Parents with athletes admitted ED to D3 schools - did sports help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wondering how much sports really matter in college admissions.
We met with a coach recently who made it clear that ED was essential to getting his support. As an athlete, my child is easy to support. The school might be a little out of reach in terms of grades and test scores though (not crazy out of reach but he likely wouldn't get in on grades alone with a 3.75 UW and lots of APs).

Wondering if these coaches really "fight" for top athletes in D3? Coaches outside of D1 seem pretty casual about the team in general.

D1 is an option and maybe would get more coach support but haven't found one that is the right fit yet.

My DC was a recruited athlete at a number of D3 schools and has several friends who were also recruited athletes in high school. How much sports matters in admissions depends in part on the school. Wherever we visited, we were always told that ED was essential to getting a boost from the coach's recommendation. Applying RD supposedly doesn't give the student an advantage. Some schools give their coaches more decision-making power than others. One of DC's friends was a stand-out athlete and got into a very competitive D3 school with tons of financial aid, but their GPA and standardized scores were far below average for the school. The coach at this school was apparently given parameters for choosing athletes that didn't really conform to either the spirit or letter of NCAA rules, but he was given carte blanche as long as he stayed within those parameters. He wasn't supposed to talk about them, but he blabbed to the kid's father, who is a friend of ours, and blabbed to us. The coach could not go below a specified minimum for GPA and SAT/ACT scores (these were surprisingly low and well below average for this particular school), and he was allocated a set amount of money for "financial aid" to help entice the student (to get around the fact that D3 schools are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships). The kid got close to a free ride and was possibly the top athlete in their sport that the school had ever had. They eventually got overwhelmed with the academics and transferred. In most cases, however, the coach can earmark the applicant, and that will greatly boost the chances of acceptance, but admissions will make the final decision. In general, the applicant's athletic prowess and academic skills are inversely proportional in terms of gaining acceptance. That is, the stronger the athlete, the more leeway admissions will give you on GPA. SAT, etc., and the admissions department relies on the coach to evaluate athletic strength.

[Anonymous]

American family on a year abroad in Sydney. There are consultants here that are sleazy (crazy $$$ fees) who are mining the private school sports teams with promises of admission/scholarship to US schools. Aussie sports are the stuff of legend. Sport is like religion here, and things grow better in the sun.

Why do I mention this? Because the international pipeline is real. Just verifying previous posters. This is just one small country. If I were in the US and planning on an athletic admission, I would focus on sports not offered in Europe/UK or Australia/NZ. The competition is stiff. And they don’t care if their ED is denied. They have fantastic, affordable choices at home.

Maybe avoid swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, rugby. Focus on the football and lacrosse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is talking to some high academic D3s. Their teams could beat many of the D1s, and most of the athletes they’re recruiting also have D1 interest. My impression is that the coach wanting you can help you get through test optional. However, the coaches have been very specific about the number and type of APs she would need. She would also need nearly perfect grades.

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but if you're being told by a coach that your kids needs near perfect grades, then either your kids is a very low priority for the coach, or the college truly doesn't support the sport.
My kid is at a D3 top academic college and got in with the coach's support during ED, despite significantly below average (for this college) stats.

This is what I’ve seen in experiences however small my experiences are. I know a student who was way below Boston College’s usual stats but he was probably on his way to professional so they took him. He did go pro. Also I have a family member who went to Princeton as a nationally ranked Lacrosse player who was a B student. It’s weird they recruit Lacrosse players. that sport failed so badly in the professional league. Future football and basketball professionals will get passes over a failed class or some Cs. They have proven that they excel at a specific sport and will add more value to the school than just another AP stem student.

We're talking about D3 here, in which the top academic schools have less leeway than at D1 schools, even Ivies. Sought-after athletes get into Princeton with numbers that could never get them into Williams or Hopkins, for example. For example, our school had a kid with a 3.4 and 1280 get into Princeton.

That said, the high academic D3s are willing to forgive relatively lower numbers if the coach really wants the recruit. For example, in NESCAC coaches are allotted a certain number of "slots" and "tips." "Slots" are used for students with lower stats whom the coach really wants, and "tips" are smaller boosts for kids with better stats. Kids who get "tips" may be just as highly desired by the coach but don't need as much of an admissions boost. What stats place you in which "band" (the lowest of which can only get in with a slot) vary depending on school; for instance, the stats required to make it into "A band" (the highest, in which the kid doesn't need much coach support to get in) are higher at Williams than at Hamilton, and higher at Hamilton than at Trinity.

