Goosegg posted:When a kid doesn't get coach's support and needs to run the admissions gauntlet as a regular student, the deck is actually stacked AGAINST the kid.
Why? Because (usually) the primary EC is baseball. Remove that EC and most resumes look pretty sparse compared to other non-athlete kids.
While non-athlete Johnny was feeding the homeless/competing in science fairs/writing books of poetry/interning for Senator X/working to fund his college education, player Sammy was practicing/showcasing/taking lessons/developing his game. Now, because the player isn't getting coach support - by definition he isn't in the top of his chosen HS "passion." Meanwhile, Johnny got a blue ribbon in science fair/poetry, etc. and has been recognized (by someone) as achieving something in his passion. So, in comparing one to the other, the athlete isn't as accomplished.
Better write spectacular and compelling essays because that athlete with a 3.9 and 34 ACT is competing against a whole cadre of 3.9 and 34 ACT hopefuls.
I feel like this is an important note for anyone considering HA applications with and without coaches support. As someone who had his 2016 go ED with coach's support to a mid-level HA school and has a 2020 that has those kind of grades and test scores looking to get into one (or more) top schools. I can give you the perspective on what it looks like applying to one of these schools in the general application pool - which is what we're considering now vs applying ED to his top choice (as a student only).
2020 has really built a solid resume and application. He plays three sports (not baseball) and has the kind of non athletic credentials and accomplishments you don't want to be competing against for admission with a baseball focused resume without a coach's support - including a bio-medical engineering internship at a world renowned cancer center this past summer. We (and he) are seriously worried about him getting into any of his top choices.
We spent the summer visiting some of the top northeast schools on 2020's list. Most of these schools are factories moving 200-300 people around campus 4-5 times a day to see campus and box like dorm rooms (this was not the case at the Ivies we visited). There were waiting lists for info sessions/tours with people on standby hoping to get in that day. The attendees were middle school age, HS freshman, Sophs and Jrs from all over the world. Most, if not all, of them have top gpa and test scores. I don't know if I can say this strongly enough - the regular application pool is a whole different world you don't want to don't want to dip your toe into if you can avoid it.