Make sure you can afford the school, first. We used the NPC on the school’s site and then confirmed general cost with the financial aid office. Your child should ask questions such as:
-What type of support is coach offering- is it the the highest level of support they have available?
-Has the coach had any other recruits with similar grades/test scores/academic profile, with that same level of support not get in? The answer should be no.
-Any other specific questions that are important to your child or you, the parents (including asking for you as parents to join a call, if you feel strongly about hearing the specific answers)
-When the coach needs response by (likely quickly- respect that). The coach has something to lose here too.
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Adding to this good list:
If money is part of the decision, ask for a financial aid pre-read (you should run the school’s net price calculator if you haven’t already.)
He can ask if there are any teammates he can talk with (if he hasn’t already.) Similarly, I’m not sure there’s time for a visit, but that’s not a crazy idea. Highly likely any visit would be on your dime.
I wouldn’t bring up bands or soft support, unless coach goes down that path.
Your S should not hesitate to ask for clarification at any point if he doesn’t understand what the coach is saying. He should have a couple of days at least to make the decision. So, assuming he gets an offer, he can say I have to think about it and talk it over with my parents. If there’s a second call it is ok for parents to join that.
Good luck
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Good advice so far.
I’d reply to the coach asap with (if accurate):
I haven’t committed anywhere yet. Your school is my first choice and I’d apply ED if you’re willing to support my application. Perhaps we could discuss by phone? (Include phone # and availability).
You can follow up with more detailed questions by phone/email.
It’s possible this coach is broadcasting more widely than just one recruit, so I’d lead with the top lines and get into details when it seems more real.
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Thanks to everyone for their advice. So the coach said they’re not in a position to support anyone else in ED1 this year but maybe ‘later in the year’. Have NESCACs been known to support applicants in ED2 or RD? Is it fair to ask directly the outcome of his pre-read so we know whether to keep this school on the radar for later rounds as needed?
You can ask, but good pre-read doesn’t mean they would accept you without support. If the coach is asking, I think it is safe to assume its good enough. Do his stats give you pause? Pre-reads are a lot more straight forward than people think IMO.
ETA - yes, there is occasional support in ED2 and RD. I would not hang my hat on this possibility though. If he has another school he was planning on ED he should go ahead with that.
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I think asking about the results of the pre-read is quite fair. It shouldn’t be a secret.
Reading the tea leaves: coach tells son there is a decommit and asks about ED status, then says he cannot fully support ED.
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A supported recruit decided he was going to another school, so the coach had an open slot/tip. Since most ED deadlines are not until November, I suspect this was a recruit that had not submitted an app, and we are seeing the typical musical chairs.
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Coach then goes down his list and your son is still on it. The coach is trying to get a sense of who is still available.
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When the coach tells your son that he has no further supported spots for ED, it probably means someone higher on the list than your son got the temporarily available spot.
So, unless this school is otherwise your son’s first choice, I would approach his next step as if no support would be forthcoming. If he has a first choice ED school, do that. I’d still apply RD to this school with a note to the coach that your son is applying RD or could go ED2 if he got support if playing the sport and certainty of admissions at this school trumps his other RD choices and their uncertainty.
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It happens but there are usually specific circumstances such as:
An immediate impact athlete is waiting/trying for an Ivy with a level of support at the Ivy.
An ED recruit falls off either right before the ED1 date or withdraws prior to the ED1 result coming out.
I know of two NESCAC athletes supported in ED2 last year. Neither were offered ED1 and received post ED1 deadline support offers for ED2. Neither is an impact player so I am pretty sure that they were fallback offers when the original list did not pan out.
If there is no offer of support I would assume that the coach has filled the slot with someone higher on their list and that “later support” would be predicated on losing someone on the current supported list.
I know someone who had support in ED2. He was a very strong student and didn’t see very much playing time in his 1st 2 years, so guessing he may have been someone the school would have been interested in anyway, and the coach didn’t need to put much of his own capital into his ask of the admissions office. But perhaps a whisper in their ear.
I’m a little late to this thread but I hope this helps. My son went through the process last year: offers from 5 NESCAC, Vassar, Occidental, Colorado, MIT, and a three D1. If your son is receiving coach’s support and has passed the pre-read process with that school, it is on my understanding that admission was good-to-go. But needed both requirements: offer + pre-read. His offers from need-aware schools did not ask about financial aid. They said they would meet it. The only school he did not get an official offer from was Swarthmore - with a catch. He passed his pre-read but the coach had already given their supports away. Told him if he gets in on his own he would guarantee a spot on his team - no questions asked. I think in the interest of all parties, have your athlete have a direct conversation with the coach. If this is the case, the coach will be able to review the notes on the pre-read and know how strong his pre-read was in the eyes of admissions.
Also, my son’s school recruited 4 players, then one de-committed days before ED, then during RD, another player got in on his own. The RD athlete is playing member of the team.
Specific Questions:
Does my athlete have full coaches support through admissions?
How strong did his pre-read look in admissions?
What NESCAC level did his pre-read fall into? (A: so good, he would get in with or without support, B: good, support pushes his through, C: inadmissible - coaches will get a certain number of A & Bs - ask how many - and how many have they given out already)
Can you get support at any stage of the application process: ED1, ED2, RD? (In my experience, support only helps for DE1&2
Does my need for financial aid affect my application as a recruited athlete?
My son ended up at at a NESCAC school and loves it.
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Follow up from this summer. D25 was officially accepted in the past few days. She will be a NESCAC athlete.
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Congrats! What sport?
Cross country/track!
Fantastic! Now that you say so, maybe I knew this from up thread (or another thread?). Congrats again! -Parent of NESCAC freshman xc/track runner
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Very cool! I do post over on NESCAC Spoken Here. I regularly talk up the great XC/track kid from the same school as my daughter, freshman Malcolm Oakes of Williams.
I now officially have a NESCAC recruited and accepted daughter and couldn’t be more proud!
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Well, since supported ED1 slot wasn’t on offer, my son decided to ED1 elsewhere (not as recruited athlete).
That didn’t work out, so he checked back in with the coach about an ED2 slot (since he had previously mentioned that as a possibility) and was told they won’t be offering any supported ED2 slot but possibly for a transfer or RD ‘down the road but won’t know until later in the year’
Any thoughts/advice?
My thought is the coach is hedging and waiting to see if there is a strong athlete that may fall on his lap due to the changes happening with D1 roster.
There is nothing he can do. Like with ED1, in the absence of an offer he should apply to his favorite school baring he understands and is ok with whatever walk on (or not) situation. I would not hold my breath for support at this particular school as the coach is clearly not very interested, but if he submits an ED2 there or just regular decision, he should let the coach know and reiterate his enthusiasm for the school and the program.
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Were there other schools that recruited him that he liked? Maybe reach out to those schools. If not, put aside the recruit route and apply to schools RD that are academic/personal fits, making sure he has matches and safeties.
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Did he ask the coach if he would be welcomed as a walk on if accepted on his own via ED2 or RD? At the end of the day though, your son needs to pick the school he loves the best. There’s always club sports and intramurals.