What are my chances for Brown (and confusion about recruitment)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

To start off, I applied to Brown ED and got deferred after talking to the track coach for a while.
Stats:
ACT: 33 (36 writing, 35 english, 30 math, 30 science)
SAT: 1450 (760 english, 690 math)

GPA: (school doesn’t calculate, but for recruiting purposes, my counselor said mine is a 3.9. I don’t know if this is weighted or not.)

Senior year classes: astronomy, AP Calc AB, environmental literature, AP Economics (macro and micro), Russian history

Past AP’s: APUSH: 5, AP Euro: 5, AP Lang: 5

EC’s: President and four year member of school finance club, 4 year varsity letter winner and captain of XC and Track teams (and state medalist), member of Jewish Student Union, member of club track team, internship at local park watershed conservancy, 2 years of volunteering at a paleontology lab, member of social justice club

Intended Majors: political science (1st) or environmental science (2nd)

Now to the part about the coach: In November, he made it clear that in the moment they werent able to support my application but were still interested. In december (after I was deferred), before I started racing indoor, he reached out to me, asking for my transcript and test scores, telling me to send him videos and to keep in touch about races. Despite my multiple emails to him since then, he hasn’t gotten back in touch. I did really well during this indoor season, much better than last year, so he wouldn’t have been discouraged by my performances. Also, my grades were good enough to be deferred, so that wasn’t a turn-off for him. What could this mean? (Side note: during our other communication, he was always very slow at getting back and didn’t respond to every email) Could he have given my application any support without telling me? Did he just cut me off without telling me?

2

Also, what does it mean that he asked for my test scores etc and then never got back.

3

@confusedrunner It’s probably too late for him to help you unless you are waitlisted. Why don’t you give him a call? That is so much better than waiting for email and you can put your mind at ease. Your scores, etc. definitely seem good enough for a push. Did he ever give you target numbers?

4

He did give me target numbers, which my track times from last year (outdoor) were slightly off of. However, I had massive improvements during indoor season (~15 seconds faster in the mile from last indoor season), and set a new personal record, when in indoor almost everyone is slower. So i think he may have been encouraged by that, because it shows progression and also hints at the fact that I could have a really fast outdoor season.

Can coaches help you with being waitlisted? I got waitlisted at tulane (I had all the stats, but don’t think I showed enough demonstrated interest, which is huge for them) and could definitely be on their team (nowhere near as good as brown).

5

The most frustrating part for me as well was the fact that he was so slow to get in touch with me, even though he was interested. For example, Dartmouth’s coach got back to every single email I sent within 12 hours (I’m not sure if he helped my application because he said “desicions come out the 28th, we can talk then”) but I definitely had points with dartmouth because the coach is good friends with my hs coach and also grew up and ran track in my district, as well as one of my friends running there alreadyl

6

What is your best mile time & what target time did the coach ask for ?

7

I ran 4:28 last outdoor season but 4:27 indoor (as opposed to 4:45 last indoor season), and he gave me 4:24. The fact that I ran a lot faster this indoor season when everyone is slower shows that I’m more then ready to run around 4:20 or lower.

8

Side note: He asked for my grades etc before indoor started, when my fastest indoor time was 4:45. To give a sense of where I stand, I ran in the indoor state meet, where only the top 20 fastest individuals in the state, regardless of classification, get in. This meet is considered one of the best in the country and has national press around it. I ended up placing 11th, wheras I was seeded as 16th.

9

I am not up to date on mile times, about 5 or 6 years ago miler needed at least a 4:18 for Division I scholarship consideration. Of course, the Ivy League has less demanding athletic standards.

Regardless, the coach gave you a target time of 4:24 & your best is insufficient at a 4:27. These are fairly slow times for one seeking an admissions boost based on athletic performance.

In short, I think that the coach likes you as a person, but not as an athletic prospect on whom he is willing to spend very limited admissions’ capital.

10

Just checked Ivy League times. In 2013 the fastest Ivy miler recorded a 4:00 mile time while the 20th fastest time was a 4:11.18.

Even the 4:24 time that the coach gave you is too slow to be recruited as a miler in the Ivy League. Thirty years ago, sure, but not now.

11

Okay, I need to make a correction. 4:24 is the current time for milers in order to be considered for an athletic boost in Ivy League.

12

@confusedrunner I was asking about target numbers for GPA and test scores. They want to know that you can get admitted and do well to help their team stats academically.

13

Oh, he never gave me those. I think they were high enough??? (not sure)

Williams’ coach just said that I should get all A’s first trimester and try doing the SAT one more time.

14

I hope that he didn’t look at my grades and test scores and just say “this is way too low”.

15

I have a friend committed to Brown for lacrosse and he has to keep taking the ACT constantly. He is an above average student, so they want the score as high as possible. I also have soccer friends at Brown who had to hit a specific ACT to get a likely letter. Track definitely works differently, but if you were talking to a coach, getting a pre-read is pretty standard. My sister plays soccer at a different Ivy and my brother is currently being recruited for track, so I am surrounded by this stuff. Good luck!