Recruiting: Early action changes game for recruits

A week and a half after Hans Brase, a senior at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., sent in his application to Princeton, he received a phone call from the admission office letting him know he was likely to be admitted.

It is not uncommon for recruited athletes like Brase, who will be joining the men’s basketball team next fall, to receive so-called “likely letters” from the admission office before official decisions are sent out. But unlike in previous years, Brase and many other recruits of the Class of 2016 received their official admission decisions in mid-December, very shortly after being told that such an outcome was likely.

When the University introduced the single-choice early action system — which is nonbinding but prevents applicants from applying early to any other private institution — administration representatives described it as a way to allow students for whom Princeton was their first choice to apply early without disadvantaging lower-income students, who had been underrepresented by the early decision option Princeton abandoned in 2006.

However, one perhaps unintended consequence of early action is the benefit it provides to both recruited athletes and their coaches.

“We’re competing for scholar-athletes within the Ivy League and with other Division I schools,” Executive Associate Director of Athletics Erin McDermott said in an email. “The [early action] program is a good opportunity for scholar-athletes who are serious about Princeton to begin the application process early, and the December time frame for decisions helps the coaches determine their recruitment approach for the rest of that year.”

Like many recruited athletes, Brase was also considering scholarship offers from non-Ivy schools. Receiving his official acceptance in December, he said, helped him feel much more comfortable turning down other options in order to commit to Princeton.

“That let me know that I was going for good,” Brase said. “Getting that from one of the top universities in the world felt really good.”

According to Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye, student-athletes who were admitted early and qualified for financial aid also received an aid offer, an added benefit for students weighing the cost of a Princeton education against an athletic scholarship from another school.

From coaches’ perspectives, the added security of an official acceptance allows them to solidify their incoming class earlier and get a head start on the following year’s recruitment.

“Coaches appreciate knowing as early as possible that the students they have been recruiting are admissible,” Rapelye said in an email, adding that many recruited athletes applied early, and she expects many more to apply regular decision.

All five of the recruits to the women’s basketball team for the Class of 2016 applied early and were granted admission. This allows head coach Courtney Banghart and her assistants to focus their efforts on recruiting the next class in a way that a likely letter could not.

“It formalizes the official acceptance sooner, and in that sense it’s very helpful to our kids,” Banghart said. “We’re thrilled we have it. Once the kids make the decision that they want to attend, it’s nice to be able to get it over with.”

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Before the early admission option was reinstated, Banghart said she would have to continue to travel all around the country — including flights to California — to watch recruits play and reaffirm mutual interest. Though she said she will continue to watch local recruits play, the fact that she will not have to travel far saves both time and money.

Because of the many benefits to both sides, recruited student-athletes who have indicated their interest in Princeton and who coaches believe would be a good fit may be encouraged by the coaching staff to apply early, McDermott said. Brase said that applying early was recommended to him, and Banghart said she encouraged all her recruits to take advantage of the option.

Nevertheless, early action has not entirely replaced likely letters, which Rapelye said are still sent out to recruited seniors in many sports beginning Oct. 1. Ivy League rules stipulate that they may be sent out from this date up until March 15 of an athletes’ senior year. Rapelye added that Princeton also sent out likely letters during the early decision years of 1996-2006.

McDermott said they are especially necessary for students considering scholarships from other Division I conferences, which generally send out offers well before December.

“The practice provides recruits with useful information during a time when they are considering various scholarship offers,” McDermott said. “December admission decisions fall outside the Division I athletic recruitment schedules, so the practice of sending the letters is still a necessary part of the admission process.”

Furthermore, student-athletes deciding between Ivy League schools who do not have outside Division I offers might be most affected by the early action program. Since Princeton and Harvard reinstated early admissions last spring, all of the Ivies now have a restrictive early option for the first time since 2006, allowing applicants to decide on and indicate their first choice sooner.

“For kids that are looking at just the Ivies, it makes them force their hand sooner, which is helpful,” Banghart said. “It used to be that kids can apply to an early school, see if they’re going to get in, and if they do, they have a bird in the hand while they’re waiting on Princeton.”