My kids don’t want to be in a city either, but I would never describe Columbia as unsafe. If that is the only reason to cross it she might want to do more research into what it’s really like to be a student there. Same holds true for JHU, Chicago, etc… American universities go to great lengths and make significant investments to create safe environments for their students.
Ah. I thought OP’s international meets were SCM. Maybe I assumed this since the times mentioned in the thread were SCM? I also know kids here who have attended international junior meets and did SCM, but maybe that was an anomaly. But of course, all those big international meets we see are LCM so maybe I’m off base with this.
@TonyGrace slight miscommunication, she’s not saying Columbia is unsafe, but rather that attending Columbia requires ID access for every building, and it means most off campus activities will be in Manhattan, which she doesn’t find relaxing from a safety standpoint despite being a TaeKwondo black belt. Maybe it’s just not her vibe. Her sister didn’t feel that way at all.
So does my D’s smallish suburban college in a very safe town. But sure - as I said, my kids prefer a non-urban college too.
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The real safety problem is not city locations. The most serious crime threat for female undergraduates at U.S. colleges is sexual assault, mostly from male students, with the most prevalent locations being university dorms/residence halls and other residential locations.
This 2020 report from The Association of American Universities (AAU) puts the rate at 25.9%.
“The prevalence rate of nonconsensual sexual contact by force or inability to consent varied significantly by gender and affiliation (Figure E1).
– The estimate for women undergraduates is nearly three times higher than for women graduate and professional students (25.9% vs. 9.7%).”
“When asked where incidents involving penetration occurred (Table 17), women reported the primary locations were the university residence hall/dorm (26.1%), another residential housing (30.2%), some other place not specified (19.3%), and a fraternity house (10.7%).”
“Virtually all women who responded to the questions (99.1% for penetration, 97.8% for sexual touching) reported a man was the offender”
“…the vast majority of offenders were identified as students. For example, 73.3 percent of women reported the offender was a student.”
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@Yolo very good observation indeed, the data speaks for itself. one of the most publicly reported Stanford rape case was in fact by a top all-American Stanford swimmer, in the open on a fraternity lawn
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As the parent of a daughter heading to college, I think it’s important to educate our daughters about what/where the real dangers are.
[per request from a forum member: edited to delete link and quote from a news article referencing Stanford.]
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Journey drawing nearer a close
after several months and a broad tour, college list near finalized, unless any unforeseen / drastic changes from LA/Claremont/Pomona visits.
- 3 pre-read passed, awaiting coach explicit ranking/support status
- 3 pre-read submitted
- 3 pre-read expected
- 1 admission secured with recruit or walk-on @McGill Canada
- remaining schools are a combination of club/no walk-on (Tufts, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA), and possible walk-ons (Brown, Dartmouth, JHU, CMU).
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did she get to visit the 9 schools where pre reads are expected or have already happened? how did she like the 3 she already passed? all sounds like really good progress. Best of luck in summer meets!
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Her visits will have covered McGill plus 7 out of the 9 schools, and she is confident she’ll pass pre-reads where asked. Her most pressing challenge is to secure coach support… somewhere
so are these the remaining schools you are considering - tufts, stanford, berkeley, ucla, brown, dartmouth, jhu, and cmu in addition to the UCs and McGill? that puts you at your ten apps…
but then none of them are the pre read schools if she is no longer being recruited as indicated by your club/no walk on and possible walk on status and earlier posts.
is she cutting some of the listed schools if she gets support from the coach at the 9 pre read schools? so she has 9 pre reads, 3 already done, and awaiting results from the remaining 6 with hopefully one ED committment for Aug/Sep? if that is the case then the listed schools will no longer matter.
Does she prefer any of the listed schools over the 9 pre read schools? that is when it gets tricky, because if you commit then you are essentially done and no longer can apply to those non swim/non recruit schools so she has some tough decisions ahead.
best of luck…
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My educated guess is that the two schools not visited are where—out of the schools under consideration—she would be most competitive in the swim program and at the conference meet, and consequently have the highest likelihood of coach support in admissions: Grinnell and Franklin & Marshall.
If that’s the case, based on previous statements (see below) about the importance of varsity swimming to her college experience, it’s too bad visits to those schools didn’t work out. Based on those statements, a lot of posters have suggested appropriate strategies and targets to secure a full spot on a varsity program (i.e., not a practice-only/non-travel member, and not a club).
