Is it easier to get into CMU for CS as an athlete? DS is a sophomore and plays soccer at a pretty competitive level. His grades are good but CS acceptance at CMU is very low, anyone been through the process that can share any info?
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I do not know the specific answer to your question, but I would think it couldn’t hurt and could possibly help.
As I understand it generally, at the selective D3 schools, a coach’s preference for anapplicant will give that applicant an edge over an equally positioned applicant. At some schools, a coach might have a few reserved spots for the coach’s most desired (and academically qualified) players, but I don’t know if that extends to spots within particular majors.
If your son likes CMU and would like to play there, he should be sure to reach out to the coach early and often and sign up for CMU’s ID camp, if he hasn’t already. Best wishes!
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I think of CMU as falling in the middle of the continuum, with MIT and Chicago on one end and the NESCACs on the other. The recruit should be on par academically with other admitted students. An example: a CMU coach told me that recruits should not avoid taking calculus, suggesting that calculus was essentially an admission requirement. I do know one athlete that was supported, but did not get in. With all that noted, it will be somewhat “easier” for a recruit - but remember how much work it is to be a recruit, so “easier,” who knows?
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This is exactly right. I know someone this summer that did just that. Emailed the coach regularly in the Spring possibly even earlier, attended a summer ID and was offered a spot shortly after. Im assuming they did some sort of pre-read but the coach definitely had a say.
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If you’re applying to a university like CMU which is made up of schools that you apply to separately, does athletic recruiting help you get into the specific school you want?
Can the coach get you into Drama, or CS (the two programs I know of where CMU has dramatically lower acceptance rates) or just into the university as a whole?
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My observation has been that it might provide a small benefit for a player at a high level - e.g. high school varsity starter. But don’t expect much - especially in CS - as sports aren’t a big thing at CMU.
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what kind of stats
How long after the visit were they offered a spot? Any more details on the process? How do you gauge the level of interest.
Different sport but the coach said he had no pull on CS and suggested engineering.
He also said “don’t even bother without an 800 in math.” This was not a one to one conversation and I am sure there was some hyperbole there but SAT ranges for CS indicate there is some amount of truth to the statement.
FWIW son was WL but we did not pursue.
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What was the timeline of recruiting events? I.e preread conversation, assessing talent etc
Mostly end of junior year, picking up in the summer/through the fall. Most D3 pre reads will happen in the summer. Time based sport so “assessing talent” is somewhat straight forward.
same as with other high academic d3s. personal communication picks up during junior year, coach attends showcases and sees athlete play sophomore/junior year. coach continues communication with player through phone calls, text messages and zoom calls. player sends updates with highlight film, academic updates, and schedule throughout sophomore and junior year. end of junior year coach has top group of recruits submit academic material submited for pre reads. results come back summer after junior year, coach explains the application process if results are positive and student is in top group. athlete verbally commits to admissions process and reviews finanicial information and submits admissions materials (coaches typically prefer ED). athletes tells other coaches they have verbally committed and applied to a school. those coaches move to annother athlete on their list to offer roster spot to. very busy june/july/august before senior year
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Not soccer but my D24 swimmer was recruited to CMU. Communication started in the Fall of Junior year, she was put on a list of prospective recruits and received periodic updates, I think at some point the coach sent out what was expected in terms of HS class schedule by each school. I know for engineering, he made it very clear that he cannot support anyone without at least Calc BC and AP Physics. Things really picked up around June before her Senior year, at that point, the list was narrowed down and coach asked for unofficial pre-read docs (transcripts, SAT scores) so he could review. From there, a group of select recruits were asked to submit docs for official pre-read (this included senior year class schedule, a short essay, resume, and coach included his own letter of support) and in early August before her senior year, my daughter received a likely letter, which was contingent upon an ED1 application. Please note that this was different from schools like JHU, where she also received an offer following a successful pre-read, but they asked her to submit an ED1 application first with the likely letter to follow. At CMU, the likely letter was issued following a successful pre-read and before her application.
For reference, my daughter’s academic stats were 4.0UW, 1570 SAT (800 math), admitted into college of engineering.
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This lines up with our experience but we did not pursue a likely letter. Communication continued throughput and swimmers came in all rounds though the available level of support may be different at that point.