<p>Well, thank you 10scholar, at least we are both on the same page and want to help those that have not been through this before. It can seem overwhelming for many families. And my other comment about the calls was in reference to your statement on this thread, not another, where your referenced in the spring that coaches were calling you back by then. Well, I was just trying to assure the OP that it is not too late for DIII schools. DIIIs may be able to call you back in the spring (I don’t remember), but DIs have a hard rule that they may not call you on their own until July 1st (the magic date LOL). Either way, the OP was asking about DIII schools, and the Claremont schools in particular. Since I did have a bit of information about that I hope I have helped him.</p>
<p>And for speedo - I don’t know anything at all about swimming. My DS plays a revenue sport and so I am sure that our experience was very different. Many kids were dealing not only with the competition of schools, what type of school, Division, etc. but some, were in discussions with pro teams. It was a giant juggling act. And yes, kids that did go the ED route, could end up going pro anyway and forget college completely.</p>
<p>In regard to the OP’s question about the Claremont Colleges. Our son went through this in a different sport two years ago. The coach of the Pomona-Pitzer team basically said anyone who’s willing to do the work and tryout when they get on campus gets a shot, but that he had little or no influence. A couple days after our son applied ED I at Pomona he received an email from the coach asking for his unofficial HS transcript plus an up to date transcript of his first semester so far. There are no likely letters or assurances of a spot on the PP teams, this could be different on the CMS teams. Our son sent in the Athletic Supplement with his application, and the extra request for the Semester I transcript suggests that the coach at least had him on his list. If nothing else, the coach’s input served to verify his sports involvement as a major EC, similar to sending a CD and completing a fine arts/music supplement and having the orchestra conductor say, “This kid could fill a spot.” Our son’s take on this was that his sport didn’t get him in. If anything, it gave his file an extra look.</p>
<p>Another datapoint for Pomona-Pitzer, again for a different sport. My son and I visited last week and talked to the coach. He stated that he had a say in admissions and asked my son to let him know when his application was in so that he could work with the Admissions dept. My son’s academic stats are on the very low end of the Pitzer range, so I’m guessing if he’s admitted he’ll have the coach to thank.</p>