S25 had a D3 pre-read come back “maybe.” Admissions said they will need to see his semester grades to make a final decision. S was planning to apply ED1 to this school to get an extra edge if he got a good pre-read but knowing that admissions wants to wait to see semester grades that doesn’t make sense anymore, right? Decisions will be out before official semester grades are available. Just need someone to help me understand this.
If he has strong midterm grades even if unofficial the coach might be able to advocate.
In the current situation he is likely going to be deferred. Do you know if the coach is giving him full support?
Unless he is committing/EDing somewhere else to not take the risk he might as well ED there. Unless there is reason to believe they might reject him absent the grades. Again, the coach should be able to advise.
3 Likes
Does he have any other options and preread results from
other schools and programs of interest ?
1 Like
I assume he has coach support?
If not, I don’t like his chances of admission; however I expect the coach is supporting his application. But you also wrote your son was ED-ing to get an extra edge; it’s the coach support that = extra edge, not so much the ED, which is a byproduct of coach support.
Wouldn’t the coach be the best person to talk with? Do they have a sense of your son’s chances?
To me, the “maybe” on the preread means maybe your son is admitted if he has coach support, and also, maybe he isn’t. If he doesn’t have coach support then he’s unlikely to be admitted. Given this, is there another school your son also likes with a higher admission probability?
2 Likes
Son is a very strong athlete. He should have an immediate impact on pretty much any D3 team. He has open ended offers at three other schools, none of which are requiring him to apply ED.
The big issue here is that he has not visited the school yet but is convinced he wants to go there above all others. Lots of family have gone to this school, he has done a virtual tour and liked it. The college has an acceptance rate under 20% and S has a 3.4 gpa with big upward trend. He is taking a very rigorous schedule this semester and doing well. The coach is pressuring him to come out and visit asap but I am not keen on spending thousands of dollars at this point for a maybe.
I suppose I will ask S to clarify with the coach on what his admission tactic should be. Thanks everyone, your insight has been helpful.
1 Like
Have you considered the possibility that your reluctance to take a visit is leading to this “maybe”? The coach may be giving his full support to other athletes that have visited and spent time with future teammates. Fully supporting a recruit who hasn’t visited might not be his way of doing things.
4 Likes
No, the visit was in the works prior to the maybe from admissions.
I guess I’m confused. You didn’t take the visit, correct?
Many coaches won’t give their full support without a visit and spending time with potential teammates. Has your S met with teammates via zoom? If affordability is an issue your S could ask the coach about a zoom meeting. If you are full pay and just don’t want to fund a visit, I would not share that with the coach.
This sounds like you are reluctant to have your S do this. But, this is exactly what needs to happen. The coach is the only one who knows how your S should proceed/what the full set of options are, and then once the plan is in place your S will know what round he should apply in and his chances of admission.
3 Likes
Correct, there has been no visit yet. Coach had laid out the options for visits and we were looking at booking flights then told the pre read was likely but not definite.
ED applications are generally due Nov 1, which is only two weeks away. You don’t have concrete plans to visit though you have been asked to visit. Meanwhile, other recruits are visiting. Your son’s academic stats are good, but below a normal non-athlete standard at this school. You don’t think it’s possible if not probable that the coach will put his support with the kids that have visited?
1 Like
To reiterate @Momofthree24 's point about the visit, we have learned that with the more academically selective D3s, showing strong interest by visiting can be very important - not only from a standpoint of athletic recruiting, but also for increasing chances of admission with the AO.
Even if the school has a high admissions rate, a visit is important if the team is in the top 10, for example. At the school where my S25 was recruited, fit is very important - he met with the coaches and team members, watched a practice alongside the head coach, and toured the school. The coach also made it clear he wanted S25 to feel confident the school itself was an academic fit before the committed.
3 Likes
Not to mention, offer or not, I’d be hesitant to ED to a school before visiting. If ED was ever on the table, why was visiting not a priority?
8 Likes
This. It is to your son’s benefit to see the school before ED. It is expensive, but so is college. It raises a red flag to the school that you are reluctant to visit.
My son received favorable prereads before visiting. Once he was on campus, he was in.
If this is your son’s top choice, go ASAP.
2 Likes
“Likely” and “maybe” mean different things to me.
Has the coach said they will support the application, and is ED preferred for that?
I agree a discussion with the coach would be helpful and visits are always great. But leaving those aside, often a coach willing to support the application is a bit of a proxy for chance of admission (in cases where coaches only have a few slots, not many coaches will risk supporting an app that is a tossup if they can use that support on a likely admit).
2 Likes
My take:
- Have athlete tell coach the program at this point is his number 1
- Go visit school and have application completed for ED1
- If coach wants him, I bet he will be in
Good luck!
A bit more info — school only came on his radar recently so there really wasn’t time for a visit and he has not been interested in ED until now. The words used by coach were things like “likely” and “it’ll work out” but that admissions wants to see how he handles his classes this semester. My other son went to his college sight unseen and it worked out great, so I am not super concerned about him seeing it first as long as he’s on board with everything. He’s a pretty easy-going, happy-go-lucky kid.
I agree with the general theme here - visits are a way of demonstrating interest to the coach, who has to make choices - but I’m trying to think bigger picture here.
-
Yes, your son absolutely should ask if the coach still expects your son to apply ED, given that admissions is saying they need to wait to make a decision. That’s a fair question. “How many maybes have become yeses” is also a fair question.
-
If your son does not apply ED to this school, would he choose a different school to apply ED? You didn’t say so. If he wouldn’t, and if this is his first choice, I don’t see the harm in doing so: if he’s deferred based on admissions considerations, then you’re no longer committed to the decision, and he’s still shown the coach his interest. If he would choose a different school, then an answer to the question is both fair and time-sensitive.
2 Likes
Thanks everyone — he asked the questions, got the answers, and I think we have a plan. I will let yall know how it works out once we know!
8 Likes
now time to really hit it out of the park with solid essays - no matter where he decides to apply.