When ED looms, don't be shy!

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>I'm noticing a flurry of questions about how to decide whether to apply ED at a school that doesn't provide a likely letter or LOI. I just want to say it's okay to have a very direct, heart to heart discussion with the coach. ED in this situation is going to require a leap of faith, to some extent. But if you don't ask the coach point blank about where you stand on his list of recruits, and exactly what he would predict about your chances of admission, you're taking a bigger leap than necessary. </p>

<p>In my experience, this was the one crucial point where I, a parent, interjected myself into the recruiting process. My D's DIII dream school coach called her a top recruit and wanted her to apply ED. I spent an hour on the phone with this coach and got the whole rundown on the extent to which previous applicants had succeeded with this level of coach support in ED, ED2 and RD. Coach told me how many athletes were planning to apply ED, and how many might. We discussed depth at my D's position. I was convinced to allow an ED application, and it worked.</p>

<p>It's not an exact science, but any ethical coach should give you honest answers about his/her experience with this. She should be able to evaluate how the strength of your application will mesh with the team's needs, and predict based on her relationship with admissions, and past experience. But unless you press the issue - make the coach talk to you - this info probably won't be volunteered. If the athlete is not a top recruit, the coach may not be as eager to talk him into ED. If he takes a sort of "give it a try and see what happens" approach, I think it's pretty safe to say you're not high on his list, and you're not especially likely to benefit hugely from coach support. </p>

<p>It's a tough decision, but it sure is nice when it works out. Even so, there are many athletes who apply RD and still find their way onto a team, whether it's club or varsity. So it's not the end of the world if ED doesn't work out.</p>

2

<p>Actually, I would like to add some thoughts:

  1. Likely Letters can be issued at any point, so an Ivy, if they really want a recruit, can get the recruit a LL within usually one week to 10 days. Some will even do this if they have ED or EA.
  2. Letters of intent are a little bit trickier because they usually require more time and there are certain signing periods. (Meaning that if, say, Stanford suggests EA later in the game AND hasn’t issued many NLOIs yet, the prospects are better than at an Ivy because here the coach could get you a LL if the recruit is committed.)
  3. Usually, coaches have a pretty good idea of how their applicants will fare; however, not always, and there can be (nasty) surprises, even after pre-reads. Either way, talk to the coach and ask where you are on their list and how many admits they usually get.
  4. Realize that there are different levels of being recruited: Where you invited at an early weekend (usually recruits are invited in order of priority)? Did the university pay for your OV? Do you have a high AI, and the coach may need you to boost the team’s AI (at Ivies)?
  5. Also keep in mind that priorities may shift, and a coach who may not be very interested early on may change his/her tune later, and vice versa.</p>
3

<p>^^ excellent points. Just to clarify, I meant to address those situations in schools outside the LOI/Likely Letter realm, where there seems to be a lot of uncertainty. Since DIII schools can’t do either of those, and can’t pay for overnights, I think it’s hard for most kids to gauge where they stand. But in all recruiting situations, getting the coach to be candid is essential. And so true that priorities shift; if the coach didn’t get the dream team through ED, he might be very helpful during the RD process.</p>