@anon145 You are correct that the AI is not differential calculus. You are incorrect as to how it works. The. AI is a tool designed to ensure that the aggregate academic stats of recruited likely letter eligible athletes in a given cycle are within one standard deviation of the academic stats of the four preceding entering classes. This is why the overall AI target is not known until the school has assembled its entering class for the preceding year, which happens in the late spring and is really the kick off event to the Ivy recruiting cycle. At that point, the AD knows what his or her AI target is, and except for football, men’s hockey and basketball, the AD can provide specific numbers to each individual coach. The AI number for recruited athletes is not averaged over four years, it is a single cycle number. What is more, removing class rank from the AI calculation has nothing to do with changes in the AI number. The score is derived from a formula based on GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and if required for admission, SAT2 scores. All the removal of class rank did was place relatively more emphasis on standardized test scores.
And since this is where this discussion always ends up, of course a coach can offer a true difference maker early, and as long as that kid’s ultimate stats are not so low that admissions can still stomach him or her, the coach can make up for that one recruit by taking other, higher stat recruits. No one to my knowledge has ever disputed that. It is called dumb belling and is why there are different AI rules in the sports where the practice was most prevalent. The dispute comes from the idea that classes are completed before testing is done and the AI score is known. That is just very hard to believe once you understand the process. Indeed, if you think about it for a minute, the prepwell academy post you quote actually supports that. The coach can hold on to a kid with relatively middling stats, but he or she needs to adjust their remaining recruiting class. There is simply no way they can do that until they know the actual AI number they are required to hit and the stats from the recruits they plan on supporting.
As far as @karmakid’s post, I have no idea what position the recruit is in. I can say that financial aid matching is available from every Ivy based on demonstrated recruiting interest. One great sign of such interest is receiving an offer. Based on my own experience and those of others I personally know, discussions of how the matching process worked happened way before the stage when committable offers were generated.