Athletic recruiting at NESCAC

[Anonymous]

It still amazes me that at some of these schools almost 10% of the male students are football players (about 80 kids on the roster when some schools have under 1k males). I'm sure a number of them are extremely bright and would have gotten in anyway. But it is still amazing that at an elite school, if you walk into a random classroom with 25 students, on average one will be a football player.

And I am a big sports fan. But it seems to have just taken over. Back in our generation 25 years ago the role of preferred admissions for sports was much smaller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It still amazes me that at some of these schools almost 10% of the male students are football players (about 80 kids on the roster when some schools have under 1k males). I'm sure a number of them are extremely bright and would have gotten in anyway. But it is still amazing that at an elite school, if you walk into a random classroom with 25 students, on average one will be a football player.

And I am a big sports fan. But it seems to have just taken over. Back in our generation 25 years ago the role of preferred admissions for sports was much smaller.

We've been on so many tours, and one thing that stands out is how easy it is to pick out the male athletic recruits. They dwarf everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much are they willing to relax academic standards? DS wants to be recruited by NESCACs, but he has a 3.7 uw and a 1420 SAT. Puts him in the bottom 25% at most. Is it possible to gain admission as a recruited athlete with these stats?

Yeah I am sure that is fine

[Anonymous]

Remember that Bates and Bowdoin have been TO for decades so the SAT is irrelevant there. What is the weighted GPA and is this public or private?

[Anonymous]

I (non-athlete) attended a NESCAC 30+ years ago. I’m sure there may have been informal scouting going on in Div 3 back then, but since then, the internet has leveled the recruiting playing field between Div 1 schools who have staff dedicated to recruiting/scouting and Div 3, where a lot of it fell on the coach and maybe 1-2 assistant coaches to do that work. Now all coaches can request uploaded videos and follow the athlete online. I don’t remember any athletes talking about being “recruited” in the traditional sense or going through a different admissions process. However, I’m coming at this as a non-athlete who’s going by memories/observations, so correct me if I’m wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which sport?
Football? He's in.
Basketball- if Good enough... he's in!

THIS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much are they willing to relax academic standards? DS wants to be recruited by NESCACs, but he has a 3.7 uw and a 1420 SAT. Puts him in the bottom 25% at most. Is it possible to gain admission as a recruited athlete with these stats?

Have your child talk to the coach his junior year. Potential athletic admits will be put through a pre-read over the summer before senior year. The pre-read is an academic (and to a lesser degree, EC and character) evaluation by the admissions office of athletes. Athletes hear back in the fall if they are are getting the green light, yellow light, or red light

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're in the thick of this with baseball. Scores and stats matter, and the coaches want to know test scores before submitting pre-reads even if the school is test optional. They also want to see school profiles so they can have more insight into what a particular athlete's GPA says about her or his academic abilities. There is wiggle room, but not much---you get more if you're an athletic superstar, and some sports have more than others (football!).

Yes, my child had to submit scores for pre-read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much are they willing to relax academic standards? DS wants to be recruited by NESCACs, but he has a 3.7 uw and a 1420 SAT. Puts him in the bottom 25% at most. Is it possible to gain admission as a recruited athlete with these stats?

Yeah I am sure that is fine

Not necessarily. It really depends on the NESCAC. Conn College or Trinity, slam dunk. Middlebury or Hamilton, maybe not. The rule for NESCAC is that the stats can't deviate from the academic index. My daugther was told by both Tufts and Hamilton that she was their #1 recruit. Bates and Midd were both interested as well, but she didn't want those schools for different reasons. Both coaches had her stats, we knew she was below the AI for those schools, but they said since she was coming from a very rigorous private they both thought she was good. Both called and emailed leading up to July 1 (this was a couple of years ago), letting her know they looked forward to talking to her then. Then the day came and went with no calls. Both called a couple of days later, apologizing that they got it wrong and she didn't pass the pre-read. It was devastating for her. Fortunately, she had had an offer from a top 20 D1 school whose sport she plays isn't very strong. So she went back to that coach who said, sure thing! She now has a 3.8 GPA at a great school and is quite happy she didn't go to a small NESCAC. Well, that's our long story. That's how I learned that you can lock in admission early through the recruiting process, but even the very top recruit can't make up for stats outside the AI in the NESCAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're in the thick of this with baseball. Scores and stats matter, and the coaches want to know test scores before submitting pre-reads even if the school is test optional. They also want to see school profiles so they can have more insight into what a particular athlete's GPA says about her or his academic abilities. There is wiggle room, but not much---you get more if you're an athletic superstar, and some sports have more than others (football!).

Agree! If the 3.7 is from a top private or other rigorous school or school without grade inflation - that is a much different story than a grade inflating HS with test retakes. Not judging either - just saying that the 3.7 means different things at different schools. Does your child have time to re-take SAT or ACT? (Although 1420 may still be high enough - the higher, the better). My DC re-took the ACT focussing prep on the two subjects with the highest possible growth, to bring up the superscore. A bit higher score may help offset any grade issues. Also - if there is a general trend of grades getting better through high school, or if the lower grades are in rigorous courses, or if there is an explanation for any lower grades (such as a health issue or working outside of school or a hardship of some sort), that may be considered. Your child should tell their story in the pre-read. Also - consider having your child focus on any activities that may be important to the school's values - such as non-profit/volunteer work. Lastly, if you are full pay and not seeking financial aid - that may help get through the pre-read. Again - not judging - just a possible reality depending on the school.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the sport and athlete. In a sport with eight members of the recruiting class, they may get one or two allowances with lower stats and the rest need to be in line with the rest of the admissions class. So if your kid is on the bubble athletically, they won’t be able to make big accommodations for grades. If your kid is a true standout among the recruiting class, then maybe they’ll use one of their spots.

[Anonymous]

My DD had a 3.9 UW, didn’t take test. Probably a top level recruit. - 5 NESCAC applications, 5 Pete-reads, 5 offers. Like a PP says, as long as you’re within the range, it all comes down to how much they want you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the sport and athlete. In a sport with eight members of the recruiting class, they may get one or two allowances with lower stats and the rest need to be in line with the rest of the admissions class. So if your kid is on the bubble athletically, they won’t be able to make big accommodations for grades. If your kid is a true standout among the recruiting class, then maybe they’ll use one of their spots.

+ 10. This in a nutshell.