OV#2 in the books. Now the calculus of figuring out which school she wants to ED to…
OV #2 in the books here as well; she canceled OVs 3 and 4. Out of two OVs and 7 unofficial visits, she received 2 offers @ 100%; 1 @ 85%; and 1 @ 50%. All of them were good offers and good (or good enough) fits. She has verbally committed to one of the schools that offered her 100%; she never visited the other 100% school. In the end, it was a tough decision between this school and the one that offered 50%. I am still mourning the 50% school, despite the additional expense, but she has elected to bank the unspent college budget for nursing or PT school.
Best of luck to those of you who are still in the thick of OVs and decision-making. And don’t believe anyone who says there is no such thing as a full ride in an equivalency sport. We didn’t even look very hard and ended up with almost 3 (85% is close enough). These are all mid-major D1 schools.
@planit congrats to your daughter! Was she being offered a combination of athletic and academic or was it a pure athletic scholarship for the 100%? Also you said mid-major D1. Was she a recruit who could have gone to a higher caliber athletic school, which made here a hot commodity at a mid-major?
@dadof4kids , her offers were all athletic money. She’s an average, not high-stats, student. There are a couple of schools where she would still have received automatic academic money, but the coaches were clear that their offers were athletic only. She probably could have gone to a higher-caliber athletic school, but she looked for schools in conferences where she could score at their conference meet with her current times. She wanted to contribute, not be their fifth-best and, therefore, completely expendable. Also, she is very short for a swimmer, and higher-caliber athletic schools would probably look at her and think that’s all she’s got in her. And maybe they are right; I don’t think so, and neither does she, but if she just maintains, she can contribute to the teams on which she focused.
I think she was a hot commodity because she showed interest in the schools early. We visited seven schools, and met with coaches at four of them, in her sophomore and junior years. She needed to go beyond our geographic area to find what she wanted, and a personal visit on my dime made it seem to them like she was a realistic prospect. One of the coaches who offered her 100% (early, in the summer) actually told us that it was a combination of her times and that she’d come to visit that made her a candidate for an early offer. Another 100% offer came from a school who contacted her first; we never even visited. The third was from a school when she pulled out of her OV; they said, “Wait, wait–let us make you an offer before you commit.” The 50% was made after an OV, but we’ve met with that coach multiple times; he’s watched her swim at a meet and in practice and has been following her since sophomore year. He is the one I was rooting for.
I hope our experience helps someone. My best two pieces of advice are to (1) start early–every single coach told us he starts identifying prospects in their junior year; and (2) let your kid do it all. I accompanied her to coaches’ meetings on her unofficial visits, but she set those visits up, completed online questionnaires, phoned, emailed, everything. I was mostly her travel agent.
Hi just on the canceling of the OVs, and I’m talking ivy experience, but this can be not as straightforward as thought- especially if plane tickets have been purchased and the like. One chum of my DS cancelled an OV at an Ivy only to have the school demand payment for the tickets and be lectured by the coach about how his accepting the OV had by necessity bumped another from person from getting that chance, that it was thoughtless and he hadn’t even given them a chance etc. etc. The chum’s family paid back the school for the nonrefundable ticket. DS went to all 5 OVs he’d committed to although he was fairly confident he’d found his place early on.
Thanks for the reply. S has been in touch with several schools since spring of soph year. I feel like he’s doing everything pretty much right, but I still stress about it. I keep trying to gather information so if his current plan (Ivy/equivalent) falls through I can help him with a backup.
@oldladyandmom Do you mind sharing the school and or sport? I would think it is a newer coach with that kind of reaction. They did a favor to the coach by being honest and giving him more time to pursue other options. It isn’t like that coach will offer every single kid who takes an OV. Should the parent call him up and berate him for offering an OV without following up with a roster spot?
I guess if S has one lined up with them he should just enjoy the expense paid vacation.
Finally going on D’s OV to large D1 this weekend. I echo @planit, start early, visit on your own dime (way more important than people give credit to) and have your child drive the process. While she has been committed for a long time and knows this is where she wants to be, it’s an exciting trip none the less. Very much looking forward to meeting the other recruits and their families!
@oldladyandmom , I don’t think that’s an Ivy thing; I think that’s a “this coach is an ass” thing. My daughter canceled 3 after tickets were purchased (one was the school with the hazing incident that I’ve mentioned before), and plenty of her friends have also canceled visits. No one has ever reported that kind of reaction. I don’t mean it didn’t happen, just that it’s definitely not the norm. Recruiting goes both ways–that coach will likely never pick up another recruit from your friend’s team or club. Who in his right mind would want to compete for such a nut job?
OV in the books! Great weekend, confirmed for the last time before D signs that it is absolutely the school and program for her. We’d not met the other commits or their parents, and they too, were wonderful (another factor that may be more important than people realize). Feeling very blessed to have the this opportunity be in her hands and to have the only con be she will be a long flight away. Guess we’ll be using those frequent miles! As it seems CC doesn’t have a lot of focus on gymnastics, if anyone ever has questions or need a sounding board, feel free to ping me privately.
@crimsonmom2019, congrats to your D!
@Chembiodad Thanks! Participating in a major D1 school’s process has been cool, I must admit. Super stoked both kiddos academic and athletic talents were met so well, even if across the country. Let the 30-day countdown to NLI Signing Day begin!
DD reports that ED app has been submitted!
@SevenDad - same here in our house! Fingers crossed for a good Xmas!