@downallunder Yes, that was what I meant to ask. Thank you for the information. I really did not know the coach would also have the team member reach out to the potential recruits.
@Happylife4 The coaches often take the advice of the team members very seriously. After a visit to the campus and meeting with the coach and then spending the rest of the afternoon and dinner with the fencing team, the coach only offered his verbal commitment after receiving the feedback from the team, whether the recruit will be a good fit with the team. So it is imperative to display good sportsmanship on and off the strip, even when the coach is not there, since he has many eyes doing the looking for him.
Have spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of days reading over 1100 posts. Thank you to so many for this information. As I just joined I’m a little unclear on how to send a PM. @SevenDad I’d like to pass something by you if possible.
Just found that Toptier had an new version of AI calculator, which is much easier to use than the previous excel formula.
In preparation for meetings at SN — any documents/info your fencer should have with them at meetings with coaches? What kinds of questions could he expect? Any specific questions he should ask? Can’t believe we’re finally at this point!! Thanks for any advice.
There are probably as many interview scenarios as there are coaches, @RRRtex. However, of these topics you can be sure:
- GPA (if, possible, have at least an unofficial transcript on-hand)
- Standardized Test Scores
- Subject SAT scores (depending on the school and the prospective major)
- Fencing resume (largely to lay out the basics including ranking, rating, and significant finishes/accomplishments)
- Unique information about the fencer (extra-curricular activities, strengths incentivizing academic admission, legacy)
- Any contacts with the team, particularly good relations with current team members is a plus. Visits to the school and the fencing facilities are also nice.
In addition you may well be asked what you are looking for in a school and from a team, including if you have a priority list of schools. They will assess your commitment to fencing and your interest in their school. On the off chance you are actually offered a slot, be prepared, unless it is your first choice, to put them off graciously and without indicating they are not your top choice.
Try to let your kid do most of the talking. Show interest in the school above and beyond fencing. What does X school offer your son/daughter besides fencing, e.g., majors, resources, particular areas of strength?
Good luck!
I have a couple questions with this coming up. Can the fencer inquire about money the school might have to offer at the interview or is that to wait until later? For us money is the deciding factor on where she will go. We are only looking at schools that can offer athletic money and/or lots of merit right now.
Also, we will not be with our daughter the day she’s meeting a couple coaches, her grandma will be with her. Will that hurt us that we are not there? We will have grandma sit in on the interview in our place if that is ok.
@BrooklynRye do all fencers need a fencing resume or just if your trying at the top schools? My daughter does not have one put together yet.
Without knowing your daughter’s details, you can certainly ask about available scholarships. The coach should have some sense of the process for merit aid as well. If you are limiting your search to scholarships/merit, you eliminate all of the Ivies, none of which offer either of these. You also at least limit DV3 choices as these do not offer scholarships. Your main targets will be DV1, non-Ivies, including Duke (which most recently started awarding women’s fencing scholarships), UNC, OSU, PSU, SJU, ND, and other similar schools.
Don’t worry about who is with your daughter. She is the most important person in the meeting and should do most of the talking anyway. It is not uncommon to have an adult relative sit-in on the meeting, but certainly not necessary and the choice of relative will not impact the coach’s decision.
You don’t need an ‘official’ resume. I would just have your basic data at your fingertips including, rating, ranking, and any strong national finishes. If the coach does his/her due diligence prior to your meeting, he/she will already know this anyway. You can always send a formal resume later should the coach request one.
Good luck!
Right, no ivy’s or DV 3. She is C rated. Probably should be a B but we had financial issues this past year and couldn’t get her to hardly any events so that has hurt her but nothing we could do. This year will be better but it will already be her senior year so a little late. She has met with a couple smaller DV1 school coaches already and went great but plans to meet with a coach from one of the bigger schools at Nationals. The smaller schools have some $ to offer her just not sure on this bigger one, but I think she can get enough merit that the fencing $ may not matter, just if the coach wants her.
I’ll disagree with BrooklynRye on one point - don’t discount the DV3 schools just because they don’t have athletic scholarships. DV3 schools may not be able to offer athletic money, but they do offer merit scholarships to students who qualify. And they can also offer financial aid to families that demonstrate need. Between my daughter’s merit scholarship and grants, she had a better “package” than a fencer we know who is on scholarship at a DV1 school.
I will second Brooklyn’s comments about who is with your daughter. When we met with a coach at JOs, he was polite to us and did engage in some small talk, but his focus was very much on getting to know our daughter and having the conversation mainly with her.
My d hasn’t really wanted to look at the DV3 schools, not sure why, but maybe I’ll have her look them over again quickly and see if any perk her interest. Thanks.
Talking about the incoming SN, what rising high school junior could do before and during SN, with the new timeline of 6/15?
