Recruiting at non-NESCAC LACs

Lemonlee
Mon, 05 Aug 2019 22:32:35 +0000

We went through the recruiting process a few years ago with our D, so are pretty familiar with how recruiting works at the NESCAC schools and other LACs with super low acceptance rates (coaches submitting application to admissions for an official pre-read, request to apply ED in exchange for coaches support).

It worked out well for her but it is now time for Round 2 with our S20. He, however, is looking at D3 schools/LACs with much higher acceptance rates like the ones in the Northwest (Lewis & Clark, UPS, Willamette, Whitman, etc.) and we were wondering if the process is any different at these schools.

Because the acceptance rates are so much higher, can the coaches pretty much tell whether a candidate will be admitted without going through a pre-read? Because coaches support might not be as critical in a school with a > 50% acceptance rate compared to one with a 10% acceptance rate, would ED be less of a requirement? Bypassing ED would allow us to compare aid offers which would be nice. In our D’s case, this wasn’t an issue since none of the schools she was interested in offered merit aid anyway.

Would appreciate feedback from anyone who had has specific experience going thru the recruiting process for these schools. TIA!