<p>While a verbal commitment has virtually no worth in a program where admissions rules the roost (e.g., IVY league), your player has decided to embark down that path. The reason it has no worth is that it is a one way street running from the player to the school; the school has made no commitment to the player (the coach may have made a good faith commitment, but admissions are the gatekeepers in the Ivies). So, while the player has effectively taken himself off the market the school has not reciprocated. A verbal commitment is worth the morals of the player who has given it some players make multiple verbal commitments during their recruiting years whoever whispers sweet things in their ear last wins! Most other players adhere to their word.</p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of verbals do indeed get admitted; however there are those who do not. </p>
<p>To minimize your risks, this is what you need to get done ASAP: get the coaches commitment to seek a likely letter for your player. If you get that, BEGIN WORKING ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS NOW! A school will not issue a likely letter unless it has a totally completed application (note that schools will give you a pre-read which will tell you unofficially if you are likely to be admitted. The pre-read is more of a guide post and does not mean anything to admissions.) </p>
<p>Upon receiving the coachs commitment to seek a LL get MOVING. The application for the LL is sent through an admissions process set up specifically for athletes meaning it is done calendar wise before ED and before RD apps are being considered. Every facet of the app both your part and your hss part needs to be completed BEFORE THE APP IS SENT THROUGH THE PROCESS. For the hs, that means getting the rec letters and transcripts in and some hss move with glacial speed this early in the year (because they are geared up for regular and ED deadlines). For your player it means writing good essays (not great, but good). [While this point has been debated here, IMHO, the essays should be considered really important and the final product should reflect that fact.] If your player is like mine, getting him to focus on the essay(s) in the middle of summer may require some cajoling.</p>
<p>You should aim to submit your completed application ON THE FIRST DAY the school accepts applications from athletes [ask the caoch when that occurs]. The LL process can take up to a month so you can see that the earlier the better because if there is a glitch (like not getting a LL), you can reboot the recruiting process and still have a good chance of finding a perfect school.</p>
<p>Also, get you financial docs submitted nothing worse than getting a LL only to find that the financial aid you believe is available to the middle class is not quite what you had imagined.</p>
<p>Now, if the coach will not support a LL, move on! There is no point in waiting until RD time to find out you are far down the primrose path with no backup plan.</p>