[Anonymous]

Daughter did a pre-read at Williams and got coach support for ED, which she is submitting shortly. Coach takes very seriously bc only gets a handful of spots to support. Daughter chose d3 because Williams is amazing and because she wanted to actually be an active member of the team not on the sidelines as would like be the case for most kids at a D1 school. Furthermore she heard that many D1 sports teams are seriously all consuming and my kid expects to have a very rigorous academic course load. While admission is not guaranteed the coach did say that none have been rescinded in the past decade or so. And that only a huge drop in grades or trouble with the law would trigger them to rescind the offer

[Anonymous]

I also curious if kids who get d3 athletic support for ED tend to hear back from admissions earlier than the usual December date?

[Anonymous]

As for the what you need to pass a pre read at Williams: my kid has 4.4 weighted and 35 ACT

Anonymous wrote:Daughter did a pre-read at Williams and got coach support for ED, which she is submitting shortly. Coach takes very seriously bc only gets a handful of spots to support. Daughter chose d3 because Williams is amazing and because she wanted to actually be an active member of the team not on the sidelines as would like be the case for most kids at a D1 school. Furthermore she heard that many D1 sports teams are seriously all consuming and my kid expects to have a very rigorous academic course load. While admission is not guaranteed the coach did say that none have been rescinded in the past decade or so. And that only a huge drop in grades or trouble with the law would trigger them to rescind the offer

[Anonymous]

My kid is playing for a UAA D3 (Emory, Chicago, Case, WashU, NYU).

Recruiting was very much like D1. Coach said they wanted my kid, received a likely letter very quickly and I assume it will all be official in 5 weeks.

Stats were decent…at the 25%ile SAT and top 5% of HS class. No other incredible ECs beyond the sport…some volunteer stuff but nothing amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also curious if kids who get d3 athletic support for ED tend to hear back from admissions earlier than the usual December date?

Yes, they do.

[Anonymous]

Of course it helps. How many would get in without the sport?

[Anonymous]

I have a D3 athlete and definitely wouldn’t describe any of the coaches as casual. Most are pretty hard core. I think they are realistic about what they can get through admissions, though. My daughter had a friend with similar stats to your child (though you didn’t mention test scores? She had a 1440 and 3.7 something unweighted) who really wanted Middlebury but was denied on preread. Landed at Hamilton. Again, I think it has less to do with the coach and more to do with how far a school is willing to stray from their normal academic standards.

I also have a D3 athlete at a NESCAC school. My guess in the Midd/Ham story above is that Midd already had athletes that needed more admissions support so couldn't commit to that particular kid, too. The admissions requirements/statistics at Midd and Ham are not significantly different, but each school does support students with a range of academic profiles, so needs some higher ones to balance a lower one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also curious if kids who get d3 athletic support for ED tend to hear back from admissions earlier than the usual December date?

Yes, they do.

They absolutely DO NOT in the NESCAC. I'm pretty sure there is a conference rule in that regard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also curious if kids who get d3 athletic support for ED tend to hear back from admissions earlier than the usual December date?

Yes, they do.

No! definitely not at all schools

[Anonymous]

Four of my DS’s friends already know. Their D3 ED appls were mere formalities.

[Anonymous]

Athletes in top D3s (and Ivies+) do not get an acceptance letter early, but they may get a "likely letter" which is advance notification of admittance. So, they kind of do hear earlier. It's kind of the trade off for applying ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Athletes in top D3s (and Ivies+) do not get an acceptance letter early, but they may get a "likely letter" which is advance notification of admittance. So, they kind of do hear earlier. It's kind of the trade off for applying ED.

My D3 athlete was heavily recruited by a high academic school. My DH and I had a long conversation with the coach and our first question to him was "have you seen his grades?" Our DS was an A- student and his grades/test scores were not even in the bottom 25% for the school. The coach assured us he had the pull to get him into the school and really wanted DS on the team. My DS sent in his transcript and grades, and as expected, he heard back that he would not gain admittance. This happened in August so he had plenty of time to apply to schools where he would likely be admitted.