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    Coach Support and “Tufts Syndrome”

    http://www.tier1athletics.org/2013/0...ufts-syndrome/

    You may have heard of “Tufts Syndrome”, it refers to the alleged practice of highly qualified students being rejected or waitlisted in order to protect a school’s yield rate. The theory being that the superstar applicants are bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools. I don’t know why Tufts was singled out. I don’t even know if ‘Tufts Syndrome” really exists or if it’s just a ‘sour grapes’ response to being denied admission.

    But I think there is some truth behind the theory when it comes to a coach supporting an athlete through admissions. There are some outstanding academic schools with lower (< 40%) yield rates, and coaches at these schools are very careful about playing their support cards with athletes who may just be using them as a safety.

    Here’s the US News Report on yield rates at national universities. One of the most respected universities in the country, The University of Chicago, has a yield just south of 40%. Washington University in St. Louis, another excellent university, only sees about 31% of the students they admit actually enroll. Compare that to yields of 60-70%+ at Penn, Yale, Stanford and Harvard and it’s easy to understand why a coach at a lower yield school might be a bit skeptical when a recruit tells him that his school is his top choice.

    I recently had a conversation with the parent of a recruit at one of the lower yielding, top academic schools. “He had strong coach support and applied Early Action, only to get deferred. He was pretty devastated.” she said.

    Two weeks passed and he received a Likely Letter for the Regular Decision round – basically giving him written assurance that he would get in as an RD applicant.

    So what do we make of that? Did the coach want to see if the recruit could get in without support during the EA round, thereby saving one of his supported slots? Or did he want to see if the kid was still available after the EA round – greatly increasing the chances that he would enroll if supported and accepted?

    Either way, if you want to get coach support at one of the lower yielding schools, you better make it very clear to the coach that his school is your top choice and you will accept if supported.
    Again, doesn't it all come down to whether you are a "Buyer" or you are a "Seller". Even at the elite D3 level is a business.

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    http://www.tier1athletics.org/2013/0...ufts-syndrome/



    Again, doesn't it all come down to whether you are a "Buyer" or you are a "Seller". Even at the elite D3 level is a business.
    Thanks BTNT.

    Comment


      #3
      Early Decision for Ivy League Athletic Recruits

      http://www.tier1athletics.org/catego...-and-athletes/

      I got a note from someone going through the Ivy League recruiting process and her questions brought me back to the gut-wrenching, 11th hour dealings we experienced on the night before the Early Action deadline. Hopefully, I can help someone else avoid that…


      I have some questions about Early Action and Early Decision and how that plays out if you are a recruited athlete in the Ivy League. First, should the athlete ask for a likely letter when deciding whether to apply EA or ED? If the coach refuses your request for a Likely Letter or gives a reason you cannot get one, should the athlete be more wary and maybe consider other schools, programs?

      In addition, we are trying to figure out what, if anything, the current dialogue means and how dependable it is. It seems that a lot of problems can be mitigated somewhat by asking the right direct questions, but maybe not. And I do realize that Admissions Committee admits (coaches don’t), but presumably with academic pre-reads and knowledgeable, experienced coaches, the chance of being blind-sided should be reduced, right?

      Just to be clear, Early Decision is binding and Early Action is not. So if you designate your application ED and you are accepted, you agree that you will withdraw any other applications and will attend that school. Early Action, on the other hand is non-binding.

      In the Ivy League, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia and Penn have Early Decision and Harvard, Yale and Princeton have ‘Single-Choice Early Action’, which means that you are not obligated to enroll if accepted, but you can only designate one school as your early choice.

      Coaches like to use the ‘early application’ as a way to get a commitment from a recruit. Although the Common Ivy Agreement states,


      “A coach may both inquire about a candidate’s level of commitment to an Ivy institution, or interest in attending that Ivy institution, and encourage that interest. However, a candidate may not be required to make a matriculation commitment, to withdraw other applications, or to refrain from visiting another institution, as a condition for receiving a “likely” letter,”

      The reality is that part of “inquiring and encouraging commitment” usually means the recruit will be encouraged to demonstrate that commitment by applying ED or SCEA – this is the part that causes a lot of sleep loss for recruits and their parents. Basically you’re being asked to use your one-and-only early application to a school that rejects 9 of 10 applicants and the coach has made it clear that he will put you up for a Likely Letter, but ultimately, the acceptance decision is out of his hands.

      So to get back to the questions, if an Ivy coach asks you to go EA or ED but can’t offer to list you for a Likely Letter, you should definitely be wary. Actually, thank him for being straightforward and telling you that you will not be supported. It makes your decision much easier – absolutely pursue other options.

      As for the second part of your question, how do you reduce the chances of being blind-sided during this process? Asking direct questions is important, of course. Listening is even more important. There’s a line in The Boxer, by Simon and Garfunkel (showing my age here)


      “…still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”

      Before you pull the trigger on that ED or SCEA application, you need to know that your transcripts and test scores have had a positive pre-read with admissions. You also need to know that the head coach will be submitting your name to admissions for Likely Letter consideration. I’m stressing head coach because it has happened where an assistant coach has been gung-ho and assured the recruit of support, only to be denied when the head coach decided on other recruiting priorities.

