<p>I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to whether athletics give any sort of bump in terms of the admission process. I have been contacted by the baseball coach and asked for a high school transcript, etc. and would love to go to the school and pursue the baseball dream while getting an excellent education. My stats are very average in terms of the school’s student body (31 ACT, 2100 SAT, 1460 CR+M). Before I bore with numbers however, I was just curious as to whether any sort of help in the admission process comes with coach contact and essentially recruitment.</p>
<p>I think it helps. In my daughter’s case, the coach contacted her and put her in touch with other athletes. She was encouraged to visit and meet with the team. As I said in another post, my daughter did not follow up because she wasn’t sure about Carleton, so I don’t know if it was helpful in her specific case. She was admitted with the same ACT score you have. However, if you are committed to your sport and the coach is interested in you, and you return that interest, it probably helps. It wasn’t spelled out the way it was at some Division III schools, at least not in this particular sport, but I think it may give your application a push if you are otherwise qualified. You can ask these questions when you speak with the coach. We found everything from “I have no influence” to “I can and will talk to admissions and support your application” at different DIII schools. I think if you express it the way you have here, you are likely to get a very honest expression of the impact athletics will have in your case.</p>
<p>Sports definitely help. My D did not have Carleton on her radar. A coach sent her a couple of letters encouraging her to contact the athletic department. She had a 30 ACT and solid, but not spectacular grades. She was accepted Early Decision. If you S knows Carleton is the school, definitely apply for early admission. With the ACT score you referenced, you have a good shot.</p>
<p>I don’t have direct experience at Carleton, but observing admissions at another highly ranked LAC (I’m an alumni interviewer at my alma mater), I think athletics can be a big help. It depends a lot on how much the coach will pull for you, which in turn depends on the impact he or she thinks you will make on the team. If the coach thinks you’ll be a starting left handed pitcher, and the current top lefty is graduating, the coach may really go to bat (sorry for the pun) for you, especially if your academic stats are average or better. From what I’ve seen being an athletic recruit at a DIII LAC won’t get you in if you aren’t academically qualified, but if you are (and your test scores indicate you probably are), then being an athletic recruit can turn a 20% chance of admission to an 80% chance. Most coaches I’m familiar with at DIII schools are pretty honest with applicants, but you do have to listen carefully to what they say.</p>
<p>There was a really good series of articles in the New York Times a couple of years ago following the coachs and applicants at Haverford during admisions season. It may be behind a paywall, but here’s the link:</p>
<p>[The</a> New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete’s Edge](<a href=“The New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete's Edge”>The New York Times > Sports > A Series: The Athlete's Edge)</p>
<p>@dadx3
Funny that you use that analogy because I actually am a left-handed pitcher and would anticipate being a starter at some point in my time there. I appreciate the input and will inquire with the coach either before or during the visit I end up scheduling at the school. I feel as though I would like to get a better feel before committing to any sort of early decision. Would it be excessive to contact the coach multiple times regarding the admission process before he shows more interest than simply asking me to fill out a questionnaire and send a high school transcript?</p>
<p>JMoney -
If you have the time it would be worth while to read the NYTimes series I linked to. I think it would be a great idea to visit Carleton and talk to the coach in person and get a chance to meet the folks on the team. You’ll want to feel comfortable about both the sports situation and the academic situation before deciding to apply early to any school. I think most coaches would be happy to give you general information about the admission process right now, but I’d recommend visiting in the fall when kids are on campus and classes are running.</p>
<p>It depends on your commitment to the school, and how desirable you are as a recruit, I think. I was a recruited athlete, but I wasn’t sure whether or not Carleton was my first choice school, so I dind’t commit to ED. The policy for my sport was that the coach could probably help ED athletes, but for RD I was on my own. Granted, I think it would be different if I had been all-American or anything like that, but my recruiting experience was pretty ow-key. However, if you’re willing to commit ED it can definitely help.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s different for my sport (cross country) but for what it’s worth, I was also a “recruited” athlete - I put quotes because at preseason this year, our coach explained to us she has no say in the admissions process.
They can ask her, hey this person ran a 17:30 5k, is that good? (yes.) And she can tell them the person is really good at running. But in the end she has no “slots” reserved she can fill like at other colleges, it’s not a special key to getting in; it’s looked on as just another extracurricular, albeit one that you might be really good at and therefore has the same effect in admissions as any other EC someone is really good at. </p>
<p>That’s why she tells us the first day of preseason - so we all know each one of us is at Carleton because we are capable of handling the academics and deserve to be there.</p>
<p>For RD I had no help and I was heavily recruited.</p>