@fencingmom: As far as I know. But I thought they’d have either elevated him (even on a temporary basis) or named a new head coach by now…
@saharafrog, thanks for the explanation.
The point I was trying to make is, the risk that those who make/rely on early commitments, is that they fencer and their family stop looking once the early commitment is made. This is a dangerous thing to do given that coaches can leave, other fencers can improve, grades/scores may not come thru as expected, etc.
What if the new Brown coach is someone an early commit can’t work with, but the other Ivy coaches think this fencer has committed early to Brown so they have moved on to other fencers?
Public displays of early commitment can be very dangerous.
My advice continues to be to never close a door until you are obligated to.
New to this forum here. I see a lot of posting regarding recruitment and not too many regarding recommendations (sorry if I missed it). Does anyone on the forum have any experience with these? If a coach emails that they will put a fencer on the recommendation list (elite schools), how much weight do these carry? Does anyone also know how many fencers are put on the recommendation list for each school that does provide it? What is the process for someone who has been verbally promised a spot on the recommendation list? Any insight to any of these questions is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
@CURRYCAT - The straightforward answer to your question, is that the power behind any coaches recommendation depends on the coach. I certainly have my own opinion/experience as to which coaches have greater clout in this area, but prefer not to post these on a public forum. I will share via PM if you are interested.
I don’t think coaches publicize the number of recommendations they are allowed to make to admissions each year. Some ‘tag’ admissions files indicating that the fencing team would like to have the student. In any case, the “process” depends on the fencer’s (and his/her parents’) comfort with the particular coach and the priority the school holds in one’s calculus. I mean, if the fencer is set on the school and trusts the coach, you go with a recommendation understanding that it is not official recruitment, there will be no LL or LOI.
On the other hand, the even greater uncertainty of such a commitment should be cause for continued pursuit of other opportunities. I do not think the fencer’s commitment needs to be in gross excess of that of the school. With a recommendation, the coach is giving you a big “maybe”. In doing the same, you are free to continue to explore other options and, frankly, to decide to commit, presumably with more certainty, elsewhere.
Amazing to think that it was only a year ago that this new “consolidated” college fencing recruiting thread was hatched…it currently has nearly 22k views!
Thanks to all the contributors, especially the OGs sherpa, BrooklynRye, and superdomestique. Best of luck to all the high school class of 2018s (and their parents) as they enter final preparations for Summer Nationals in SLC.
I would add, for the Class of 2022, please let us know where you end up and share your experiences. Many of you have chosen to seek advice and chat with us via private messages. We encourage you to share your stories and experience as it adds to the rapidly growing knowledge base and will certainly help others in the future. Thank you!
Good luck to all those going to SLC for Summer Nationals, especially those with rising seniors and coach meetings scheduled!!
As a parent of a class of 2017 HS grad who will be continuing fencing in college, I know it’s an exciting and crazy time. We’re skipping nationals for the first time in many years in favor of a family vacation north of the border.
And to the experts on this board, thanks for all the advice, both within the forum and privately in messages as well. It was incredibly helpful and appreciated.
I’ve typed up a summary of my DDs recruitment experiences – just need her to review it and I’ll post it here soon.
Stencils, you have been an invaluable poster, poser of important questions, and generally great participant in this thread. Congratulations to your daughter (and to you!) on a job well done. Enjoy the next stage in the journey. Please continue to post and to be in touch!
@fencingmom Looks like Ripa was finally announced as Brown’s head coach: http://brownbears.com/sports/c-fence/2016-17/releases/20170629l2919j
Now that class of 2017 recruitment season is over, here is a summary of my daughter’s recruitment process.
She is a B-rated fencer, but was C-rated early in the recruiting process. She was not on the junior points list, but was very successful in RJCCs and ROCs in her junior year with multiple top 4 finishes in medium-sized events (more than 40). Her GPA and test scores made her academically recruitable at any school.
Early junior year I built a spreadsheet of all women’s fencing programs with location, size of school, and a list of the fencers in her weapon for each, including graduation year. I then looked up the ratings for each fencer at every school and determined based on the current squad, where she would fall in each school’s roster.
She whittled down the school list based on quality and availability of academic programs, potential roster position, school location and size, and other factors.
She put together a fencing resume (see post #242) in the middle of her junior year and started emailing coaches. She paired up unofficial visits and campus tours with the RJCC/ROC schedule junior year.
Late in her junior year, she sent out emails to many coaches asking their interest and whether they would be willing to meet at summer nationals. In the following post is a list of all the schools she contacted and a discussion of each. Some of them get less discussion here on the thread, so anyone else with unique recruiting experiences with these or other schools please also comment.
