Is this a good sign? The coach requested my transcript and a screenshot of my standardized test scores. Is the coach likely to offer me a spot based off of this information?
Depends on whether it meets the school’s academic standards (or how close it is). The closer you are to the higher end of the range of acceptance rates, the better
But, yes, it’s a very good sign. It means that he or she is interested in you as an athlete. The next step is for him or her to verify that you’re admittable. If you are, then the conversation picks up from there. Good luck with it!
Do some schools operate on more extended timelines for pre-reads? My kid was asked for transcripts, scores and the like July 1 but hasn’t heard back from 3 schools. A couple have said they don’t have anything to report yet. Is this longer than usual? Any reason why that might be the case if so?
@pdiddy123 – I think to some extent it depends on the sport. I think that it would be a pretty fair for your son to ask the coaches when he should expect to hear back from them on the pre-read. And they should be able to give him a pretty clear answer.
@AsleepAtTheWheel I’m wondering what sports you think might operate a little more slowly? The sports that aren’t revenue or helmet sports? Or others? True, being direct and asking is best. Is it okay to wait another week to ask (he asked 1-2 weeks ago about how it was going, but didn’t ask how long it would take).
I think it is… This has happened with two coaches for my daughter and one made her an offer and the other is going to as well she said.
@toomanyteens So did she inquire a couple of times about how it was going before she was given an answer (and an offer(s))? Did it take over a month to hear definitely – and was this in the summer?
It’s happening now!
How exciting! Congratulations to your daughter. I hope she finds the perfect fit!
Yes, I think it is a good sign! Good luck to your daughter…
If a school has a lot of pre-reads to get through, and the school won’t look at them until July 1, I’d imagine it would take a while to get through them. Do some sports have priority? I’d guess that some coaches are favorites and others have to wait a little. The coach may also not be pushing the admissions office if he has some kids still thinking about the school, if it is a sport with an early fall season, the coach might want one last look.
They are on their own schedules and don’t care that we are suffering.
Haha. That is true. Are you going through a similar scenario? If the schools are all ED (all are high academic) seems like there needs to be an expedited turnaround. They do most likely have a large number to go through in each instance. Do you know if admissions typically goes through one sport/coach at a time? I’m just wondering how much lead time is actually given for recruits to submit applications.
@pdiddy123 – I’m largely familiar with the process in regards to D3 swimming. Pomona asked for my son’s academic info in August, and returned the results of the pre-read within a week. The Amherst coach, based on his conversations with my son, told him that he wouldn’t have a problem in terms of academics, but didn’t ask for his file until after he’d attended a ‘recruiting weekend’ in October. Again, the decision came back within a week. Another recruit we know who’s a golfer waited just a bit over a week (also in August) for the results of her pre-read from a NESCAC school.
Another piece to consider is that sometimes a coach will use the results of the pre-read disingenuously as part of the recruiting process. One of my son’s club teammates was told by the coach at an academically competitive D3 school that admissions had given him a ‘thumbs down’ because he hadn’t taken enough AP courses. This kid was a fantastic student, and ended up being an recruited athlete at Williams. The suspicion was that after the coach had initially recruited him so eagerly he (the coach) then found another kid faster in the same events, but used the pre-read as an excuse for dropping him. Our collective experience is that coaches like this are the exception, not the rule, but I thought I’d mention it.
As you’ll read here and on other recruiting threads, the coaches are used to being asked direct questions as the recruiting process goes along. Obviously one could end up being a pest, but after waiting on a pre-read for a couple of weeks or more it’s not out of line to ask about a timeline. It also makes it clear that your son has significant interest in that school, and that the coach is not wasting his time with him.
It’s a good sign, it means there is some serious interest. But it seems like at least some coaches get pre reads for more recruits than they have space for. My guess is most, if not all, coaches do that. Because they need to have backups too.
But it means you are in a relatively small group the coach is very interested in.
Thank you for your informative reply @AsleepAtTheWheel .
I think if we don’t hear over the course of this next week, my son will ask for a more specific timeline. It sounds like NESCAC schools are pretty quick turnarounds, though they tend to be smaller schools with therefore a smaller number of reads they’re dealing with. I don’t know if that might impact the process. I have actually wondered if the scenario you mentioned about the disingenuous coach might ever be an issue. Hopeful that is far from the norm as you said, but I could see that happening occasionally, unfortunately. I guess there’s no real way to protect a recruit from that kind of behavior, as coaches are always going to go after the best kids they can. Again, not only is it hard to wait but as I said, my son is starting to think about the application process. I guess it’s never too soon to start writing that Common App essay, no matter where it will be sent, and when.
@8bagels Yes, no guarantees as you said, as there are a higher number of pre-reads than can actually be recruited, I should think. I think as we head into back-to-school and early fall, discussions going forward will be telling.