<p>I verbally committed to an ivy a few days ago. As of now, I have no documentation, however, a likely letter will come in about a week. I had an OV set up for next week to a different ivy. Would it be wrong for me to still go on the visit? I feel like it would be disrespecting the school that I just committed to, but then I don't want to miss out on any opportunities. Has anyone been in this situation? </p>
<p>Best to call the OV coach and let him know you have verbally committed to another school.</p>
<p>I did that, but then the OV coach said that I should come anyways in case I change my mind.</p>
<p>Personally I would not go, but since you told the OV coach that you committed then I think it would be ok to go. </p>
<p>Why would you even want to play for a coach who you have told you verbally committed to another school and yet they still think you might “change your mind”. That shows a lack of class by that coach in my opinion.</p>
<p>IMHO, at least say “I’ll have to reschedule” until after you get the LL <em>AND</em> are 100% sure that you want to go to the other school.</p>
<p>The coach at the OV school sounds like a coach who might not always be a man of his word. If you go on the OV after committing to another school, it will make the commitment school coach wonder what “commitment” means to you. I know non-Ivy D1 candidates commonly change commitments, but I think your best position is to know you are 100% secure with your first coach, rather than less 100% secure with both coaches.</p>
<p>Schools continue to recruit right up to the signing day. I understand why the other coach said to ‘come anyway’ as until the likely letter/acceptance come, the athlete has no insurance. If the athlete doesn’t feel comfortable (as he stated) then yes, see if you can delay the OV until Ivy #1 commits.</p>
<p>While I can definately understand not banking on a committment until you have it in writing, I don’t understand the “miss any opportunities” comment. </p>
<p>Essentially, you’re engaged to be married and now someone wants to go out on a date? Your next move will be an an important one. If I was the school you committed to, and I found out you officially visited another school…it would be a really, really long time until you got your Likely Letter.</p>
<p>Rather than concern yourself with the “other” school’s overture, use their communication as a reason to reach out to the committed coach to request your Likely Letter ASAP, and apply any necessary pressure. If you are unsure about your committment then I think you need to re-think things.</p>
<p>^Exactly. Coaches talk to each other. If and when the coach you committed to finds out that you’re still taking OVs, that’s not going to look real good. </p>
<p>I don’t get the problem with rescheduling the OV with the other school until the LL appears (or doesn’t in a certain amount of time), and risking that the second school will say “never mind then”. </p>
<p>Student athletes change verbal commitments all the time. And it sounds like there is nothing on paper yet, although it has been over a week (a very snowy week though) so maybe the LL is there.</p>
<p>I’d say if you ask for a LL, and then get it and then reneg, that is different.</p>
<p>rhandco, I think there’s a subtle but important distinction between making a verbal commit (as is done all the time in college athletics), and accepting the offer of a LL. When the recruit accepts the coach offer of a LL, the machinery is set in motion - and the coach has ‘used up’ one of his spots with admissions. It’s extremely rare for adcom to deny the LL if the coach has requested it. I agree with the philosophy of continuing the recruiting process until you have something solid, but in our situation, we felt the coach offer was solid enough to forsake the other suitors. As Fenway said, you can convey the info to the committed coach to hopefully expedite the arrival of the LL - but to continue dating while your fiancee is at the jewelry store, well that could turn around and bite you.</p>
<p>Ivy League regulations are clear about the following:</p>
<p>1.) Admissions admit the athlete not the coach.</p>
<p>2.) Any promises made about admission by the coach are not binding on the admission committee and the admission committee is free to deny admission to any athlete promised a Likely Letter by a coach.</p>
<p>3.) Even if the admission committee does decide to admit the athlete they are only bound by the notification deadlines. The issuance of a Likely Letter is optional and at its sole discretion the admission committee can decline to issue a Likely Letter. </p>
<p>^absolutely right</p>
<p>I guess my problem is that I never got an engagement ring - we decided to get married so we bought a license and got married two days later :)</p>
<p>I know at this point, and my son is a junior with strong contacts with one Ivy and loose contacts with a few other Ivies and several other schools, that with a limit on official visits, and the vagaries of Ivy League schools, I’d be nervous as heck for my son to commit without a LL. I’d leave it up to him to decide what he wants to do though. I know with his top choice, the coach he is in most contact with, he’d drop all other contact unless they rejected his ED app and then scramble to find something else, because he wants to go there so much. If any other Ivy offered him a spot without a LL, he’d go on an OV with his top choice after that if he felt it would affect chances at his dream school.</p>
<p>If the worst possible scenario is going to neither school, if you think that they are testing you in some way, go with the verbal commitment and tell the other school that you can’t go on an OV right now.</p>
<p>I know there are worse things that could happen to my son than to not end up at an Ivy, and if you are good enough for an Ivy, there will be many opportunities elsewhere. DIII also does not give scholarships, and you can look up the top DIII schools in your sport and academicially, and they’d probably drool over you in a minute. And other D1 will give scholarships, and with signing day recently past, they may have lost some commitments they were sure of.</p>
<p>Torquing off the community you are courting is probably not a good idea I guess.</p>
<p>^Nice insight to your take on the engagement analogy 
Your last statement is really what matters. If there is any real doubt in your head that the LL will materialize, then sure, go ahead and take the OV. But the situation you want to avoid is for the committed coach to hear it from someone else. You (son or daughter) could call the coach and tell him ‘I have 1 more OV scheduled and parents are pushing me to take it because I have nothing official yet’, but explain you are still 100% committed to the school provided the LL comes through. </p>