<p>I'm sort of recruited by an elite LAC, which is a D3 school. The coach there told me he "look forward to support me" but also warned me that based on his former experience I won't get in if not applying early. I'm wondering if this "hook" is strong enough. Is it a tip or slot?</p>
<p>Anyone? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>What did the coach say when you asked him if it was a tip or slot?</p>
<p>You are hopefully a sophomore or junior. ED has passed for seniors. In my understanding, all D3 coaches have their pull in ED, not RD. Sounds like he/she is supporting you.</p>
<p>ED1 hasn’t passed for seniors at most schools (nov. 15). ED2 is Jan 1. A few have a Nov 1 deadline.</p>
<p>I recommend you ask the coach two questions: (1) Will you support me for admission if I apply ED?, and (2) What percentage of the recruits you support for admission are ultimately admitted? If he has real pull, he should be willing to answer both questions. If he dodges, he’s basically admitting he doesn’t have pull or at best doesn’t know how much pull he has. Good luck!</p>
<p>Tips and slots refer to the types of support a coach can give at a NESCAC school. I sometimes think they are confusingly titled. As a general matter, slots are reserved for impact players and the academics can fall below the school’s standards. Tips are usually given for an applicant who is is in the academic mix, but because a coach wants the athlete, the recruit is chosen over someone with comparable grades and board scores. I am not sure that you need to know whether you are a tip or a slot. What you really want to know is how many athletes the coach is recruiting and where you rank on that list. </p>
<p>A coach’s support typically is not provided in the absence of an ED application. I do believe that this is a fair arrangement. Why should a coach give the precious commodity of support to an application if the student may go elsewhere. It prevents egg on the face of a coach with the adcom (pushing to get an athlete in and then not getting the athlete) and allows the coach to focus on the athletes he or she really wants. Can you imagine how many more athletes a coach would have to recruit if the athletes did not commit to applying ED. If the coach commits to support your application, he or she wants you to commit to the school and program.</p>
<p>There are advantages and disadvantages in applying ED. For the recruit, it just means that you need to be more prepared than a non-recruited applicant. You need to know that the school is where you want to go a bit earlier than the non-recruited athlete. If you like the school and want to attend, then you should line up the coach’s support and apply ED. Make sure that you have an open and direct conversation with the coach about his commitment to you, as evertonnut suggests. If the coach tells you that he doesn’t think you will get in without support, strongly consider this. Compare your grades and board scores with the published numbers of admitted students. If you are not in the 75th percentile of admitted students (meaning in the top 25%), the coach is probably right about you needing support.</p>
<p>In the final analysis, we are just predicting likely outcomes. There are no guarantees. The most important information to inform your decision comes from the coach. That is why the contributors encourage asking the coach the tough questions.</p>
<p>Can a few share their experiences AFTER their child applied ED? Did coach remain in contact? Provide periodic updates? The silence after the ED button was pressed is disturbing.</p>
<p>Peppermint-I had the same concerns last year. My son committed to Williams, then applied ED. Although the coach was very responsive prior to the ED deadline, we didn’t hear a thing until Dec 12 when my son received his acceptance. Hard not to worry though! Hang in there! </p>
<p>The concern I have is that there is also an EA that was filed. That coach emails about the status of the application daily, knows what is missing etc. (That coach does know that there is an ED application elsewhere so that’s all good). The ED coach is dead silent. I certainly have other concerns because the coach was primarily not speaking to the parents - but I did let those concerns go earlier on. I am concerned there was something lost in translation between the coach and the player, but it does seem too late now. It is just such a contrast between the two styles of communication. So frustrating. </p>
<p>We are certainly grateful for all the advantages afforded to athletes in the admission process, but that said, the waiting and the frustrations with the communication process while playing this version of the college admissions game provokes significant anxiety. Best of luck to you and your child.</p>
<p>S emailed coach to let him know that he pulled the trigger on ED1 a week and a half ago. Coach called next day to let S know what happens next. Spelled out the athletics/admissions conversation that would take place during this time and said he’d contact him I’d something didn’t look right.</p>
<p>Told Coach of ED here too, and mailed in a new set of SAT scores that showed a 40 point gain. Modest, but every bit helps. Coach thanked player. No ‘next steps’ outlined though. SAT scores are now more solidly within range, though not at 75% for sure, and loitering somewhere near the 50th percentile of admitted students. </p>
<p>The good news is that other coaches who have not been so forthcoming with support are now responding promptly to emails and one is calling saying “let me know” if the ED does not work. It really pays to keep others in the loop - because a few acceptances RD where the coach gets a player is going to change the leverage equation totally. Best of luck to those who get news next week ! </p>
