If a coach recommends a student-athlete to admissions as one of their “top” athletes, how much would that help with the admissions process? S applied regular decision and this school is one of his top choices.
I wonder the same thing but I think most coaches try to get them in ED.
There are a lot of threads on this subject, if you combine all the NESCAC forums and even on some of the Ivy League boards. My sense is that every coach at an elite college or university has a certain number of slots or wild cards they can play on behalf of an athletic hook. Football has the most; T&F probably has the fewest. Ninety-nine per cent of them are exercised in conjunction with the ED process. After that, they probably don’t carry much more weight than a favorable note from a professor or an alum.
It is true that most athletes go thru ED, but there can still be openings on a given team after ED. NESCAC schools typically have 14 slots for football and 2 for each of the other sports. If your S had a positive pre-read from admissions it will be more of a hook than if there was no pre-read.
D was a recruited athlete who applied ED with positive pre-read. She was denied admission. Devastated in the moment, but all for the best…she is currently thriving at a school with an stronger program in her area of study.