The NESCACs have specific recruiting guidelines and what you’ve outlined in your post is misleading and simply isn’t common. And yes, for the NESCACs, in “exchange” for a roster spot, an athlete typically has to apply ED. The coach does in fact also have something to lose; they can’t throw away one of their coveted spots on an athlete who is not serious about committing to their school/program. It’s on athletes and their parents to have honest conversations about whether the coach fully supports them, whether they feel they’ll pass the pre-read, and whether, if they pass the pre-read, the coach has seen anyone else with similar stats not be admitted. You don’t “demand transparency”. If your athlete is in serious conversations with a NESCAC coach, has submitted for the pre-read, passes the pre-read, and is offered a supported spot, then IMO, that’s the point where a parent also joins the conversation to make sure they also hear answers to the above questions. At that point, assuming the parent/athlete hears what they need to, it is HIGHLY unlikely to not end positively for that student.
This is unlikely to happen. Also, please name the schools that explicitly state athletics have no role in admissions.
If we are talking NESCAC, the paradox is that it is among the least transparent (no likely letter, for example) and yet it probably has the highest academic and recruitment integrity of any athletic Conference.
That having been said, some coaches are better than others when it comes to communications and the ability to back their verbal promises and assurances. Would highly encourage OP to speak extensively to other families who have gone through the process with the coaches at your target schools. Best not to let the coach be your sole source of information, even though they will be the main one.
Best of luck @dad246
It never hurts to get anything in writing, so I don’t disagree with you there, although it is doubtful that a writing would change anything. If you are saying that the college admissions office has all the power to decide whom they should admit, WL and reject, I agree but I don’t know why it would be any other way.
I don’t know why any college applicant would think that he or she has any recourse if they don’t get into a school. Sure, in limited circumstances, there have been instances of discrimination in admissions (e.g. Bakke, Shannon Faulkner at VMI), but short of that the process assumes disappointments and warns applicants to prepare for that possibility.
I disagree with your suggestion that some D3s explicitly state that “athletics do not play a role in admissions.” Honestly, I don’t know any that say that. Even Cal Tech has begun recruiting and takes athletics into account in some admission decisions. If the D3 has a team, it’s going to take athletics and coach support into account in the admission decision.
Fraud is always a case by case basis. People hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest. The one point that permeates the NESCACs and many other D3s is that the final admission decision rests with the AO and that nothing is guaranteed. In my own effort with multiple kids to “get things in writing,” the writings were always accompanied with the statement that “it was not a guarantee of admission.”
Question for you, and this might sound dumb, but the coach came out and said, Jane Smith, you’re one of our choice picks and we’re going to throw support behind you if you want to apply? I only ask because my kiddo has been in talks with a handful of NESAC schools and they’ve mentioned prereads and I’m sort of flummoxed as to the next step. So if my kiddo is interested in say, Williams as her top choice, and the coach has mentioned a preread, how do we know she’s not one of 20 kids and she might eventually be sifted out for someone with a slightly higher SAT score or faster PR? It all feels so dicey to me, knowing who to go with.
Coaches often get pre-reads completed for more potential recruits than they can support thru admission.
It is ok for your kid to do multiple pre-reads…so, at all the schools where there is mutual interest.
After pre-reads, coaches will make their decisions on who to offer their full support.
Thanks! So the coach then tells you they’ll offer full support if you decide to apply? And if that’s the case, you’re pretty much assured an admission spot?
Agree with @Mwfan1921 .
You don’t need to decide who to go with at this point.
Your recruit is almost certainly part of a larger group going through prereads, many of whom will not be offered coach support. This is more like a second interview, not a job offer.
I would take any opportunities available at this point if the school might be a fit.
The coaches will decide who they want to support once prereads are done. They might have already decided in some cases. In other cases they might want to include visits to campus or with the team as part of the process.
I would ask each coach about the process and timeline they use. They aren’t all the same.
Now, once your recruit is through prereads and the coach is offering support you can assess how valuable and predictable that support is. To take your Williams example: if a Williams coach told my kid the preread was fine and they have coach support if they apply ED, I’d be pretty confident.
You can search specific schools here to see if there’s a history of shenanigans.
There’s definitely a point at which you need to trust that the coach will do what she says. It’s pretty rare that they don’t, as word tends to get around.
