<p>^^no worries. </p>
<p>the “patent” kid, although true, was a bit much I thought. my kid did not invent anything, but she has top academic stats and she does one thing really well, she wins!</p>
<p>in simplest terms what these top schools are mostly looking for are kids that demonstrate a focus and a passion by clearly standing out in one area!</p>
<p>and have solid stats as well</p>
<p>mayhew, thanks for that post. Can’t wait to hear how all this plays out for your daughter. The world (including good schools) needs all kinds of people, especially those who are reflective and humble. You are, so I would guess she is too. She’ll be welcome lots of places…</p>
<p>^^^^thank you :)</p>
<p>^^
Hi all</p>
<p>random thing here</p>
<p>I have a friend with a student who has a patent pending…got accepted to MIT…
kid had a solid SAT and solid GPA and a passion for a particular area…</p>
<p>I am always amazed by these students who have patents before they are legal to vote let alone buy a drink.</p>
<p>Renews hope in the future of our planet ;o)</p>
<p>So just to have some finality on the topic of this thread: does admissions know when a recruited walk-on applicant is a recruited walk-on, and if that recruited walk-on is acknowledged as such and has strong academic qualifications, are odds much higher in their favor than the HS varsity athlete applicant with the same numbers and is not recruited at all? Or are recruited walk-ons treated the same way by admissions and have to get in without having athletics serve as a major admissions advantage?</p>
<p>Admissions would know that the applicant was not recruited if he was not on the coach’s list (of slots.) There would be some letter from the coach that he would like to have applicant on the team if he were admitted on his own account. </p>
<p>I would project that there would be only a slight tip for the applicant, or none, from the athletics EC. </p>
<p>I’ve never heard the term “recruited walk-on” before. It just might be something a coach or parent dreamt up for an unusual situation. Usually, a student is either a “recruit” or a “walk-on”, not both .</p>
<p>A recruited walk on, at least in basketball, is a player who is not offered a scholarship, but is guaranteed a spot on the team roster. In non-Ivy settings, they may and usually do received help with admissions if necessary. In addition, they receive the same training and tutoring as the scholarship players.</p>
<p>I think that in the Ivies, it means that the coach will not give up an admissions “tip” for the player, but if the player successfully gains admission on their own, they have a spot on the team.</p>
<p>In short, it means that you get participate.</p>
<p>For Ivies and high academic D-3’s, recruited walk-ons are very important, as the coach does not have enough “tips” with the admissions office to fully populate his team.</p>
<p>In D-1s with scholarships, they are much less significant. In basketball, the coach has 13 full scholarships to populate a roster of 15 - 17. The walk-ons are for practice. Even when a walk-on shows great promise, the coach is sometimes afraid of giving him significant time or allowing him to earn a scholarship because it can alienate the recruited scholarship athletes and their parents, whom promises have been made to.</p>
<p>Walk-ons have different roles, depending on the level of the school.</p>
<p>fauve…“recruited walk-on” is a genuine entity. I had read an article about the growing popularity of recruiting walk-ons by the top sports schools. It is a way to get the best players. There is not necessarily money available for every single player a coach wants.</p>
<p>To answer monstor’s question, my daughter’s experience as a recruited walk-on at two major DI’s in her sport was that it definitely gave her a leg up in admissions. The Big Ten school told her during her official visit that her file would be flagged as a recruit and she would be admitted as long as she met the NCAA standard (this school is generally very competitive for out of state applicants). One of the other girls on the visit was also a recruited walk-on and was told while on the visit that she had been admitted. The admissions officer came in and announced this. Her file was also flagged as a recruit at the other school where she was asked to walk on. </p>
<p>The recruited walk-on certainly does play a large part at DI’s. Aside from the very top schools, many teams are not fully funded for the full NCAA allotment of scholarships for a particular sport. Walk-ons are necessary to field a full team. </p>
<p>Again, it is not that walk-ons are necessarily less desireable or somehow not as good. In head count sports, the school can only have a certain number of athletes with a scholarship and they need more than that number to be competitive. There are girls on my daughter’s team who have gained all-american status who are recruited walk-ons.</p>
<p>My response was to Monster’s original question about recruited walk-ons at IVIES only–where there is never a question of athletic scholarship money, only admissions and need based aid. Thus, one is either given a Likely Letter, or a “slot” by coaches (recruited), or one is tossed in the general admissions pile with a “letter of support” (walk-on).</p>
<p>The semantics of “recruited walk-on” consoles the recruit who did not make the cut, and is actually now a walk-on. Like Bbdad describes.</p>
<p>My stepdaughter was a recruited athlete at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Before they approach an athlete, they determine if the student is admitable in the first place. They looked at her grades and her ECs before recruiting her. She only applied to Dartmouth, knowing she would be admitted.</p>
<p>Her financial aid package was based on need, like any other student. There were no athletic scholarships offered at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>
[quote]
For Ivies and high academic D-3’s, recruited walk-ons are very important, as the coach does not have enough “tips” with the admissions office to fully populate his team.</p>
<p>[\quote]</p>
<p>This is what baseball dad said, which is exactly the situation for many kids. For instance, in my son’s sport, a particular Ivy we visitied has 4 slots, but the coach is losing 9 kids this year. He said he desperately needs to fill all 9 spots but it is very difficult with only 4 slots so they actively recruit and encourage kids to apply…they even encourage a PG year so they can give the slot for the following year. Has nothing to do with not making the “cut”. My son has a high school teammate who was in this situation. Highly sought athlete by “better” athletic schools where he was offered a scholarship, but Ivy coach had too few slots. He ended up doing the PG year (but promised the slot in advance). </p>
<p>At many other strong DI’s, there simply aren’t enough scholarships to fill all the needs. I use gymnastics as an example, because the NCAA only allows 12 girls on the team to have any money. There are 65 DI programs and maybe a third of them are fully funded. Even for the ones that are funded, 12 girls does not make a team - most coaches rely on a team of 15 or 16.</p>
<p>This thread is somewhat dated and in the middle of it - it got sidetracked. However, instead of starting a new thread, I would like to pose the question again but with a different term:</p>
<p>What is a preferred walk-on at an Ivy? I don’t care what it means at schools that offer athletic scholarships. I fully understand that there are no athletic scholarships at an Ivy - just Likely Letters for an admissions hook - and these are usually put into play during the early decision process. If an athlete applies RD, has a high AI, does he get any tip for being a “preferred walk-on” when he is competing for admissions against the RD pool?</p>
i have the same question. im looking at gymnastics for the university of Pennsylvania but he said i would be a walk on (applied RD). will i get his backing in admissions or will i have to get through on my own?
@Ringer01 , applying RD as a walk-on - sounds like you’re on your own. You could always ask him, though.
It would be better to start a new thread than to resurrect this old one.
But I agree with varska that you should ask the coach. And even if he says you’re on your own, I’d keep in touch–particularly if you get waitlisted. Some coaches can pull for walk-ons in admissions–sort of a tip factor. It doesn’t have the influence of a full-on recruit, but if you’re highly admissable anyway, a coach might provide the gentle push that gets you in.