<p>We met a recruited swimmer at Bowdoin and she and her father told us that the coach let her know that he was walking her application through admissions. Did the coach address this with you? Do figure out a politically correct way of ascertaining which “band” you are in, ie how strongly the coach will support you. If you are a minority there is a non-athletic recruitment initiative which can also help. That said, you should have lots of options if you don’t want to apply ED to Bowdoin. Before you commit to
ED, you might consider competitive larger schools like Hopkins which has DIII track and field or the Ivies.</p>