      One other important way to protect yourself is to get this done early. When we went though the Ivy recruiting process it all came to an incredibly stressful boiling point on the night before of the ED/EA deadline. Next, I’ll go into more detail on timing the application process to help minimize the stress and leave you with a backup in case things don’t work out.
      Knowledge is power.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Thanks BTNT.
        You do realize that this is all going down right now and that this information is extremely timely.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          You do realize that this is all going down right now and that this information is extremely timely.
          Yes, of course. Thank you for being our johnny-on-the-spot. What we do without you? Now please post something all of us don't already know.

          Comment


            #6
            "You may have heard of 'Tufts Syndrome', it refers to the alleged practice of highly qualified students being rejected or waitlisted in order to protect a school’s yield rate. The theory being that the superstar applicants are bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools."

            Apparently, someone is confused about how admissions at highly-selective schools work. "Tufts," say, isn't turning down "highly-qualified" students to protect its "yield rate." Those students, let's characterize them (relative to Tufts) as very strong prospects for top-half Ivies, are being turned down for the very reason indicated in the second sentence: because they're "bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools," and to go to one of those other schools.

            Highly-selective schools have no time or interest in admitting students who are very unlikely to accept. (Yes, serious admissions offices can tell with a fairly high degree of accuracy via statistical profile.) A "Tufts," due to reputation and location (for a "Wash U," the challenge is location), will have more than enough "highly-qualified" students to choose from. Unless a next-level type student were to demonstrate a strong, special interest in "Tufts," admissions officers can be fairly confident such a student isn't coming.

            In short, "Tufts syndrome" has little or nothing to do with protecting the school's yield rate. All that admitting relatively "over-qualified" students does is complicate the admissions practice to hardly any practical end--other than giving those students "safety-school" options they almost certainly won't need. This is not much different than when job candidates deemed "over qualified" aren't hired.

            The overall advice of the article is helpful enough, though.

            Comment


              #7
              About Tier1Athletics - the author of the piece you are saying doesn't know anything

              [quote]
              Welcome to Tier One Athletics. Let me start by saying what we are not. Tier One is not an athletic recruiting service. You won’t find any “Bronze”, “Silver” or “Gold” recruiting packages here. You also won’t find any “Premium Member” content. This is simply your source for accurate, unbiased information about athletic recruiting and competition at the top academic institutions in the country.

              You’ll also notice that the site isn’t monetized. No banner ads or popups. (Okay, I did write ‘The Essential Guide to Ivy League Athletic Recruiting‘, condensing everything I know about the process), but you don’t have to buy the book to use the site. If you do choose to purchase the book on Amazon, thank you. A portion of your purchase goes to support the Kimberly Gillary Foundation that helps provide AED equipment to schools.

              Please feel free to check out the blog, make comments, and e-mail me if you have any questions or opinions. The goal is simply to help scholar-athletes learn how to access the great educational opportunities that are available. In short, this is the site that I wish we had when we went through the process.

              Thanks for visiting.
              [/quote/

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                "You may have heard of 'Tufts Syndrome', it refers to the alleged practice of highly qualified students being rejected or waitlisted in order to protect a school’s yield rate. The theory being that the superstar applicants are bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools."

                Apparently, someone is confused about how admissions at highly-selective schools work. "Tufts," say, isn't turning down "highly-qualified" students to protect its "yield rate." Those students, let's characterize them (relative to Tufts) as very strong prospects for top-half Ivies, are being turned down for the very reason indicated in the second sentence: because they're "bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools," and to go to one of those other schools.

                Highly-selective schools have no time or interest in admitting students who are very unlikely to accept. (Yes, serious admissions offices can tell with a fairly high degree of accuracy via statistical profile.) A "Tufts," due to reputation and location (for a "Wash U," the challenge is location), will have more than enough "highly-qualified" students to choose from. Unless a next-level type student were to demonstrate a strong, special interest in "Tufts," admissions officers can be fairly confident such a student isn't coming.

                In short, "Tufts syndrome" has little or nothing to do with protecting the school's yield rate. All that admitting relatively "over-qualified" students does is complicate the admissions practice to hardly any practical end--other than giving those students "safety-school" options they almost certainly won't need. This is not much different than when job candidates deemed "over qualified" aren't hired.

                The overall advice of the article is helpful enough, though.
                Really, and the Forbes ranking hasn't banned several colleges for blatantly skewing their data to generate a favorable ranking. Your views are often Pollyannaish.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  "You may have heard of 'Tufts Syndrome', it refers to the alleged practice of highly qualified students being rejected or waitlisted in order to protect a school’s yield rate. The theory being that the superstar applicants are bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools."

                  Apparently, someone is confused about how admissions at highly-selective schools work. "Tufts," say, isn't turning down "highly-qualified" students to protect its "yield rate." Those students, let's characterize them (relative to Tufts) as very strong prospects for top-half Ivies, are being turned down for the very reason indicated in the second sentence: because they're "bound to be accepted to other, more prestigious schools," and to go to one of those other schools.