From 3/30:
“yet if she isn’t able to find a college team to swim for, she will certainly consider that a failure because it is a sport she loves and which forms an important part of who she is, as an athlete, a team member and team captain. Club swimming indeed works for many, but it is not what she wants, and we respect that passion and commitment.”
From 4/3:
“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.”
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This is so confusing, but it is hard to look away.
- Since early June the OP has been talking about passing pre reads. What does passing a pre-read mean?
Most high schools don’t have official junior year transcripts ready in early June, which is why most official (and actionable) pre reads are requested in July, but more often in August.
Generally coaches submit candidates to the Admissions Office (usually one member of the committee who handles the athletes) and waits for feedback.
The pre-read serves many purposes, but mainly it is to give assurance to the candidates the coach wants that they are admitable by the school’s admissions committee. Think an awesome athlete with less awesome grades that needs assurance before committing (and forgoing other opportunities). The candidates with awesome academics, but less awesome athletic accomplishments have less urgent reasons to get pre-reads, and definitely not earlier than the awesome athletes (I know, all recruited athletes get pre-reads, but few so early).
So anyway, the OP claiming his kid has passed pre-reads, especially so early in the summer is sort of a disconnect. The OPs insistence he has completed pre reads at this date (and so many of them), makes me question his understanding of what a pre read is/means.
Usually, the results of a pre-read are accompanied by some sort of offer/acknowledgement of where you are on the depth chart. If the coach hasn’t said anything that is telling.
- The OPs most recent posts suggest that based on his visits, walk-on/club swimming may be more realistic for his daughter. While that may have been obvious to many 1000 posts ago, it is important to note that applying to all of the schools listed (except McGill of course) without an athletic recruitment hook, has his daughter applying to schools with acceptance rates in the sub 10% category.
All this focus on recruiting with nothing to show for it? More importantly no admissions advantage? I reintroduce the idea of expanding the universe of schools to include those with elite academics with slower teams where recruitment is possible. As one other experienced poster put it, “love the school that loves your kid.”
Additionally, with all the recent discussion about safety and fear of sexual assault, I renew my suggestion of women’s colleges (like Wellesley). Top academics, superior alumni network, varsity swimming, safe with a much lower likelihood of sexual assault, beautiful campus (looks like Princeton), and proximity to the best college town in America, plus cross registration with Harvard and MIT.
Before anyone completely dismisses this just based on gender, think about how this poor kid is going to feel after a complete recruiting shutout and has to consider McGill as her only alternative (very likely with no swimming). Schools like Wellesley have everything she is looking for, and the Harvard/MIT men are only 20 minutes away (if he isn’t already in one of her classes).
The college admissions process is grueling and I feel it is the parent’s role and responsibility to manage expectations and risk, along with introducing ideas outside of their child’s comfort zone. After all the kids are only 17-18 years old.
I don’t think the OP realizes how difficult unhooked college admissions is in the US. Hope he is learning something before his younger daughter starts the process. Is she a swimmer too?
Happy July 4th!
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The information seems to keep changing. A month ago you said she had passed two pre-reads with strong support, now you say three were passed but waiting for coach support status. Am I missing something, or was there a misunderstanding of the process on your end?
Also, as many posters have told you, passing the preread does not mean guaranteed acceptance. The preread says the academics are in range, but without coach support it’s meaningless. There are so many high stats kids applying, so no guarantee. The hook of recruitment is the key for acceptance. The list is so reach-heavy that there’s bound to be disappointment. (Or a happy surprise-you never know unless you try!) The guaranteed admit to McGill takes pressure off.
I just can’t wait to see the end of the story and where your daughter lands, because we have all been invested in this journey from the start!
Happy 4th!
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It would be so helpful to know the three pre-reads passed. And three coming up. Why does OP say names of schools that are walk on but not pre read passed? If you’re on here to get advice that is meaningful need schools.
Different sport, but my D24 received a positive pre-read in February at a DIII school based on her ACT score and transcript through first semester of Junior year. So it is not out of the realm.
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I don’t think it’s out of the possibility but which was your school?
Gettysburg
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Got it. I think the very highly academic D3 (most of OPs list) wait as they are unlikely to assess the student without the Jr year picture. Even predicted Sr year academics seem to hold significant weight for these schools.
All our communication was “please let us know when your transcript is available.”
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