I’m a junior girl in HS and my times are 9:57 3k (June) and 5:01 mile (March).
I have contacted 3 Ivies and 4 D3s about recruiting.
All D3s are very interested, but at this point I’m only fully entertaining UChicago, because I know I don’t want to attend the others.
Dartmouth and Brown are interested. UPenn hasn’t answered yet, but it’s been less than a week.
The third is Princeton, who tells me that if I get in academically, I am strong enough to be on their team. I don’t know if this entails a letter from the coach that will help me (how much?) in admissions.
What do my chances at getting into Princeton look like?
1510 SAT (will take again)
95 GPA
Very rigorous course schedule
Double parent legacy + sibling legacy
Parents make significant donations
Letter of support from the coach?
And then I basically have no good extracurriculars at all because I spent my high school years dedicating so much time to sports:
I have had a consistent summer job for 4 years as of this summer, I did really well in this National history competition, I founded and ran a kid running club that met once a week, and I have created and published crosswords.
I think I would be an OKAY applicant (not good). But would the legacy, donations, and coach support (?) drag me in?
Do I have enough of a shot to pursue Princeton academically then a spot on the team if admitted? Or should I go with guaranteed, full-recruiting at another school I know I have?
What are your intellectual interests and academic goals besides sports? Start there.
Is the “guaranteed recruit” school a place you’d want to be if you were injured and couldn’t compete for a semester? Is the overall vibe and culture at Princeton something that appeals to you- presumably as a legacy you know something about the place? It’s fantastic if it’s a fit for you- it could be less fantastic if it’s not a fit.
Surely there are other criteria and considerations at play besides the athletic piece, right? Do you see yourself WANTING to compete for four more years or do you want to pivot to explore other things- political, musical, artistic, volunteer, etc?
Yes, I really want to compete. Being on a college team, and especially a really strong one like Princeton, would be so much fun. I love my sport and know I have tons more to improve.
My brother got into Princeton then his second year tried out for the lacrosse team, just barely made it, and he loves it.
I have visited Princeton many times because my family’s connections there so it’s been the first school I’ve known and it does feel like a fit.
I have no academic interests. I’m very much undecided.
Our similar experience is with a different sport but our impression is that soft support is not a thing at Princeton. In fact the coach felt it could occasionally have the opposite effect.
One thing that you need to be clear about is that being strong enough to be on the team does not mean strong enough to compete a lot. Is this something you are ok with? This does not mean it is not a terrific experience, but not everyone is happy with that. However, you might have seen this first hand. If your brother walked on, I’m guessing he probably doesn’t get a tremendous amount of game time.
Yes you have “a shot,” but there is no guarantee. My son choose this path. We (including his college counselor) believed he was a competitive applicant in his own right. He had a solid list of colleges to apply to, that included both academic and athletic safeties (where the coach was likely to help move the scale in RD) and he had a number of schools he would be perfectly happy to attend, with no clear ranking. If you have a definite number 2 the calculation may be different. But for him, in the end, he had to not wonder “what if.”
If you have a solid/long term commitment to the activities these are perfectly fine.
My guess is that they don’t like the optics. There is enough scrutiny on varsity athletes and legacy acceptance as it is. Again, this was the coach’s impression, not fact. Despite public perception I don’t really see Princeton fudging the lines for applicants who “aren’t quite there.” Varsity recruiting is its own animal and they stick to the number of likely letters they have stablished (a number that , from what I understand, is set to go down in the next cycle), but everyone else has to have the chops, even, maybe especially, the legacy kids.
So you’ve just started to reach out to Ivy schools? You mentioned it’s only been a week since you contacted Penn. If so, you’re a little behind schedule at these schools. Recruits are now being asked for pre-read info and starting to schedule fall visits. Have you gotten to this point yet?
So what would be the plan if you don’t get in to Princeton? With those numbers, you could still be recruited at some schools, but I am assuming you are looking for high academic schools. Which I guess is why you’re asking, correct?
If you were my kid, I’d advise to take the sure thing. Good luck with your decision.
The good news for OP is that track and field recruits relatively late at many schools (because coaches want to see junior year times, which is when many athletes make good progress.)
Yes, I’m late because I only got fast enough times to reach out to Ivies very recently. I improved 45 whole seconds in the 2 mile from the indoor season. I think I was too slow to reach out earlier but you’re right that now the schools already have their top recruits in line. Is it likely that UPenn is just done with it already?
Do I have to pick one or the other? In other words, do I have to tell the coaches actually recruiting me “no” if I decide to ED academic Princeton? Or can both go on at once? The process confuses me.
So the plan if I don’t get in depends- would I still be able to be recruited at that time?
No. The coaches recruiting you will expect an ED application, and can only do one of those. In addition, they will not go through the motions of supporting your application and getting your likely letter going until you accept their offer. It is ok to go through the process until you have an offer but once you get one, you have to decide to either accept it, or thank them and let them know you have decided to go in another direction. There is a way to do this while maintaining the relationship. While most will not (either because they don’t want to or simply are unable to in RD) offer support down the line, if they recruited you they will likely still want you are a walk on should you end up applying and getting in RD. Are you communicating with more D3 coaches? If you like Princeton, there are likely several D3 schools that you would really like and they would probably love to have you on their team.
How would you feel about not being able to run in college?
If one is risk averse, they take the sure thing.
But if you’ll regret not applying to Princeton - but know it’s just a school - but if you would rather lose the running knowing Princeton was more important, than gamble on yourself.
I get this, but I also don’t think its fair to simply dismiss someones wish to take their shot at a school that is very clearly part of their families “culture.”
No one bats an eye at a kid who wants to go UMich or ND because they grew up going to football games with their dad and grandad… If you did the work you earned the right to take that shot. As long as you don’t think being accepted is your “due” its ok. For many it will be a lot better than spending their entire lives wondering “what if I had tried?”
That is the decision most kids have to make – to choose the school they want and walk away form the sport or follow the sport at not their top choice school. This is not the case here. Its a lot harder to walk away from your “dream school” (for lack of a better term) when you know that IF you get in, you don’t have to walk away from your sport.
I don’t know where you are located and what type of school you go to, but I think there is a very high chance you would be/will be deferred. You need to think about that and prepare for it. What is your move then?