Now that you have reviewed the important steps in the recruiting process, you are ready to apply. Through the application process, it is important to rely on family, guidance counselors, and coaches to help guide you as it can be both overwhelming and exciting. 

Here are some of the important terminologies that need to be understood when dealing with application timelines:

Early Action

Early action simply means that a student may apply for a school early so that the school can let the student know their decision before the usual decision date. This allows a student to make an early commitment should he or she want to and eliminates some of the stress of waiting to hear back from their top choices.  

Early Decision

Early decision is like early action, but if accepted, the student-athlete is committed to going there. When a student is accepted by their early decision school, they are committed to enrolling in that university and withdrawing their applications from all other universities. This is important to understand as an athlete because it affects your eligibility to be recruited by other schools. Many athletes don't make early decisions unless they are actively pursuing one school or possibly an Ivy League. Applying early decision shows your commitment to the coach and school, but you need to be certain this is the school you want to attend.

The important thing to understand with early decision is the student is restricted to doing this with one school, so reserve this for your top choice.

Regular Decision

The regular decision follows the normal timeline in which a student will apply for a school. They then will hear back about their acceptance or denial at the same time as other students and commit to one of their accepted schools. This is the most common pathway for an athlete to take because it allows them to take their time when looking at their top choices. 

Likely Letter

Academically speaking, a likely letter is a sign of hope for athletes. The likely letter is used by academic boards to notify top candidates that they will “likely” be receiving an acceptance letter in the future. While it is not a guarantee, it is an indicator that you are in the pool of top candidates to be accepted to that school. 

Early Read

An early read is a process in which a coach will take the academic records of an athlete they are recruiting to the admissions board so that they make it a priority to assess their academic standing. This is used often for athletes who are being awarded scholarships so that can they can sign their NLI as soon as possible.

* Originally published on November 19, 2021, by Brittany Collens