I get it, but it’s important for people to know it’s not a guarantee of admission nor will many coaches put something in writing about the nature of the verbal offer. One can ask, but if declined that doesn’t mean a student is less likely to be accepted.
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My D had multiple offers (NESCAC and other high D3s) and none were in writing. We only got on the phone with the coach/school (a NESCAC) that she ultimately committed to. It was her top choice and once she was given offer, we asked (and coach encouraged us) to get on phone with D and we asked/clarified the very specific questions noted above.
This is why you get on the phone, with your child, and the coach and specifically ask if they’re being offered a fully supported roster spot and have any other recruits with same support and similar stats not been accepted. Write down the specific questions and responses.
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I agree. But why not also just get the coach’s offer of support in writing? What if the coach leaves? Or any number of other things? If kid was denied at ED for some reason, I sure would want a paper trail.
We were surprised when we got something in writing - we were too naive to even ask and the coach initiated it. But it made us realize, this is the way it should be, and that purely verbal offers are somewhat archaic given the stakes involved.
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An offer in writing is no more binding than the verbal offer. That’s why you, as the parent and adult, ask the specific questions. If you trust the coach, and if you ask them if they’ve ever had recruits not get in ED with similar support/stats (and they say no), then odds are overwhelmingly in your child’s favor. Schools/coaches don’t want to get a bad reputation. They have something to lose as well. You can always ask, but again, having it in writing is not a binding agreement. At the end of the day, this involves some level of trust.
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It definitely involves a lot of trust. Still prefer something in writing.
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There is always risk in the process. New coaches do not have to honor previous verbal commitments, at any level. That paper trail will carry zero weight with admissions or a new coach.
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2 NESCAC and 4 other academic D3’s. All verbal but the message was unambiguous to the effect, “if you ED, based on past history and your academics, there is a 95% or greater chance of acceptance” except in the case of MIT and Caltech where it was 50/50.
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NESCAC has a lot of integrity, so the idea that it carries “zero weight” may be too extreme. I doubt a new NESCAC coach (hired between August and November) would void previous verbal or written offers to kids knowing that those recruited kids have stood down from recruiting and are waiting to apply ED. I have 100% seen this happen in other leagues, but not in NESCAC - but our experience in NESCAC is certainly less extensive than yours.
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I agree that in NESCAC the timeline is so tight between pre-read results and offers/commitments that I expect there is not typically change if a new coach comes in (I also have not seen that specifically at a NESCAC school.)
But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen, and I don’t really see that as an integrity issue…coaches want to own their recruiting. I also generally struggle to attribute integrity to colleges because admissions policies and processes tend to not favor students. A topic for another thread lol.
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I don’t think I saw any responses so I’m raising it again — has anyone received an offer for women’s tennis from NESCAC schools or aware of commitments that already occurred? My D is still in the dark so just wondering if there has been any movement. Thanks.
Doesn’t tennis have a site that lists commitments? I don’t know tennis, but would this site be helpful? Also, given the preread timeline, I would be surprised if offers haven’t already been extended, but as I say, I don’t know the sport.
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Still waiting for the first offer but there have been more pre reads from schools over the past month that I think my D25 will land somewhere she could be happy at. Not sure if nescac will happen but she should find out after the kids above her decide in the next week or two and if it doesn’t happen at a nescac then it’s not the end of the world either. Trying to be more zen about this whole insane process.
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A good and healthy perspective to maintain and model for your D.
Good luck.
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I wish I could be zen. The opaqueness is making me insane. Daughter passed for a highly selective school, then didn’t pass for a school ranked slightly lower. Right now a selective D1 hasn’t said she passed, but the coach asked us to send all our financials… so does that mean she probably passed, but they’re trying to see how much money they’d have to lay out? It’s maddening!
I dont think my son ever heard back directly from a pre-read. If coach is asking for financials, the academics are acceptable. A failed pre-read will stop the conversation cold. What it means beyond that will depend on how the school works admission slots, whether admissions are need blind, and if they give athletic scholarships.
The parents of non-athletes only see the greased skids for applications and an early decision. They dont see all of the work to reach out to coaches with subsequent rejections–often not even with a final rejection, just ghosting; the constant update emails; unofficial visits; official visits; and personally telling coaches they have developed a relationship with over the year “no.” It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress. I am sure my son put more effort into selecting a college than any of his non-athlete peers in high school. He grew up quite a bit through the process, too. Keep keeping zen, and pass the zen along to others who need it.
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If they’re need aware and not need blind, would her acceptance depend on whether we needed aid? The NPC wasn’t bad-- not great. I’d love it if they could offer more, but I suppose everyone wants that.
A number of coaches asked us if we were going to need FA, to which we said “no”. They then said, “good, it makes things easier.” While these were not need aware schools, I think another factor is the coach wanting to make sure their limited spots weren’t subject to the recruit backing away because of costs. If the school is need aware, the uncertainty is even greater for the coach because the AO makes the final call in many cases.
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The definition of need aware is that the acceptance can depend on whether you need aid or not. How that plays with athletic recruiting when you are getting some pull from the coach, and whether financial need aid can be stacked with merit money (athletic or academic) will be a school-by-school decision. I dont think its possible to generalize here.
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