playmaker

If a coach shows a pretty significant interest in you, how much does it help when applying to Bates or any of the NESCAC schools in general? I know there are not athletic scholarships, but can being an athlete of interest help?

RochesterMom

D will be attending in the fall and the coach was interested in her. Based on just what we saw I think your grades still need to be in line although if the coach is interested then they might take you if your grades were just a bit lower. Coach needs to know however that you are committed so that they can submit paperwork also on your behalf. Small school so they want/need to fill out their teams/band/etc. Being an athlete that the coach wants would strengthen your changes I believe.

bct1989

yes, it definately helps, especially at NESCAC schools. me knowledge is with lacrosse specifically, but im pretty sure its relatively the same with most sports. but basically, the idea is that if coaches could only pool talent from the students already enrolled they wouldnt have competitive teams. with lax, each coach had 7-11 "slots" alotted to them, with which they can "support" a recruit (the number depending on how many players the coach needed, had supported in the recent past, and the sport). >all the coaches i have delt with will only support a recruit if said recruit has committed (verbally>d3 athletes don't sign national letters of intent since they won't be on scholarship)

it depends on the school, but every coach i was recruited by (nearly every single nescac) asked for my academic info, which he then gave to the admissions office, who then gave the coach a "pre-read" on the recuit (me), which was then relayed back to the recruit (me). typically, the pre-read consists of the recruits chances with and without support from the coach, although some coaches just told me, without actually saying so, that i would get in with support.

admissions-wise, having support from a coach (esp at NESCAC(esque) schools) is EXTREMELY helpful. it wont get an unqualified student in, however, standards for a recruited athlete are definately lower than the average student: typically the min SAT can be 100 pts lower (per section) than the schools median range, and where regular students need to be top10% in their class a recruited athlete can get away with top 20-25% at some NESCAC schools. also, nescac schools do help athletes a little more than other LACs > on a recruiting visit to Swarthmore, i asked how helpful support from the coach would be and he said if it came down to admitting a recruited athlete or a regular student with identical scores, grades etc the athlete gets in; he compared this to the NESCAC where the coaches almost guarantee admission if they offer you support

hope this was helpful. let me know if you have for questions, or need clarification. (this might not be completely true, but this is what i learned in my recruiting experience with these and other coaches)