<p>OldbatsieDoc, 66 TIPS for both W and A is a fact (again, there are two categories, 66 TIPS, which any admissions officer who is honest will acknowledge, and the 100 plus protects, which operate differently). Most other NESCAC schools have 72, by the way.</p>
<p>Williams is not lying, I think what that references is the 49 high priority athletic admits in the early pool, which sounds about par for the course not only for Williams but for every NESCAC school, since most of the TIPS are admitted early. “Protects” probably aren’t considered in that figure since they could have also been admitted for other reasons as well. </p>
<p>And the swimming coach may only have four “slots,” but that does NOT mean the other swimmers are walk on in the sense of, the coach didn’t know anything about them in the admissions process. I can guarantee that basically anyone who can make an impact on virtually any NESCAC sports team will have had contact with the coaching staff, and the coaching staff will talk to admissions about them. Now, they could have 1500 SAT’s and a 4.0 gpa, but that doesn’t mean that the coaches didn’t go to bat for them, giving them a leg up over other candidates. Athletic recruiting at NESCAC is serious business, and again, it’s uncommon for varsity athletes, particularly on team sports, to arrive on campus as true unknowns to the coaching staff. It does happen regularly across sports, but it is the exception, not the rule. </p>
<p>Again, the terminology “walk on” carries a different meaning in D-3 since there are no athletic scholarships – so by the D-1 definition, EVERYONE is a walk-on. But the way I view the D-3 definition of that term (someone who makes a varsity roster and wasn’t in recruiting contact with the coach during the admissions process), it is without any doubt a minority of all varsity athletics teams (other than crew) at every NESCAC school that could be considered “walk ons.”</p>