<p>Heard my friend, '10 baseball player, tell me that an Ivy offered him a "recruited walk-on" spot. What does this even mean at the Ivy League level? I know that recruited walk-ons at other D1s are essentially players who are recruited and gets the admissions boost like other players do, only that there is no money involved. At Ivies, where the money is non-existent for regular recruits, how does one distinguish between a regular recruit and recruited walk-on? Does it have to do with admission slot vs. admission boost? Was that a tender way of telling the player that they weren't that interested (even though he received a few D1 athletic scholarship offers from non-Ivies)?</p>
<p>So he’s been admitted to the ivy and will be playing, but did not get a likely letter?</p>
<p>To me it means the coach is telling the student that he has a spot on the team for him if he gets admitted on his own. I don’t know the situation, so it is tough to figure out the specific context . </p>
<p>If he is a talented baseball player this may be a way of telling him that the school is interested in him, and they want him IF he has been accepted to the school on his own. Possibly the coach had to back other players in ED or regular admissions as this player would not committ verbally for one reason or another. Also, it could mean that someone has backed out of a regular decision (vernal) committment to the school, and a roster spot has opened up. These scenarions seem the most likely to me, but there are others that I can come up with.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the term used (generally, not specifically in the Ivy context) to describe a student athlete who is on the coach’s radar screen through the recruiting process but ultimately isn’t one of the kids who gets the coach’s support in the admissions process, either by use of a slot or by being on the coach’s list. Then, if the kid gets in, he/she can try out and maybe walk on to the team. The “recruited” part is to distinguish someone the coach is familiar with and is maybe somewhat interested in from the player who has not been in touch with the coach before being admitted and shows up and is allowed to try out. Either one might make (walk on to) the team, but there’s no scholarship $ and they didn’t have the coach’s support with Admissions.</p>
<p>And another coach referred to a recruited walk on as one not receiving the limited athletic scholarship $ – there would be no tryout --the player would have a roster spot, just that no athletic money would be involved.</p>
<p>From our limited exposure–it means
we’d like ya if you get in–and can walk on
and we will nto be using a slot for you</p>
<p>My understanding regarding the Ivies, where no athletic scholarships are involved, is that it means that you are likely to get in on your own, so the coach is not willing to use a slot on you. Coaches want to save those slots for top athletes that will need that boost in the admissions process. If you get in on your academic merits, you will have a roster spot.</p>
<p>edit: yeah, what fogfog said!</p>
<p>^^^Fishy, I’ve heard it said by Ivy coaches that admissions are so unpredictable that there is no way they will roll the dice with admissions if it’s an athlete they really want. “I don’t care if she’s a double-legacy URM with a 2400 SAT, if I want her, she’s getting a likely”.</p>
<p>Varska, I agree 100%! Top athletes will get the likely letter, regardless of whether the top stats are there. I think we are talking about a desirable athlete who may do well in the admissions process without the coach using a slot, but certainly not an athlete the coach really wants! The top athletic recruits will get the slots, no doubt.</p>
<p>The op says this is a 2010 kid. I think he’s asking if the coach really has a spot for the kid on the team, given that he wasn’t given the full recruiting treatment and likely. If the kid got in, it sounds like the coach will be happy to have him. I agree with the posters here who say there is no athlete who is In a position to just take his chances with admissions. Get the LL. This kid might have beaten the odds.</p>
<p>
But then why did he use the term “recruited walk-on”? There seems to be a fundamental contradiction with the term “recruited walk-on” for non-scholarship schools. You’re either a full-fledged recruit or you’re a walk-on; there is no in-between without money involved, or at least not that I’m aware of. And yet, this was the exact term he used when it came to this school (others were straightforward and said they weren’t recruiting him while a few Patriot League teams (no money there as well as far as I know) offered him a spot; only this one school was ambiguous).</p>
<p>
Don’t worry; he never pursued this school and is committed somewhere else, not an Ivy League school though.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a conflict in terminology. Obviously they wanted him…they just didn’t have enought slots. The Dartmouth coach told us they have 9 spots opening up for the soccer team, but can only use 4 (I think, could be 5) slots. They very much need to replace all 9 and are actively recruiting, but some will have to make it in on their own. These kids are all invited on officials, etc. So they are a true “recruited walk-on”. They don’t try out when they get there.</p>