                  Highly-selective schools have no time or interest in admitting students who are very unlikely to accept. (Yes, serious admissions offices can tell with a fairly high degree of accuracy via statistical profile.) A "Tufts," due to reputation and location (for a "Wash U," the challenge is location), will have more than enough "highly-qualified" students to choose from. Unless a next-level type student were to demonstrate a strong, special interest in "Tufts," admissions officers can be fairly confident such a student isn't coming.

                  In short, "Tufts syndrome" has little or nothing to do with protecting the school's yield rate. All that admitting relatively "over-qualified" students does is complicate the admissions practice to hardly any practical end--other than giving those students "safety-school" options they almost certainly won't need. This is not much different than when job candidates deemed "over qualified" aren't hired.

                  The overall advice of the article is helpful enough, though.
                  Tufts syndrome is very real. Who knows why, but there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that almost top tier schools (eg Tufts) reject applicants who are above their demographic at a higher rate than those who are in their demographic.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    About Tier1Athletics - the author of the piece you are saying doesn't know anything

                    Welcome to Tier One Athletics. Let me start by saying what we are not. Tier One is not an athletic recruiting service. You won’t find any “Bronze”, “Silver” or “Gold” recruiting packages here. You also won’t find any “Premium Member” content. This is simply your source for accurate, unbiased information about athletic recruiting and competition at the top academic institutions in the country.

                    You’ll also notice that the site isn’t monetized. No banner ads or popups. (Okay, I did write ‘The Essential Guide to Ivy League Athletic Recruiting‘, condensing everything I know about the process), but you don’t have to buy the book to use the site. If you do choose to purchase the book on Amazon, thank you. A portion of your purchase goes to support the Kimberly Gillary Foundation that helps provide AED equipment to schools.

                    Please feel free to check out the blog, make comments, and e-mail me if you have any questions or opinions. The goal is simply to help scholar-athletes learn how to access the great educational opportunities that are available. In short, this is the site that I wish we had when we went through the process.

                    Thanks for visiting.
                    Here cleaned it up

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Tufts syndrome is very real. Who knows why, but there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that almost top tier schools (eg Tufts) reject applicants who are above their demographic at a higher rate than those who are in their demographic.
                      Would love to hear how they do that and still end up with the middle 50% of their SAT scores in line with all of the Ivies.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Tufts syndrome is very real. Who knows why, but there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that almost top tier schools (eg Tufts) reject applicants who are above their demographic at a higher rate than those who are in their demographic.
                        Yet another reason why the Perspective school of thought to focus on the reach schools is a bad idea and the buyer/seller analogy very appropriate. When you are a buyer these sorts of things don't happen to you.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Yet another reason why the Perspective school of thought to focus on the reach schools is a bad idea and the buyer/seller analogy very appropriate. When you are a buyer these sorts of things don't happen to you.
                          Besides confirming that you started both of these threads you don't even understand what you are responding to. Tufts Syndrome is not talking about reaches getting screwed. It's talking about superior kids not getting in schools that should be safeties. Get your rage under control before you post. And, btw, why exactly do you care so much that it is you who is pushing all of this, now in two new threads to boot???

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            Besides confirming that you started both of these threads you don't even understand what you are responding to. Tufts Syndrome is not talking about reaches getting screwed. It's talking about superior kids not getting in schools that should be safeties. Get your rage under control before you post. And, btw, why exactly do you care so much that it is you who is pushing all of this, now in two new threads to boot???
                            So you are back to guessing about who is posting again. Might want to check whether you took your meds this morning.

                            Clearly you have never been in the buyer position. The Tufts Syndrome is all about being in the seller position and when you are in the seller position "crap" like that happens because you don't actually have any control over the decision. Could just be they filled their quota of freckles for all that you know. Whether you call it being a big fish in a small pond or a buyer the bottom line is when they are coming to you, you get to make the decision and crap like this doesn't happen. The thing about your thinking is your definition of safety and reach schools seem to be wrong. You should be a buyer at a safety school and if you can't get into one it really isn't all that safe. Ultimately when a kid gets rejected by a school they perceived as being a safety that has to speak to certain lack of objectivity by the family.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              So you are back to guessing about who is posting again. Might want to check whether you took your meds this morning.

                              Clearly you have never been in the buyer position. The Tufts Syndrome is all about being in the seller position and when you are in the seller position "crap" like that happens because you don't actually have any control over the decision. Could just be they filled their quota of freckles for all that you know. Whether you call it being a big fish in a small pond or a buyer the bottom line is when they are coming to you, you get to make the decision and crap like this doesn't happen. The thing about your thinking is your definition of safety and reach schools seem to be wrong. You should be a buyer at a safety school and if you can't get into one it really isn't all that safe. Ultimately when a kid gets rejected by a school they perceived as being a safety that has to speak to certain lack of objectivity by the family.
                              BTNT, you need to study a little harder before you try to exploit adn co-opt concepts into your agendas.

                              Comment

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