My kid just got positive feedback for a pre read to a D3 Nescac LAC
The coach reported being excited to share that they got positive feedback” on the pre-read and that my kid is “in our top 10”.
The first part is very encouraging, right? What do you make of the “top 10” part? The coach had mentioned earlier that there were likely 5 spots open for getting support.
It could mean that an offer depends on who accepts. It could also mean the coach is not ready for offers. Our fall NESCAC OVs had 2x more athletes than offers and offers were not made until then.
It would be appropriate to respond to the coach thanking for the update, expressing excitement for the program and asking what’s next.
If there is an exploding offer at another school you can generally be upfront with the coach and ask where you are on his list.
So helpful thanks. My D is very good candidate academically including 35 ACT but the school extremely competitive. She is likely to get offer from another good but bigger and less academically exclusive school… but she really has heart set on the smaller one. So hard to know how much she can ask the coach.
When does an “offer” happen and is this just saying, if you apply ED I will put my support behind u?”
She can ask the coach direct questions. At this point for a NESCAC (on or after 7/1 before senior year), an offer can happen at any time, and has already happened for some students. If they told your daughter she is top 10, likely it means 6-10, meaning if not all top 5 spots accept, your child may receive an offer. Lots of factors impacting that, of course. Has your child point blank asked the coach when they can expect to hear either way? My daughter was top 10 at one school, (not 1-5) and coach of that school had told her she would have all offers out by 7/15. Her top choice (another NESCAC) told her ahead of time she was top recruit and if she passed pre-read, she’d be called with offer on 7/1. That is just her experience. Also, it’s not just the high academics it sounds like your child has, but where your kid is athletically on coach’s list and how much of an impact player they can potentially be.
Typically, an offer is coach saying we can offer you a roster spot if you apply ED. Then it is necessary to ask follow up questions before committing.
I agree on the number of athletes on visits vs the number of offers that are going to be made. My daughter went on a visit last year where none of the recruits ended up accepting offers from that particular school and went on another where she and 3 others from her visit committed.
If the school is your daughter’s clear #1 choice, she could/should let the coach know. Coaches want players who really want to be at their school.
My son went through recruiting during 2020/covid, but I think his experience is applicable. He had an exploding offer (an offer that expired after a week), so he asked his first choice school if they could let him know before then. He also said “You are my first choice. If you make me an offer, I will accept on the spot”
Did that work? Did his first choice school make an offer?
Yes, and he accepted on the spot.
It depends on the sport and the division level. For d3 men’s soccer offers start spring of junior year, and many/most happen in July and August before senior year. Other sports can have later timelines.
An offer is when you want to hear 2 things: 1. You have a spot on the team and 2. I will support your application with Admissions. " We’d love to have you on the team" is not an offer. And yes, the athlete is expected to apply ED.
My kids dream school is Williams, which makes this tough, because it is prob the top school academically in the d3 schools in the sport…
Your kid either clears the academic bar or not. That’s what you’ll know from the pre-read. If they do, the real question is where they are on the coach’s list of recruits.
And fwiw, there are going to be kids who -gasp- actually don’t have Williams as their first choice for any number of reasons, so there is always a chance that a spot will become available even if it’s not right now.
Good luck to your kid.
My son turned down Williams. It happens.
Yeah I was thinking some kids may not be into the tiny school. And there are many other similarly good schools for sure. I guess for my kid it’s just such an ideal campus and environment and academics. Passed the pre read just unlikely in top 5 of the group who did.
Sending good vibes to your family!
And it’s possible that some of the kids in the top 5 are also being recruited by high academic D1 schools(Ivy League, etc). It really is musical chairs at this point. It is probably the most stressful part of the process so hang tough and try to support your kid through the bumps in the road. Hopefully, It will all work out in the end.
Interesting. Wouldn’t someone who was being recruited by D1 have already been committed by now?
Depends on the sport. Some Ivy sports have official visits in the early fall and some don’t offer until those are completed, sometimes at the end of the visit in person. ED/REA deadlines are Nov 1 so it all takes place between now and then.
In addition, it greatly depends on the strength of the program. D1 doesn’t necessarily mean better and there are plenty of programs that recruit well into Senior year, including the spring. These are not the programs usually discussed in these forums, but plenty are about. Generally, each program, regardless of division, is waiting to see who falls from the level above. Top D3s (also because they tend to be strong academic schools) have their eyes on kids that target but don’t quite make the Ivy cut, lower mid-majors in turn, have their eyes on the kids that don’t get picked up from those stronger D3 programs. There are nuances to this and other factors like financials that play in, of course, but its all a big domino lineup.
Some but not all. In many sports the Ivy League and Patriot League have much more in common with the NESCAC and UAA than the Academically strong Power 5 schools. So while they may commit high impact players when they can the rosters often aren’t filled until later.