Here is a summary of the schools and recruitment experiences to go with post # 269 above.
Boston College: My daughter met with Asst. Coach Doris-Pierce at nationals, and did an unofficial visit with Head Coach Fadner early senior year. Both meetings went well, but she decided not to apply due to lack of her desired academic program. Even though it’s Div 1, fencing is a non-scholarship sport at BC.
Brandeis: She met with Coach Shipman at nationals, and had a follow-up meeting on-campus and at a couple of other tournaments senior year. Shipman is an active recruiter for candidates he wants, and was good about follow-up. Brandeis has really nice facilities and treats their fencers well. Brandeis is among the strongest Div3 teams in the country.
Cornell: There was no Cornell coach until just prior to summer nationals, as Cornell was in the process of selecting a new coach. She met with new coach Daria Schneider on campus in the fall, but the message was essentially “I’ve already committed my slots to others, but you should try to apply on your own.” Coach Schneider did follow-up by email periodically. Cornell has a very nice dedicated fencing room. The new Cornell coaches are ambitious and are focusing on recruiting, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Cornell moved up the women’s rankings.
Drew University: Coach Paragano is relatively new at Drew, and is an enthusiastic coach and active recruiter. He’s also still an active, competitive vet fencer, which is not true of most coaches. She met with him during an open house event junior year, and again at summer nationals. Coach Paragano is very personable, and the team seemed to like him a lot and had great team spirit. I expect Drew will join Brandeis and Stevens at the top of Div3 in a couple of years. She decided not to apply because it didn’t have the academic program she wanted.
Lafayette: My daughter sent multiple emails to the coach that went unanswered, even though she would have walked on as #1 in her weapon. Lafayette doesn’t keep a full women’s roster and they are the only school that treats fencing with an odd NCAA “mixed” designation rather than separate men’s and women’s teams. Based on inquiries with other fencing parents it seems there is little or no recruiting effort, and one parent described the team as being “more like a club” even though they are Division 1. Fencing is a non-scholarship sport at Lafayette. She ultimately didn’t apply.
NJIT: During junior year, my daughter visited NJIT for an open house and met Head Coach Latvin, who was very personable. She met with Asst. Coach Henderson at nationals. Coach Henderson appears to do all of the team administration, recruiting, emailing, and setting up of official visits. She did an official visit which included multiple prospects at the same time, and was well organized. The team is getting dedicated facilities in a brand-new athletic building in fall of 2017. Fencing is Div 1 and an athletic scholarship sport at NJIT.
Sacred Heart: My daughter emailed and spoke by phone with former Coach Vrabel in the spring of her junior year. He was very active in recruiting follow-up until he announced his retirement. There was no follow-up by any assistant coaches or the newly named coach, although she didn’t follow up either – she decided not to apply due to lack of her desired academic program. Sacred Heart is Div 1 and offers athletic scholarships for fencing.
Stevens Institute of Technology: Another top Div3 team, and they have recruited from our local club in the past. She met with the men’s coach, Jim Carpenter at nationals, and he did a great job of selling both the school and fencing program. She also did an on-campus visit in the fall of senior year. She was very impressed with both the men’s coach and the women’s coach Linda Volkommer-Lynch. Stevens has some arrangement with a NYC fencing club for additional coaching/floor time – I don’t recall the exact details, but it seemed like a nice perk. Stevens has really nice facilities for a Div3 and good team spirit.
Temple: My daughter met with Coach Franke at summer nationals, and found her extremely likeable. Coach Franke said my daughter was on her recruit list, and that she would stay in contact. In late fall Coach Franke encouraged her to do an official visit. Temple’s official visit was perfectly run and the most comprehensive/informative of all visits. Temple’s recruiting efforts included parental discussions and information sharing as well, which was appreciated. The team had great spirit, and my daughter really liked her student hosts. Temple is consistently among the top 10 women’s teams in Div 1.
Yale: An email to Coach Harutunian was quickly returned with a short, courteous reply: You’re not good enough for me to recruit you, but if you get into Yale on your own, you’re welcome to join the team. I’ve heard Coach Harutunian referred to as a “reluctant recruiter.” She would have been solidly top 3 in her weapon at Yale, but decided not to apply.
Aside from waiting for rosters to come out, does anyone yet know how the class of 2017 sorted out in terms of recruitment for the various weapons?
Thank you @stencils for those extremely informative posts.
