<p>My D just came back from a Junior Day at a HYP school and in her private sit-down with the coach she was told that they wanted her to fill in the application on paper and send it to them by July 1 and that they had a great contact/relationship with the Ad Com and would walk the application in for the "pre-read’ and then she would be invited back in September for the OV.</p>
<p>My question–is the walking the application in when the “chit” is used-- obviously the coach is saying to admissions we are interested in her–and are looking for the “green light.” Do they do that for many more than they are willing to support through admissions? Obviously nothing is for certain until the LL is in her hand, but she came away excited–whereas when she told me I was uncertain.</p>
<p>They made it very clear to her their expectations for a “recruited athlete” in terms of commitment of time–which she said that she was enthusiastic in response-- so they must be seeing her as a possible recruit-- but again-- I have no way of reading this (btw, new coach so no track record in terms of prior athletes to speak with…)</p>
<p>In general the coach will take the recruit’s scores and transcripts to the adcom to get the green light for an official visit. Your instincts are correct that this early pre-read does not necessarily mean a LL is forthcoming. It varies from sport to sport and school to school, but typically a coach will bring in more recruits for OVs than he has spots.</p>
<p>After the OVs are complete, the coach will submit his list to admissions. That is the time the “chit” is called in. And of course, nothing is solid until the LL is in hand. It sounds like your daughter is on the threshold of an exciting journey. Keep us updated as there are many here (myself included) who love to relive the experience vicariously and offer any advice to help smooth the ride.</p>
<p>Thanks, I will. The funny thing is that another Ivy-- not HYP said to her–and this time I was present–“if you want us, we want you.” She tried to say things like a yes, without saying it actually. She likes the other school but loves the HYP school–that is why she asked me what I thought and I have come to you all for your wisdom. If HYP is real, she’ll jump at it, but she doesn’t want to screw the pooch with the other school if one is a sure thing and the other isn’t.</p>
<p>But you’re right–it is scary and exciting for her-- and for her folks. </p>
<p>Thanks for being there and being willing to offer your insights.</p>
<p>She won’t have her ACT scores for another couple of weeks-- and now that you remind me it was her transcript and her “high school profile” as well that they wanted not the full application. But they said July 1. Which since she won’t have the year’s transcript until the middle of June makes sense. </p>
<p>But her school is well regarded and in her questionnaire she gave them her GPA at that time.</p>
<p>She’ll probably hear a lot of phrases like ‘if you want us, we want you’ and ‘we think you’d be a great fit here’ - they sound nice, but in reality they don’t mean much except that the coach would like to continue the recruiting process. Don’t close any doors at this stage of the game. Ivy recruiting can be a fairly long, drawn out process that often culminates in a frantic game of musical chairs in the month of October.</p>
<p>It depends on the sport (and the coach), but we were told to send in the application as soon as it comes out (in August, I believe) and ask teachers to be ready to send in letters of recommendations earlier, too. If I remember correctly, they can start reviewing applications early September. LL can be sent out October 1 with about 5-7 days turnaround.
I’d also say that if a coach says if you want us, we want you, that’s a very strong endorsement, which they don’t give to all their recruits. Also, if, say, Yale is her absolute top choice, schedule the OV there as the first visit.</p>
<p>In the sport I’m familiar with, Yale scheduled three weekends for OV, for which they tried to schedule the athletes in order of how much they wanted them. So, if you were invited to the last weekend, coaches were less interested in the recruit. Also keep in mind, not only do coaches want the best athletes for their team, they also want to make sure that their competitors don’t get them :)</p>
<p>She was told by the HYP team that she would be invited to which ever of the two OV weekends she could make in September (I assume that is after they get the “green light” from admissions…).</p>