‘27 recruiting: advice from people who already went thru it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone applying to Ivys have ECs. You're not unique if you have 5 to 10 ECs on your application. Unless you've developed an app that is widely recognizable or founded a fundraiser that funds 70k to a cause, you're not unique.

Even though Ivys have opted out of the HOUSE settlement, winter Jr's still doesnt do a lot for them.

This is not the case for a recruited athlete who meets their swim times. The male swimmers I know that have committed to Ivys were excellent students and fast, summer juniors or faster.

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily. The Ivys currently have their top recruits that they are trying to get on campus just like all other schools. Just because they opted out of HOUSE doesn't mean they still aren't playing the recruiting game.

Whether it's a P4, Mid Major, D2 or D3 school, they all have their list of top kids right now they want to get on their first visit weekends.

When we would lose kids to an Ivy School in recruiting, I coached P4, many of them took about three visits. They visited their top Ivy pick(s) and then a back up school just in case they didn't get in to any Ivys. Same with the service process. (NAVY, AIR FORCE, etc). Similar recruiting process.

They were typically upfront that they wanted a backup school visit and we understood that. We secretly hoped, if they were good enough, we could wow them away with the P4 glitter on a visit and make them change their mind.

[Anonymous]

My swimmer was offered a spot at several ivies. Junior National level, rigorous coursework with ok but not great test scores (33 ACT). Does very little outside of swimming. Recruited athletes get a boost for admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily. The Ivys currently have their top recruits that they are trying to get on campus just like all other schools. Just because they opted out of HOUSE doesn't mean they still aren't playing the recruiting game.

Whether it's a P4, Mid Major, D2 or D3 school, they all have their list of top kids right now they want to get on their first visit weekends.

When we would lose kids to an Ivy School in recruiting, I coached P4, many of them took about three visits. They visited their top Ivy pick(s) and then a back up school just in case they didn't get in to any Ivys. Same with the service process. (NAVY, AIR FORCE, etc). Similar recruiting process.

They were typically upfront that they wanted a backup school visit and we understood that. We secretly hoped, if they were good enough, we could wow them away with the P4 glitter on a visit and make them change their mind.

We were told by all the top d3 schools that their official visits are in April

[Anonymous]

D3 is taking advantage of House and getting ready to pick off kids left and right. D3 swimming will be far faster in a few years than it is today. It is a a great harbor from the storm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be based on need. Maybe they need to recruit deeper into the class for a specific stroke/event.

It can be based on volume. Some coaches take the "throw everything at the bus" approach and see what sticks. Worst case scenario they have too much interest and start ghosting kids that aren't as fast as other kids responding.

It can be based on a more in depth look into the swimmer. Maybe they aren't quite there yet but they have been dropping tons of time or they saw the swimmer at a meet and noticed they are a 5'11" female.

Remember, just because you get contacted doesnt mean they actually want you on the team right now or would offer you a spot/money. It's like a dating app right now. You save your favorites and reach out to the ones you might be interested in but you'll only need up with a few you "bring on a date" aka the official visit

When do they reach back out for official visit?

Kids are already being invited to visits setting their visits. If you haven't been offered a visit by a school, most likely you're not a top priority right now.

That’s not true- over the next 4-6 weeks they’ll still be offering official visits.

To the pp that asked, there is no limit on how many schools you can visit, but visits are generally 48 hours long, add in travel can make it 3-4 days of missing school and training. Most don’t visit more than 4 or 5 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Respond to above, I’m not sure that’s true that ECs don’t matter - at Harvard the rule for recruiting is “the broken leg” rule, meaning the admissions committee asks “would we want this person on campus even if they broke their leg and couldn’t compete”

I’m assuming that’s true for Yale or Princeton as well. For other mid-majors and certainly power 4 it doesn’t matter

If your swimmer has Futures times and good stats, d3s are a good target. Ivies still want Winter Juniors times if not Summer Juniors at least is what we’ve been told

Does that mean a swimmer has a winter junior time with very strong numbers in academics (i.e. 4.8 GPA + 1550 SA) would be recruitable at an ivy school without additional ECs?

Not necessarily. Swimmer may need to be faster… will depend on the school and their needs. If your kid gets a recruiting slot, the ECs are not important, even at Ivies. Obviously they need something else on resume…job, volunteer work, etc. But nobody is turning a super fast/high stats swimmer away because they don’t have enough ECs. What matters most iig your kid can score at conference in multiple events + the school’s needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be based on need. Maybe they need to recruit deeper into the class for a specific stroke/event.

It can be based on volume. Some coaches take the "throw everything at the bus" approach and see what sticks. Worst case scenario they have too much interest and start ghosting kids that aren't as fast as other kids responding.

It can be based on a more in depth look into the swimmer. Maybe they aren't quite there yet but they have been dropping tons of time or they saw the swimmer at a meet and noticed they are a 5'11" female.

Remember, just because you get contacted doesnt mean they actually want you on the team right now or would offer you a spot/money. It's like a dating app right now. You save your favorites and reach out to the ones you might be interested in but you'll only need up with a few you "bring on a date" aka the official visit

When do they reach back out for official visit?

