@BKSquared, the A Band reference is to illustrate the purpose of a tip. What constitutes A band stats varies depending on the school. An A band at Williams is going to be different from an A Band at Conn College. So, I do agree that there are no absolutes in NESCAC recruiting.
The purpose of a tip is to support an athlete with admissions who has the academic chops to get in without athletic support, whether that recruit falls squarely within the A band or is on the edge of the B band. The purpose of a slot is to support an athlete who in all likelihood would not be admitted without athletic support – a recruit below the A Band. Tips can be equally powerful in the final analysis as slots, I agree. I have had discussions with a NESCAC coach, in which I was told me that they were guided by admissions not to use the slot on the no. 1 recruit because a tip would do it. The slot was used on a less, but still highly, desirable recruit who had lower stats. As the story was told to me, Admissions did not tell the coach, “don’t do this.” Rather Admissions said, “do you really want to do this? Your no. 1 player will get in without using the slot.”
Where tips do not have the same effect as slots is at the margins. If you are recruit no. 7 on a list of 7 with a tip, and the coach gets 6 recruits, a tip will have less impact than a slot