance, but is subject to withdrawal for the same reasons an acceptance could be. There is nothing, repeat nothing before the issuance of a LL that can be considered as a guarantee.
what’s are the inputs required for an application pre-read? Grades, GPA, SAT/ACT, academic records of awards/research, courses taken outside of school… anything else?
whilst it probably varies from school to school, what is the typical period for academic pre-reads?
When my son applied to an Ivy with the coach’s support (for track) the deadline to get the full application in was the standard Nov 1 deadline. He gave transcripts and scores to the coach prior to that for prereads.
The timing for him was a commitment to apply that he made around Oct 15th.
A can see how a coach would want to see the full application beforehand, but its not always the case. Again, a situation where one needs to communicate with the coach.
The coach will ask prospective recruits for a full academic record, test scores, and often a resume. The coach presents things to admissions, including making the decision whether or not the applicant will be applying test optional (coaches usually have good guidelines on this from admissions, sometimes AOs are also directly involved in that decision for an individual).
Academic pre-read timing can vary…for example, NESCAC schools are pretty strict with their 7/1 date in summer prior to senior year (don’t @ me, I know there are some exceptions).
Ivy coaches have much more flexibility, and can verbally commit to students (in some sports) as early as freshman year of HS…generally a formal academic pre-read won’t happen until summer before senior year though. Many coaches are facile at understanding what academic profile will receive a green light from admissions, so confidently commit to athletes they really want regardless the timing.
It is also my experience that applications come in at different times, including RD…every coach has a different recruiting timeline which can vary from year to year. Stuff happens with coaching changes, athletes de-commit and commit elsewhere, etc. etc.
It’s the apps that are sent in around the ED/early deadlines that sometimes don’t receive LLs because there’s just not enough time.
start communication with coaches of schools where Academic Index, swim times qualify (Fall Junior Year)
pursue with coaches who are responding/engaging (Spring Junior Year)
keep dialogue and updates leading to visits (Spring Junior Year)
narrow search to tightest group of coaches promising full support, and give pre-read (Summer Junior Year)
prepare full application & recommendations to apply ED1 and await LL from one school, possibly EA to other backup schools with supportive coaches but without LL expected
It sounds like you have not yet begun the recruiting process and are trying to figure things out. The two best starting points for me were:
To go back to all the old threads in the Athletic Recruiting forum and read every one that seemed applicable (so for you all swimming threads, all Ivy threads, nescac threads etc).
Reading the book The Athletic Scholarship Playbook (even if you aren’t focused on getting a scholarship). It sets out the recruiting process – for all sports – clearly and concisely.
One key thing to understand is coach support is equally binding (or not) whether or not a school offers likely letters.
That is one possible timeline, but know there are many different possible timelines. Many coaches won’t do official visits or make verbal offers (promising full support) until Fall of senior year.
Things can become tricky with the timing…your top choice school might not be ready to commit before a lower choice school. My advice: be straight with all coaches about what other schools/coaches you are speaking with. Once you verbally commit, tell all the coaches you have been speaking with that you committed. It’s tough to navigate a back up situation…no coach wants to be second choice, and some won’t guarantee full support in the EA or RD rounds (but some will). ED2 can sometimes be an option too, at least where that’s offered.
Are you a student or parent? Note that the student should be managing all of the coach contacts and ongoing communications that we are talking about here. It is appropriate for a parent to join a call when an offer is being made, or to understand financial aid. Some coaches will request parents join in at certain points of the process.
D24 is a junior who’s started the email contact process, and is preparing the following stages, and direct contact with coaches. She has no legacy at any of the target schools, and only has legacy at the #1-2 school in the country, where she certainly will not qualify for swimming.
we seek to understand the timeline well, because she’s an international applicant, and visits will demand carefully planned logistics
Continue having your D reach out to coaches. Is she getting any interest yet? I suggest casting a wide net. As an international, that can complicate recruiting.
Generally, there will be no official visits at d3 schools as many coaches don’t have budget for that. Of course, one can visit on their own dime.
Lastly, we haven’t spoken about budget, but if you are applying for financial aid that can also complicate the process for an international student.
Good luck, and as you can see, posters are willing to help you and your d navigate the process.
My only suggestion is that your D24 start yesterday and cast as wide a net as possible. Most folks wish they started earlier; few think they should have delayed the process. Wide nets are great, but note that they exponentially increase the recruiting workload, hence the advice to get going.
Start local, and start where you now predict there will be no traction (either she won’t like the school, or the school isn’t an academic fit) because you will lose nothing if mistakes are made. Set up meetings with coaches at the local colleges and bring with you college CV, Board Scores, unofficial transcript and perhaps a spreadsheet of times from recent events. Make sure she has prepared 3 questions in advance.
At least for the early coach meetings, go with her, but do not speak unless spoken to (which certainly will happen). Once you do this several times, the process and where your daughter fits into college athletics will become apparent.
international students are rarely eligible for financial aid, and we’re lucky to have saved diligently for her education.
she’s got about 75% email response from coaches, and it’s simultaneously sending additional batches and completing the respective online profile they all request.
in an ideal scenario, we would plan to conduct campus visits in the early summer, around the time of pre-reads. maybe not the time as she will not be able to attend college classes and meet many potential teammates