Are there certain boarding schools that are known to go stronger on athletic recruits? I have twins (one boy, one girl) applying to different boarding schools. Both soccer players. Full list of schools applying to are: Choate, Exeter, Groton, Loomis Chaffee, Berkshire, Hotchkiss, Taft. I think we might have missed the opportunity to be pro-active on contacting coaches before the application deadlines but I’m wondering if any of these schools have reputations to tilt towards athletes. Thank you.
I should add. Both kids have strong grades and strong SSAT scores.
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There are a lot of factors at play here.
What age are your twins and what grade are they applying for?
Do they play on a club or travel team currently and did their coaches write a special interest recommendation as part of their applications?
Did you visit or interview at all of these schools and discuss soccer as part of your interviews, or meet any coaches while you were visiting campus?
Did you submit video as part of your application?
I would say all of the schools you listed are recruiting athletes, my daughter applied to many of them as well for 9th grade for next year. But what each school’s recruiting needs are vary from year to year based on the current team make up and who is graduating. For example, my daughter is a field hockey player, and while she is just learning the game, she is interested in continuing in high school. She is not on a club team, but is overall a very strong athlete. At one school (a smaller school not on your list), we spoke with the field hockey coach at an open house, and she mentioned they were graduating 9 seniors this year and were thus looking for a lot of new players at both the varsity and JV levels. Another school on your list had the top field hockey prep team this year and that coach is heavily recruiting from club teams, my daughter will be lucky to make the thirds team if she is accepted and attends that school next year. Keep in mind these schools all also have PG programs (which tend to be mostly boys, but there will likely be 18-19 year old soccer playing PGs who will take up varsity spots).
Will your kids be able to play soccer at any of these schools? Yes, but if you have not yet talked to the coaches and they are applying to 9th grade, they will mostly likely be on thirds or JV next year.
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The only clarification I would make is that it doesn’t matter if you’ve been in touch with coaches with regards to which team they will be placed on in the fall. Talent and skill trump everything. There will be tryouts, and if they are good enough they will be on varsity in 9th grade. If not, they will drop down to JV or thirds.
My son was a soccer player at Hotchkiss, he’s now wrapping up his college soccer career.
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Yes, good point, even the coach at the top field hockey school we visited said that there are always kids who come in under her radar. She said she always invites a lot of new students to pre-season for this reason.
I’d recommend your kids to email video clips to soccer coaches at the schools they’ve applied to, then follow up with a phone call. Decisions are far from solidified in the admission offices, so you can still do so in the coming few days. Good luck!