Thank you for confirming all I wrote in my last post. As I noted at the end of that post, it will be interesting to identify the official recruits as each team makes its announcements for 2019-2020.
Of particular interest of high school fencers entering junior year this fall. The NCAA just changed the off-campus contact rule, so now after 8/1 of the summer before JUNIOR year, coaches and athletes may meet off-campus.
The prior rule limited off-campus contact to after 7/1 before SENIOR year.
This may change the dynamic regarding a long tradition of student/coach meetings at summer nationals for rising seniors. Many collegiate coaches go to certain NACs each year (especially the Jan NAC and JOs), so it is now permitted for coach/athlete meetings during those events in junior year. Whether coaches will want to start meeting with athletes at these earlier events remains to be seen.
These rules apply only to Division I schools, Div II and III are not affected.
@picklish - Speaking from recent experience, but prior to this rule change, the game for top fencers was to study for the standardized test the summer of sophomore year and take the test for the first time in the fall of junior year. The goal is to allow for academic pre-reads for top recruits to allow for early commitments. Since coaches could always have at least indirect contact with recruits and during unofficial, on-campus visits, not sure whether the rule change alters this test-taking protocol. Also, there is a question of resources and focus in turning recruiting attention to the succeeding class prior to confirming the immediate one. Since there are often math components in junior/senior year that are at least partially represented on the tests, I would not take the test too early.
Regarding SATs my comments would be for any college-bound student, not just a prospective recruit. It can be valuable for a student to take a real SAT on the earlier side, ideally summer before junior year, for a few reasons (most of these are known, I'm not saying anything uniquely profound). 1 Studying during the summer doesn't compete with other courses; 2. There is less pressure, because there is plenty of time to retake the test (although the flip side, depending on the student, is that they may not take it seriously :-); 3. taking a real test is different from practice ones and having that experience once can make a retake much easier (if things go well, of course, not retake would be necessary); 4. The point raised about whether the student has the necessary math is valid, but it can vary a lot, and many students either have had the math, or don't find it too much of a challenge to learn while SAT studying. All that said, I would also note that if a student has a strong academic record (GPA, high level courses, etc.) having the SAT scores in hand are not always necessary for recruiting discussions.
Most kids take the PSAT in October of Junior year, and that would provide a reasonable predictor of SAT scores if the student hadn't taken the SAT or ACT yet. And students can even take the PSAT in 10th grade for practice. My son didn't have ACT scores yet when he did an unofficial visit to his first choice school, so he told them what he expected to get based on multiple practice tests taken under timed conditions, and they could tell from his other academic stats that he was likely to hit those scores (which he did).
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With the advent of admissions fees for tournament spectators, many fencing parents have become supporting members, which means you get to vote for the USA fencing board of directors and hall of fame. Also fencers 18 and up can vote. Voting ends this Wednesday, May 29 so look for an email from USA fencing about this in your inbox.
Hello fencing parents, this is my first post so I'm a bit nervous. Our coach asked us to choose two schools. He said coaches don't like it when athletes contact a bunch of schools but I just don't understand this at all. The chances of getting in to an Ivy are extremely low so why wouldn't we contact every single one? Aside from the Ivies there are also other excellent schools not to mention plan B schools in case plan A schools don't pan out. How can we possibly choose one or two colleges? I can't imagine anyone putting all of their eggs in one basket and certainly not us. We don't have a national team member or world cup gold medalist. We have a good fencer and student and I think someone will want her but how can we expect any interest if we haven't sent out any info? Has anyone else been advised against contacting too many colleges? FYI - our fencer is A19, top 25 JRP, 1450 SAT and 4.0 GPA - high school junior.
Rising junior or completing junior year? Has your fencer already contacted coaches or not? How many SAT attempts; one time or superscore after multiple attempts? Recommendations would strongly depend on the specific situation, but your description suggests your fencer should have good potential for recruitment or strong support. Almost all those that have posted here have experience with communicating with multiple coaches. The info in this forum is very valuable and in my son’s experience quite accurate. Certainly worth reviewing carefully if you haven’t yet. Many here would be happy to answer more specific questions.
@Old_n_Tired I think that's very strange advice — my son's coach encouraged him to talk to lots of schools, and he personally helped S set up several meetings with coaches at Nationals. So I would definitely not limit yourself to only 1 or 2 potential schools.
However, regarding your question as to "why wouldn't we contact every single [Ivy]," one answer to that is that it's unlikely that every Ivy would be an equally good fit for your daughter. I would look at which programs are strongest for her major, which school "vibes" seem to fit her personality best, which coaches she would want to work with, and (perhaps most importantly) which schools seem likely to be recruiting in her weapon and haven't already committed to another fencer. Have you looked through the JRP to see where she ranks in the current recruiting class? Top 25 on the list usually means top 10 for students in her recruiting class, and she has excellent stats, so you should have a lot of options. I would put together a fencing resume ASAP, if you haven't already done so, and start contacting coaches right away. Try to set up some meetings at Nationals if you can.
Replies to: The Only College Fencing Recruiting Thread You Need to Read
The prior rule limited off-campus contact to after 7/1 before SENIOR year.
This may change the dynamic regarding a long tradition of student/coach meetings at summer nationals for rising seniors. Many collegiate coaches go to certain NACs each year (especially the Jan NAC and JOs), so it is now permitted for coach/athlete meetings during those events in junior year. Whether coaches will want to start meeting with athletes at these earlier events remains to be seen.
These rules apply only to Division I schools, Div II and III are not affected.
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-council-adopts-rules-curb-early-recruiting
With the advent of admissions fees for tournament spectators, many fencing parents have become supporting members, which means you get to vote for the USA fencing board of directors and hall of fame. Also fencers 18 and up can vote. Voting ends this Wednesday, May 29 so look for an email from USA fencing about this in your inbox.
http://www.yalebulldogs.com/general/2018-19/releases/20190531djqohm
However, regarding your question as to "why wouldn't we contact every single [Ivy]," one answer to that is that it's unlikely that every Ivy would be an equally good fit for your daughter. I would look at which programs are strongest for her major, which school "vibes" seem to fit her personality best, which coaches she would want to work with, and (perhaps most importantly) which schools seem likely to be recruiting in her weapon and haven't already committed to another fencer. Have you looked through the JRP to see where she ranks in the current recruiting class? Top 25 on the list usually means top 10 for students in her recruiting class, and she has excellent stats, so you should have a lot of options. I would put together a fencing resume ASAP, if you haven't already done so, and start contacting coaches right away. Try to set up some meetings at Nationals if you can.