@fencingmom This thread from fencing.net has some of this year’s incoming freshman listed in it: https://fencing.net/forums/threads/unverifiable-rumors-and-dubious-gossip-about-fall-of-2017-collegiate-incoming-fencers.140977/
A couple comments on @stencils informative post:
re: Brandies - I also found Coach Shipman to be a good communicator. My DD spent the night with a fencer for Admitted Students Day, and felt the team were very close and they made her feel part of the group even having just met her. DD did not end up going to Brandeis, but it was not due to the team nor due to the coach.
re: Lafayette - Ditto on hearing nothing but crickets from their coach.
One school not on stencils list that we have experience with: Lawrence - Coach Hall is in his second year and seems like he is an enthusiastic recruiter. He may not get back to you immediately, but he will eventually get back to you. Lawrence is not as stocked with talent as some of the bigger or east coast schools, but that can also be a good thing for the lighter (or not at all) recruited fencer.
@fencingmom There’s a list maintained by someone on the fencing.net forums of students that have committed to various schools for this fall for each gender/weapon. It’s by no means complete, but it’s a good place to start. Other than that, you have to wait for schools to either press release their incoming freshman list (some do this over the summer) or wait for rosters to be posted in the fall. You can also ask coaches at meetings if they have any incoming freshman in your weapon.
Follow this link:
https://fencing.net/forums/threads/unverifiable-rumors-and-dubious-gossip-about-fall-of-2017-collegiate-incoming-fencers.140977/page-2
Scroll to the bottom of the page, and look for the last post by “Ancientepee” to get the most recent list. I belive to download the attachment you’ll need to sign up for the fencing.net forums. There is a “Log in or Sign Up” link at the very top of the page.
If you have any problems finding or downloading the list, send me a private message and I’ll help you out.
@stencils and @saharafrog super helpful, thank you.
I’d like to thank all the parents who have invested so much time and energy in this thread — it really helped to clarify a process that can appear quite opaque and almost byzantine to the uninitiated. I love how helpful and supportive the fencing community is!
I’m happy to say that my son just committed to his first choice. 
Once everything is official, I will definitely come back and post about our process.
Also, re: Coach Ripa — he is here at Nationals but says he cannot talk to potential recruits because technically he is only here representing RIFAC, not Brown, since the paperwork with Brown was just signed a few days ago.
Congratulations @Corraleno! Please do share. And to all who have accessed this thread, both through public posts and/or PMs, please share your experiences. There are almost as many paths to college fencing as there are fencers. Individual experiences can be so valuable to others just starting on the path.
Hi all, I’m brand new here and couldn’t find anything that said whether or not to use a different thread or something for advice (admittedly I only read about 6 pages of this) so I figured I should just go for it…
I am currently a U female foil fencer. I have been fencing for about 4 years now and will be a Senior in September. I was hoping to at least be an E by now / before trying to recruit myself, but unfortunately that has not happened. I know it is a long shot to make it in college fencing, especially since my high school does not have a team & my club is not very big name. However, I have done a lot of research on AskFRED & such and have made a list of possible teams. My SAT is currently a 1440 (retaking in August) with a 780 English & 660 Math. My GPA is a 3.85 unweighted and 4.266 weighted, with mostly honors & a couple APs planned/taken (got a 5 on the AP English Lang exam), so my academics are fairly strong enough to make my choice schools. Anyways, back to fencing, the possible schools I am thinking of are BC ,UCSD, NYU, & Tufts, with reach/dream schools of Brown, CalTech, & Johns Hopkins. BC definitely seems within reach as I have performed better than one of their current fencers at tournaments, I just don’t know if it is the right fit for me. UCSD would be my dream school, but despite a couple U & E rated fencers on their team, they seem to perform at a more D/C+ level. NYU has mainly E/D fencers on their team but like UCSD as in performing fairly well (at least compared to me). Tufts has a large team according to the roster, many of which I could not find on AskFRED, which gives me hope that they are walk-ons/new & not fantastic fencers, making it easier for me to make the team. Brown is definitely a reach, & they seem to have a small team, but Jazmin Piche seems to be fencing around my level/projected level from what I could find. There was very little I could find on the CalTech team, but assuming they are also not very good, is there any chance if I could make it academically I could make the team? Johns Hopkins has a bunch of E11-13s, which I took to mean either they are not fantastic or are currently fencing at about a C level, so I am not sure if they are attainable at all. Okay, sorry this is so long I just wanted to get as much information out as possible. Thanks for any help, even if you suggest I give up on trying to make NCAA 