<p>Ditto here, coaches that say no then maybe, coaches who say everything but yes then maybe.</p>
<p>Our experience is what happens when talking in person with a coach has no relationship to what he or his staff emails.</p>
<p>My son was told “sorry, you don’t fit” by one coach, who then proceeded to keep him on the recruiting list and so he gets tons of automatic emails. So he has no idea, his take is that he wants to prove himself to the coach, to get the coach to change his mind, but I think they are just lazy that they didn’t take him out of the recruiting system for when the paid camps come along.</p>
<p>For the caliber of schools my son is applying to, we would rather he get in on his own merits or get rejected on not being good enough, than relying on a coach’s pull. We know several players who had to transfer from Ivies after freshman year due to grades/course rigor, even though they were doing great on the team.</p>
<p>We too had one coach - long past that now - who kept popping up just as we moved on. No or slow responses, but when they were given, the responses were glowing. That was a tough road that, in retrospect, we should have gotten off of at the first rocky point. IMHO, the coaches never outright say NO, often they provided a ‘to do’ list for the player, and change the requirements along the way (raise this score or that one, need to see this grade or that one, need to call the coach and haven’t done so yet - ten thousand ways to defer but not deny until the recruit gives up and moves on. The coaches that are genuinely interested - even at D3 - pick up the phone. The coaches that have some interest email back promptly or explain why they didn’t reply when they do actually respond. On the question of doing the work, I am confident that my D can do the work if admitted, even if she isn’t at the top of the applicant pool. Just the process of recruitment has been a lesson in persistence. </p>
<p>Totally confused by latest events. One of the coaches that S emailed prior to ed1 deadline (that didn’t reply in time), called out of the blue last week. Said he was stopping by kid’s HS to talk with coach and player, on a trip to 2 more area high schools. Conversation carried on as if S didn’t apply ed elsewhere. When college coach arrived at HS, he talked about flying S out to campus in January for a visit. Like previous posters, coaches coming out of the woodwork now rather than when it would’ve been more useful. Told S not to burn bridges though.</p>
<p>So, I like to believe that irrational acts actually are rational under the circumstances – of course that isn’t always the case. But, it sometimes helps to put yourself in the coach’s shoes to figure out what is going on. I feel that the fall sports (especially at the D3 level, where things happen later) are especially tough. The coach has to coach a team and recruit during the application season. The athletes are young and some do change their minds, so the recruiting list will be somewhat fluid. It is possible that there were some losses on the recruiting list. The coach was coming into the area for some other recruits and thought he would touch base with your son. Or, perhaps the coach was just behind the eight ball a bit due to other coaching responsibilities. Maybe the coach took the time to meet your son on the off chance that if your son did not get in ed he would come to coach’s school, or perhaps he hoped that your son would withdraw the ed ap (unlikely). Or, it simply could come down to a lack of organization. The coach looked at the recruiting questionaire but didn’t match it up to the emails advising him of the ed application.</p>
<p>IMHO, the whole college application process is a bizarre one, and athletic recruiting makes it more so. However, it can provide valuable life lessons for the kids, and can really prepare them for job interviews down the road.</p>
<p>Maybe the coach just lost his top recruit at your child’s position, and is scrambling to fill the hole?</p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>Similarly, this has been weighing on me too. S went on visit to DIII school a month ago… was told at the end of the visit the HC would be in contact in the next week or two. S didn’t send thank you right away as he was “was waiting for HC to call/email”… in hindsight, should have made him do this upon his return. Finally S sent an email to HC and copied AC…said he enjoyed the overnight, is finishing application and supplemental essay for scholarship consideration (merit)…anything else he should be doing? More than a week has passed…no reply/contact from head coach or assistant coach. AC has replied to all previous contacts via email, usually overnight.</p>
<p>Should this be of concern?? Did my son “turn them off” at the visit?? Is delay in his thank you the reason??</p>
<p>Appreciate thoughts/experience.</p>
<p>My daughter played in several showcase tournaments the summer between jr/sr year. She committed during the early signing period, then played the next weekend in another showcase wearing a pink armband to show she was committed. AFTER that, she received a ton of calls and emails, especially from D-3 schools, asking if she was interested. Even AFTER she said she was committed, several of them said that didn’t matter, she could still come and play D3!</p>
<p>D3’s do tend to have a lot of action at this time of the year, even for kids they know have committed or been accepted. Kids do change their minds, schools do fail to accept students.</p>