Kids are already being invited to visits setting their visits. If you haven't been offered a visit by a school, most likely you're not a top priority right now.

That’s not true- over the next 4-6 weeks they’ll still be offering official visits.

To the pp that asked, there is no limit on how many schools you can visit, but visits are generally 48 hours long, add in travel can make it 3-4 days of missing school and training. Most don’t visit more than 4 or 5 schools.

I thought there used to be a limit of 5 official visits, but maybe that changed???

[Anonymous]

NCAA rules changed. Visits are unlimited now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be based on need. Maybe they need to recruit deeper into the class for a specific stroke/event.

It can be based on volume. Some coaches take the "throw everything at the bus" approach and see what sticks. Worst case scenario they have too much interest and start ghosting kids that aren't as fast as other kids responding.

It can be based on a more in depth look into the swimmer. Maybe they aren't quite there yet but they have been dropping tons of time or they saw the swimmer at a meet and noticed they are a 5'11" female.

Remember, just because you get contacted doesnt mean they actually want you on the team right now or would offer you a spot/money. It's like a dating app right now. You save your favorites and reach out to the ones you might be interested in but you'll only need up with a few you "bring on a date" aka the official visit

When do they reach back out for official visit?

Kids are already being invited to visits setting their visits. If you haven't been offered a visit by a school, most likely you're not a top priority right now.

That’s not true- over the next 4-6 weeks they’ll still be offering official visits.

To the pp that asked, there is no limit on how many schools you can visit, but visits are generally 48 hours long, add in travel can make it 3-4 days of missing school and training. Most don’t visit more than 4 or 5 schools.

They'll still be offering visits bit the top priority kids have already been offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be based on need. Maybe they need to recruit deeper into the class for a specific stroke/event.

It can be based on volume. Some coaches take the "throw everything at the bus" approach and see what sticks. Worst case scenario they have too much interest and start ghosting kids that aren't as fast as other kids responding.

It can be based on a more in depth look into the swimmer. Maybe they aren't quite there yet but they have been dropping tons of time or they saw the swimmer at a meet and noticed they are a 5'11" female.

Remember, just because you get contacted doesnt mean they actually want you on the team right now or would offer you a spot/money. It's like a dating app right now. You save your favorites and reach out to the ones you might be interested in but you'll only need up with a few you "bring on a date" aka the official visit

When do they reach back out for official visit?

Kids are already being invited to visits setting their visits. If you haven't been offered a visit by a school, most likely you're not a top priority right now.

That’s not true- over the next 4-6 weeks they’ll still be offering official visits.

To the pp that asked, there is no limit on how many schools you can visit, but visits are generally 48 hours long, add in travel can make it 3-4 days of missing school and training. Most don’t visit more than 4 or 5 schools.

They'll still be offering visits bit the top priority kids have already been offered.

Yeah like the top 50-100 kids but there are so many more slots than that

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/07/06/house-v-ncaa-nonrevenue-sports/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be based on need. Maybe they need to recruit deeper into the class for a specific stroke/event.

It can be based on volume. Some coaches take the "throw everything at the bus" approach and see what sticks. Worst case scenario they have too much interest and start ghosting kids that aren't as fast as other kids responding.

It can be based on a more in depth look into the swimmer. Maybe they aren't quite there yet but they have been dropping tons of time or they saw the swimmer at a meet and noticed they are a 5'11" female.

Remember, just because you get contacted doesnt mean they actually want you on the team right now or would offer you a spot/money. It's like a dating app right now. You save your favorites and reach out to the ones you might be interested in but you'll only need up with a few you "bring on a date" aka the official visit

When do they reach back out for official visit?

Kids are already being invited to visits setting their visits. If you haven't been offered a visit by a school, most likely you're not a top priority right now.

That’s not true- over the next 4-6 weeks they’ll still be offering official visits.

To the pp that asked, there is no limit on how many schools you can visit, but visits are generally 48 hours long, add in travel can make it 3-4 days of missing school and training. Most don’t visit more than 4 or 5 schools.

I thought there used to be a limit of 5 official visits, but maybe that changed???

Yes it changed 2 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/07/06/house-v-ncaa-nonrevenue-sports/

There you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily. The Ivys currently have their top recruits that they are trying to get on campus just like all other schools. Just because they opted out of HOUSE doesn't mean they still aren't playing the recruiting game.

Whether it's a P4, Mid Major, D2 or D3 school, they all have their list of top kids right now they want to get on their first visit weekends.

When we would lose kids to an Ivy School in recruiting, I coached P4, many of them took about three visits. They visited their top Ivy pick(s) and then a back up school just in case they didn't get in to any Ivys. Same with the service process. (NAVY, AIR FORCE, etc). Similar recruiting process.

They were typically upfront that they wanted a backup school visit and we understood that. We secretly hoped, if they were good enough, we could wow them away with the P4 glitter on a visit and make them change their mind.

We were told by all the top d3 schools that their official visits are in April

September is big too.