Do you think submitting for 8-10 prereads is enough or should my D do more? She has more requests (combo of D1 and D3) but feels like she has done enough and has a few schools in the mix where she would be happy. Hard to know how many she will pass and how many will offer official visits so maybe she should do more. Any thoughts?
Is there a reason you feel she will not pass/are her stats much bellow what is published for the schools? Most coaches have a good pulse on what it takes to pass a pre-read and don’t waste everyones time when they won’t. Most pre-reads are passed.
D3s don’t always have OVs, but I think she is moving-on with enough schools. You said she “has a few schools in the mix where she would be happy.” Any schools she wouldn’t be happy at are a waste of time IMO. She should only be considering schools where she would be happy, even (and most importantly) without the sport.
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We do not have any idea what she needs to pass. Pretty confident on the D1s but I’ve heard so many different things about D3 that she wasn’t sure. Are you saying that the coaches would have said to her: It doesn’t look like you will pass a reread, so let’s part ways? None of them said anything after she submitted the materials except - thank you or I will be in touch.
You can start by looking at each school’s standardized testing and GPA ranges. If she’s way below the 25%, she may not pass the pre-read. If she’s in 25-75% range, she’ll probably pass the pre-read. If she’s above 75%, she’ll almost certainly pass. Please note that the test ranges are often skewed by test optional policies. This is where I would start.
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I’m not sure about this, at test optional schools. Plenty of coaches tell potential recruits what test score they need, yet plenty of recruited athletes apply without test scores…based on the direction of admissions and/or coach (but admissions tells the coach the deal.) Grades and rigor trump test scores in pre-reads.
She should do pre-reads at any school she is interested in. If she’s not interested in the school (for whatever reason), she should not pursue recruiting there.
Yes, coaches may say that. I agree with tonygrace that most athletes pass pre-reads.
Not all schools, especially D3s will have OVs. She does need to be asking coaches what their process is, what the timing of the process is, and where she stands on the recruiting list.
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That’s why I mentioned that this is a STARTING point. We have no idea what schools are being considered.
Loosely speaking, yes. My kid was asked for transcript and schedule way before pre-reads, on the first call. They asked for it all again when it was time with pre-reads but I imagine if an athlete doesn’t have the grades or rigor to begin with the conversation quickly fizzles.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the pre-read will not yield any news… They may advise you to go TO, or tell you ok but test score needs to X, or needs to add more rigor for Sr year, etc.
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I think what @Momofthree24 is getting at is that pre-reads are inherently objective. It’s not about ECs, leadership, character… If your student is reasonably competitive for the school’s published stats, they will almost certainly pass the pre-read. If it’s an academic reach (not a reach because of low acceptance rate), then its more of a stretch but experienced coaches usually have a good idea of what it takes to pass.
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Agreed, but many recruits can pass the pre-read and/or be admitted with no test score (obviously at test optional schools.)
For TO schools, we don’t even know what the range of test score acceptability is for recruits using publicly available info, this is something to ask the coach. Some coaches submit all test scores for pre-reads while others can make the decision to not even submit based on their guidelines from admissions…there is lots of variability by coach and by school.
Sure. But this simply means that looking at the scores doesn’t disqualify them if they don’t have them. Published stats still give some idea and good amount of confidence in terms of how materials will be read.
OP didn’t make it sound like they were completely out of range, just that they didn’t know what to expect at a competitive school. Maybe for conversation sake they could add more detail.
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It depends on the situation but I’d probably keep the ball rolling with prereads at any schools where she still has interest. Unless she’s certain of support at a good fit already.
I don’t know what is typical but I’d say the number probably goes up the less certain a recruit is about where they fit. A recruit on the bubble for D1 might do 4-5 D1 prereads that are uncertain to yield a visit, let alone an offer. Then there might be another 6-8+ D3.
Whereas a solid D1/Ivy recruit might only do a few because they are only looking at a few Ivies in addition to schools that don’t do prereads.
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I read to fast and didn’t catch that they were asking about following through with more schools. I agree with you, unless they cannot see themselves somewhere for whatever reason, keep things rolling until an offer was at hand.
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This was our experience last summer. My daughter had a pre-read for several schools last year. At a NESCAC, she passed. At a D1 (not Power 5), they told her that she passed as well but when applying she would need to go TO because she didn’t have a 34. (She had a 32.)She had great grades and rigor, but the ACT was a little lower than what the school typically looked for - and it all still worked out fine!
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She has a 3.73 unweighted GPA (has rigor) and a 32 ACT. She is a very high recruit for D3 - NESCAC and UAA and on the bubble for lower level D1 Ivy and mid for Patriot League. Does this detail help?
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I don’t think she will have a problem with a preread per se, but my guess is she will not be an A band recruit at a Amherst/Williams and the coaches only get a couple of B band slots. If she is their top recruit it probably wont matter.
A “bubble” Ivy runner may need higher stats to get a LL and help with overall AI. I have heard high 1400s as a minimum for consideration. Has the coach given her a target number?
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My NESCAC recruited athlete passed pre-reads at NESCACs with 32 ACT (was told by Tufts she had to have at least 32, and if she couldn’t get to 32 for Hamilton, they said they’d submit her TO, but she did get a 32). She was a top athletic recruit as well, good rigor, challenging schedule, well-ranked public high school. She also passed pre-reads at several other high academic schools. JHU offered her a roster spot if she committed to getting a 34 on ACT eventually. Said she just had to agree that she’d keep taking it until getting the 34 and it could take right up until admission to get it. She liked the coaches, but not the school, so had no interest in agreeing to do that and declined. Patriot League school (thankfully, she didn’t care for this school either) offered her a roster spot if she passed pre-read, BUT pre-read was contingent on not needing financial aid- it was a needs aware school and part of the pre-read process, so she had to agree to no aid as part of process. We were very transparent about needing aid. So, full pay/need for aid, can possibly come into play as part of it as well.
Many D3s (and some D1s) don’t do OV, so wouldn’t necessarily plan on those.
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Do you mean based on skill? If patriot league schools are in the mix for example, don’t make the assumption that the skill level is lower in the D3 schools, especially the NESCAC schools.
I don’t think she will have a problem passing pre-reads. It does sound like she should be asking more of the coaches about the things we’ve mentioned above…the process and it’s timing, as well as where she stands. This process is hard enough without knowing that info, which is also why she should do pre-reads at any school that has offered one and that she likes.
I agree with Crosylane about the advantage of being full pay. If you are applying for financial aid, do ask for a financial aid pre-read before verbally committing.
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I think the # of pre-reads depends on the schools that your D is targeting that are of interest and would be a good fit, and where she fits on the coaches recruiting board or list, which is typically a combination of both athletics, and academics.
Some kids may only need very few pre-reads if they are at or near the top of the recruiting list academically & athletically.
IMO, if a school is not on your short list, I would not ask for a pre-read.
Good luck!
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That was certainly a consideration and factor with us as well.
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Thank you. She’s been told she is one of the top 2 at a couple of the D3s. The D1s haven’t offered any info as to where she stands and she hasn’t asked (the D3s told her without her asking).
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