<p>I think there is money available in some of the Patriot League schools now; not sure for which sports.</p>
<p>That makes more sense, but how can a coach legitimately expect a player to risk it all in the college admissions process when, if he’s truly a desirable athlete, could get a guaranteed slot somewhere else?</p>
<p>Say we’re using Harvard for example. Hypothetically they need 8 roles filled for a sport but only have 5 slots. How can Harvard expect to fill those last 3 roles with legitimately recruited players if 1) those recruited players, regardless of how academically skilled they are, are subject to Harvard’s 6.9% acceptance rate, and 2) those recruited players probably have safe and attractive offers from other schools? Does the allure of Harvard itself make these recruits take perhaps foolish risks? Or is it really not as much of a risk as it is perceived as being?</p>
<p>I guess this thread transitions into this question: Does a coach’s clout in the admissions process only extend as far as his mandated slots, or does he also hold a subtler influence in admissions that nevertheless might help these additional 3 athletes get in? I have now heard 2 people I know talk about being considered recruited walk-ons by an Ivy coach, one of whom (not the one initially mentioned in this thread) also talked about getting help from the coach in the admissions process, although not the full support that a slot would provide. Neither pursued the recruited walk-on options but I wonder what would have happened if either did. Is it possible that it’s somehow not as hard for these recruited walk-ons to get into a school as a typical unhooked applicant with the same numbers?</p>
<p>A ‘preferred walk-on’ is someone who will definitely have a spot on the team, they do not have to try out, but they do not get any athletic money.
A ‘walk-on’ is someone who is not assured of having a spot on the team, they truely have to try out in order to make the team, also not receiving any athletic money.
Walk-ons can eventually earn their way to being a scholarship player, which would not exist at an ivy.</p>
<p>Not sure which category a ‘recruited walk-on’ would be in though. They definitely have atleast a try out for the team, not sure if recruited means preferred in this case.</p>
<p>^^ monster–not sure what you mean by a student/athlete risking it all…</p>
<p>a straight up applicant is a straight up applicant
–and a recruit is a recuit–who gets the official
and at an ivy there is no $
and the Ai is alove an well</p>
<p>and kid who has to make the cut at AdCom without a tip isn’t “risking” anything at all…they are one of 20,000 apps like the reat of the pool…and for the fee get a reading…so the only risk is that $…</p>
<p>because if they get in–then they play as a walk on–because they are an experienced athlete in that sport…right?</p>
<p>if they don’t get in–it cost the coach nothing AND the kid goes on to play where-ever else …</p>
<p>Seems the only “risk” is taking one of the five (an official) at a school where the kid isn’t gong to be a recruit…</p>
<p>I don’t know–do the kids know BEFORE they take the official IF they are going to get the support/likely ???
OR do they only learn that status AT the official whether or not they are going to get the support?</p>
<p>That I would guess that would be the risk–taking an official at a school where the kid isn’t in the top choices…</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not sure which category a ‘recruited walk-on’ would be in though. They definitely have atleast a try out for the team, not sure if recruited means preferred in this case.
[quote]
</p>
<p>Recruited walk-ons do not try out. The term “recruited walk-on” indicates an athlete who is recruited to be a part of the team, but the coach, for whatever reason, does not have enough scholarship dollars (or “slots”, in the case of Ivies and non-scholarship granting schools) to give to all the players he needs. My daughter was a recruited walk-on for her school’s gymnastics team. This is a head count sport and only 12 girls can be on scholarship - which is not deep enough to field a team in this sport. Many of the walk-ons are huge contributors from the get-go.</p>
<p>Thank you keylyme for clearing that up. I’m use to hearing the term preferred walk-on. Some coaches will tell players, “you can come to our school and try out for a walk-on spot,” Therefore the player is not assured of having that spot.</p>
<p>fogfog Of course there is a risk to waiting out the regular decision process even if you are a recruited walk on. It’s likely that the student/athlete may have turned down other ED offers to wait out the admissions decision at the first school. If admissions should reject him those other offers may no longer be there.</p>
<p>A question: I know Ivy coaches have “slots” they an use. Do they get to offer any admissions input for the kids that they do not have these slots for? Surely their athletic ability must play some part in their admissions application.</p>
<p>My understanding, which is admittedly limited, is that they have slots and then a list of recruits that they want but don’t have slots for. This list is given to admissions and recruits may or may not be admitted.</p>