Yes, if offered a slot/full coach support the quid will usually be an ED app. Admission will never be guaranteed (assuming we are talking D3 in this thread), but generally a fully supported coach slot means as close to assured admissions as one can get.
It’s ok to take some time to think about any offer, ask the coach if there’s a deadline. They know most athletes are talking with other coaches so I encourage your kid to have honest conversations with them. It’s ok to say your school is one of my top choices…no need to say it’s the top choice (unless it is.)
Yes
Thanks, this is helpful!
So would it’s probably good sign if they’ve already been invited for a visit, shadowed the team for the whole day? I’m just so worried about my kid getting hopes up. I’m trying to gauge expectations for all of us.
You might start a new thread if you want to get more eyes on this, lots of CC posters with good recruiting experience.
That all sounds positive. But you are right to keep hopes in check…recruiting is a long and stressful journey for most potential recruits, no way to sugar coat that.
It’s a great sign that they’re truly interested. But unfortunately it’s hard to predict how the chips will fall at this point.
You mention PRs so I’m assuming this is a timed sport. You can probably judge what a top recruit would look like, marginal recruit, etc. based on past years.
But sometimes all it takes is one Ivy caliber athlete wanting a small school experience to blow everything up.
I think the most comfort you can take is that if a recruit is getting attention of the type you describe, especially from multiple programs, the athletic fit is probably pretty good and probability is high that the recruit will find A spot, but maybe not THE spot she hopes for.
It’s stressful for sure. Best you can do is keep a level head and try to enjoy the experience as much as possible.
Those are definitely great signs! Your athlete should also be asking for phone calls with the NESCAC coaches, and asking them what the next steps are in the process. Assuming the coach says that the next step is the pre-read, then have your athlete start to gather materials, though they won’t have their transcript until the end of the school year.
At this point the athlete can also ask if the coach anticipates them passing the pre-read or if they see any issues (presuming the coach is already aware of grades, test scores, schedule, etc.). They can’t guarantee of course, but they do this every year, so likely they have an idea. As they get closer to submitting pre-read materials, your athlete can also ask if they pass the pre-read, when can they expect to hear from the coach. This may give your athlete additional info. where they fall on coach’s list. It may not, but this info. did give my daughter encouraging signs. For example, the coach of the NESCAC she ended up committing to responded to this question telling my daughter that if she passed the pre-read, she’d call her with an offer on 7/1. Obviously all coaches are not that direct, and some of that depends on sport, but the more your athlete can try and define/outline the process with the coach, the better. If the coach is extremely vague, I also think that is valuable info. If your athlete is asked to submit for several pre-reads, that’s great. An offer may not result from all of them, so continue casting a wide net until they commit. Once they commit, they need to let the other coaches know ASAP.
I will just add the different sports (usually the timed sports) can be on a slower commitment timeline with pre-reads still done over the summer - but offers coming in the mid-Fall. It is helpful for you to understand the process for your child’s specific sport, as it may help a bit when you hear about other kids in different sports having an offer in hand and your child is still waiting well into the Fall. I am sure it has been said here - but a positive pre-read is one step and one to be happy about - but that is not the last turn on the roller coater of recruiting 
Our pre-reads were followed by overnight visits in September if the school offered it - not all do, but that was the case with the two NESCACs in our mix. In one case there were 15 recruits, and the coach was planning on making 7 offers. In the other I don’t know the exact number but that sounds about right. Theme kids who did not receive offers but were in the OV, were told that they might get one depending on who accepted the offers given. IME once you have an offer and have to make a decision, it’s ok to disclose politely with a school you prefer and check where you fall with their group.
Did anyone ever have their athlete send over the school profile to the coaches prior to the pre-read?
Our son brought a copy of his transcript to his meetings with the coaches and while everything needs to go though the admissions office, showing the grades and course selections for senior year gave the coaches a good idea where he would stand in terms of the academic aspect of his application. (This was during COVID so no test scores…I can’t comment about about that part of the process)
And, I definitely agree with those above that if she is talking with multiple coaches and visiting campuses etc. then it looks as if she is in the mix for a spot and hopefully she will find THE spot she is hoping for.
We had at least one school school that requested it as part of the materials. Maybe a couple? And one that requested it during review. Kids from our HS regularly apply to the schools on our list, though.
Not uncommon - most likely, the AOs ask for it either for all athletes or for schools they don’t know as well. I wouldn’t read into it.