Just to clarify, @saharafrog, I wrote, “You also at least limit DV3 choices as these do not offer scholarships.” Perhaps I was not clear enough in differentiating between not offering scholarships while still offering some merit aid at DV3 schools.
For those of you meeting with college coaches in Columbus at this year’s Summer Nationals, please share your experiences. There are so many recurring questions regarding these meetings, what to have with you, what to ask, what to expect and more. Your experiences, thoughts and insights can be incredibly valuable to this thread. Thank you.
Just got back from Columbus, and am happy to share. Met with three different schools/coaches - two Div 1, one Div 3. Meetings typically lasted about 30 minutes. Not 100% sure whether coaches wanted me there or not, we decided I would go to shake their hand and see if they made an indication for me to stay, which they all did, although they all focused on speaking with my son, as they should.
Two of the coaches seemed genuinely interested and passionate about their team and school, while another seemed as if he googled “questions you ask during an interview “, and just focused on that. Kind of strange - didn’t even ask my son how he had done in the tournament nor seemed to know himself (and my son had a podium finish, so I would’ve thought he might have commented on that). Unfortunate, as in our school tours, my son tended to like this school the best.
I guess I would like to know from those experienced parents the following: when looking at schools/teams, do you try to not be swayed by how you feel about the coach — good or bad — because it’s not a guarantee that they will necessarily be there all four years? Or, does/should your feelings towards a coach carry weight in the decision?
Questions all ranged the gamut, and everyone said they would prefer getting my son’s official school/test info via email, so no need to bring anything with us.
Great experience, and looking forward to see where this all goes. For the most part, the coaches seemed like excellent folks I would be happy to coach my son!
@RRRtex I think having a coach you can learn from and respect is a huge plus. It did play a part in my Ds decision. Keeping in mind, of course, that your S is going to college to, well, go to college, so that’s important too!
Most importantly, Stencils is correct. Your son is going to college for many reasons that take priority over fencing. So don’t judge the school by the fencing coach.
This said, a good coach, particularly a good weapons coach, is a huge bonus. Make sure to differentiate between the Head Coach as opposed to the Assistant Coaches who most often do the individual weapons lessons and strip coaching. The Head Coach is usually important in terms of recruiting, team management, and can be invaluable in helping fencers navigate academics as well. However, it is the weapons coach with whom your son will be working.
Very helpful info! Two of the heads we met with would not be his weapons coach, and the other head would. I did not get the sense from one that he really has assistants, but I didn’t get much of a sense of his program from him at all. ?. The other, I believe, is in process of hiring a new coach for my son’s weapon. I guess he can get to know that coach when/if he does an official visit.
I appreciate the direction to continue to focus on the school, and not just fencing, but want to assure that we are exploring the schools on that level, too. My questions have been focused on the fencing side in this thread because that is the common bond here. In general, schools with fencing mostly seem to be excellent institutions! Happy Fourth to all!!
I prefer DMing to posting, but since I’m currently precluded from doing so - because I haven’t posted enough (15?) times - I suppose I’ll start sharing my thoughts publicly.
My child is a rising college senior, and has competed for the last three years. A parent whom I met through CC was incredibly helpful to me during my kid’s school selection / application process, and if your child is applying to my kid’s school, I’m happy to talk offline. I’m sure the same is true for many other parents who follow this forum.
@RRRtex - This thread’s gurus probably know students (and their parents) at some or all of the schools with which you met. If you DM the gurus, they may be able to put you directly in touch with people whom they trust. (I’m pretty sure they communicate with one another via phone and email, so if one guru can’t help you, he or she may be able to find another one who can.)
One word of caution - these conversations are easier once kids graduate. If a parent or a student has negative things to say, there’s no risk in doing so after graduation. Of course, one’s knowledge of the team fades quickly, as seniors depart and new fencers arrive. A team’s personality can change, though the culture and environment created (imposed?) by the coaches is probably more of a constant.
Being part of a college team can be an incredible experience. And this is true for student-athletes at the bottom of the depth chart, not just for the top three or four fencers who actually get to compete.
This forum frequently focuses on fencers who finish on the podium, rather than those with big grades and big scores in the classroom, and a great work ethic in the gym. We met with several coaches who had a seemingly insatiable recruiting appetite for “high character” student-athletes who would be great teammates - showing up to practice every day and exposing their teammates to a variety of fencing styles, while enhancing the team’s reputation through other channels (eg, academic honors, internships, community service, etc.). These coaches - and the institutions for whom they work - understand the point made by @stencils and @BrooklynRye - college is more than just the next level of athletic competition. It’s a place where young adults learn and grow in many, many ways.
Good luck to all of the rising high school seniors - and to the parents who’ve supported them on and off the strip.
Thanks for the very thoughtful post @EmptyNester2016 . As a parent of a rising college junior fencer, I’ll say your comments are pretty much exactly in line with her experience.