My son is a Junior T&F sprinter. Hes got a a 4.0 and rigorous class load and scored 99%ile on the PSAT 9 and 10 but we haven’t even begun to think about the SAT yet. Should he be planning to take it this fall for recruiting? I just assumed we would start talking to coaches after the spring season this year.
I would encourage him to take a test soon. If he has strong times, he should be contacting coaches now. If he needs the spring season to get better times, it’s ok to wait to contact coaches, but he for sure doesn’t want to be testing while in season. Just get it done.
Our daughter was an Ivy recruit for crew and one of her good friends for T&F - both took it together in the Fall of junior year. It was great to have it done and to be able to provide this data point to the coaches when reaching out. Personally, I think it showed they were serious, on top of it and taking charge of their recruiting 
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If he is prepared for the SAT or ACT, then taking it this fall would be ideal. Our T&F Sprinter son sat for the ACT in September of his Junior year. Fortunately, he scored high enough that he didn’t need to take it again. He started communicating with coaches January/February of his junior year, before spring track began, and updated them during the season. Having an early good score in hand passed the coaches’ admissions filter. He committed to an Ivy in August of his Senior year. But, his recruiting happened during the pandemic when there were no OV’s, so his commitment was probably earlier than it otherwise would have been.
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He needs to start talking to coaches NOW. And take the SAT now also to have a baseline. A strong SAT score along with grades and class rigor will open a lot of doors.
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Thanks, everyone! Glad I asked this question now while there’s still time to register for SAT/ACT.
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I will also add that one coach - not Ivy but always grouped there - made a schedule request to our child - they wanted to see one more higher level comp sci class on her transcript even though she was not planning on majoring in comp sci (not MIT fyi) - had she waited to begin conversations, she would have never been able to make this change. She did add this class for 2nd semester jr year and ended up not pursuing this school
or program (not a good fit in many ways) - but what if she loved it and found this out to late to add this class - would it have knocked her out - who knows ?
Lastly - just a reminder there is no athletic money in the Ivy league only financial aid if your qualify - many families do not understand the financials when they start this process.
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What are his times? If he is a top runner scores don’t really matter. 4:15 mile and he is golden with 4.0 and rigor.
Kid is a sprinter so mile time is immaterial. And the schools will want the test score for pre-reads. From there, they will advise you on whether or not to submit scores for admissions.
OPs kid is a sprinter, so mile times don’t matter. However, I don’t think the 4:15 is as impressive as you think it is. A 4:15 mile and no SATs probably won’t cut it for an admission slot for at least 3 of the Ivy League teams.
He’s a sub 11 sprinter in the 100. He’s in a club team now and work on his 60m and 200. And we are aware about lack of scholarship $$.
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All of this is great. For the future of the thread, I’d just add that the guidance around testing isn’t T&F-specific: right now, in essentially all D1 sports, if you have an athlete targeting Ivy or Ivy-ish schools and testing isn’t a significant hindrance to their ability to succeed academically and athletically, testing in Fall of Junior year is a smart plan - then what you do with those results is score/school/sport/coach-dependent.
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I would like to add that many athletes targeting Ivies also take a hard look at high academic D3s. The academy threshold is usually higher than Ivies and a few have hard SAT cutoffs for athletes. Reaching out to the coaches with that box already checked definitely helped get things rolling.
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I have an S25 sprinter as well. He is taking the SAT tomorrow. The spring tests are either over break or would potentially interfere with championship track season. There will be an in-school opportunity in the spring which he will register for but I am nervous about illness or something else preventing him from taking it. From what I understand, a lot of recruiting happens summer before senior year so they will need test scores by then.
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It sounds like his times are in the range where coaches will want to be in contact with him. Since his PSATs were good, he should do well on SATs.
The coaches are probably trying to pin down their HS class of 2024 recruits for early admissions right now, but they will be picking up recruiting for your son’s class soon.
Have your son fill out the on line recruiting forms, and then follow up with emails to head coach, sprint coach, and recruiting coordinator (if listed as a specific position). The subject header should be easy for the coaches to interpret. Perhaps include class, event and time. In the email, give events and times, grades (weighted and unweighted), list PSAT scores and when he will take SAT. End with an action item for the coach. For example, what times are you looking for in the 100?
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Agree with others that taking the SAT this fall is a good idea. It seems like he tests well so likely will be able to get an acceptable score on the first try. It’s reassuring for coaches to know that the academic boxes are checked before they commit time to a recruit.
Sub 11 FAT after soph year with good academics will probably get some interest from Ivy coaches. I’d start reaching out now (next few months or so). Use the approach @LurkerJoe outlined.
You can see how things go and then intensify the search as indoor and outdoor times improve and you’re better able to target. Sub 11 now could be 10.60 or 10.90 come June. It’s hard to predict.
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Specifically for the Ivy League, academic pre-reads can start July 1 prior to senior year. So yes, test scores by then obviously, but ideally you need to be on their recruit boards well before then.
I had a kid that was recruited for T&F that went to high end Ivy. They were recruited by the Ivies and other top academic D1 schools, as well as other schools.
I would not worry too much right now about whether to take the SATs ASAP for Ivy recruiting purposes. I think we all agree it would be very nice to get a good high SAT/ACT score early on, I am just saying I would not take the test earlier than you/your kid had planned for recruiting purposes.
I would just keep focusing on keeping the grades up and the academic rigor, which is the most important, and preparing well and doing their best on SATs/ACTs when they do take them.
I believe it has changed a bit now due to the NCAA rule changes on when a T&F coach could contact an athlete, though T&F recruiting may still be a little later than some other sports. Also, unlike other sports in which the level of competition can be a big factor so coaches need to see the athlete in action, T&F coaches can easily view the times online to see where they stack, so it is easier for coaches to find you.
When you start to focus the on the school’s that could be a good fit, I would reach out to the coaches by filling out the online recruiting questionnaire and see where it takes you.
Good luck.
Several folks have reported that as this past year went on, coaches started asking for the SAT as part of the pre read.
If he can, take the test in Nov AND December. Almost everyone benefits from a second attempt (either from jitters or just a superscore). I also believe in “the devil you know” - the digital SAT will still be there in the Spring if needed, but it’s nice if you get to cross it off your list. It’s nice for non athletes too. Jr year is stressful enough and it can be a confident booster going into the college process.
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Different sport, but testing became a major PITA for us. Not the actual testing so much, but the scheduling. Between the HS season and off season competitions and camps, there were really only 1-2 dates a year that didn’t cause some difficulties. We had a pretty robust off season schedule, but it was also a bit random. He might have one weekend that month with a tournament, but if that was testing day he was out of luck.
TLDR: take it as soon as you can, even if not fully prepped, just to have SOMETHING on the books you can use if needed. Also it sounds like based on PSAT scores a SAT taken with no prep will still probably be enough that a coach is comfortable knowing that your athlete is recruitable. They don’t want to waste time just to find out that the test ends up in a spot that the admissions committee would give a hard no on admitting the student.
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