What if your not a recruited athlete and don't get a LOA?

[Haveaniceday]

If you get a LOA (Letter of Assurance sent do candidates the Academy is very interested in), congratulations, follow all the instructions carefully and remember there are other steps involved as well such as a physical etc. Whatever you do, don't slack off or fail to put forth your very best effort on your application (or high school grades) thinking the LOA is some type of golden ticket and your work is now done. Far from it, this is a process and the LOA is great, but don't make the mistake of celebrating before you cross the finish line and inadvertently screw up your admissions.

The same advice goes for recruited athletes; it is part of the consideration, but the other attributes have to be there as well.

If you did not get an LOA and are not a recruited athlete don't worry about it, and don't get discouraged. If you look at past appointment threads from prior classes, you will see the vast majority of admitted candidates did not receive an LOA and were still offered admission. The USCGA looks for well rounded candidates, so put forth and refine your very best application to the academy and all the other schools you are applying too; things will work out.

If you read these forums long enough you can come away with the distorted view that everyone either has an LOA or is a Division 3 recruited athlete. As past appointment threads have shown, that is simply not the case. The academy seeks all kinds of students to be officers, so put your best effort forward and don't give up.

That being said, athletics/fitness are a major part of academy life along with military training and academics. The well rounded applicant will have at least some ability in all three areas.

 

[sanman]

I do not believe USCGA has recruited athletes as such. No matter how gifted an athlete you are you still have to qualify for admittance in all other areas; you don't get a free pass.

The appropriate coach will support an application but they don't have an awful lot of sway.

 

[Korab]

I do not believe USCGA has recruited athletes as such. No matter how gifted an athlete you are you still have to qualify for admittance in all other areas; you don't get a free pass.

The appropriate coach will support an application but they don't have an awful lot of sway.

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

 

[sanman]

I do not believe USCGA has recruited athletes as such. No matter how gifted an athlete you are you still have to qualify for admittance in all other areas; you don't get a free pass.

The appropriate coach will support an application but they don't have an awful lot of sway.

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

So I was given some rough figures for Football. Last year I believe they had in the region of 80 players apply and only @12 got accepted. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[justdoit19]

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

Does USCG do official visits? Where they pay for a recruits airfare, etc?

 

[Korab]

I do not believe USCGA has recruited athletes as such. No matter how gifted an athlete you are you still have to qualify for admittance in all other areas; you don't get a free pass.

The appropriate coach will support an application but they don't have an awful lot of sway.

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

So I was given some rough figures for Football. Last year I believe they had in the region of 80 players apply and only @12 got accepted. Draw your own conclusions.

Don't know who gave you those figures, but I guarantee the coach didn't recruit 80 football players. Maybe he talked to 80 kids who wanted to play football there - that doesn't make them recruits. If 80 kids per class were recruits, there would be 320 kids on the team.

Here's a list of recruits for the Class of 2022 - http://uscgasports.com/general/2017-18/releases/20180702ewhk7i.

There were 18 football recruits admitted from high school or prep school.

Do athletic recruits have to be academically qualified to some degree? Absolutely.

Where is that baseline of academics? Again, it will depend on the sport and how much that individual kid will influence the program.

 

[Korab]

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

Does USCG do official visits? Where they pay for a recruits airfare, etc?

They are permitted to by NCAA rules. I have no first hand experience with it. If it happens, it would be exceedingly rare.

 

[sanman]

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

Does USCG do official visits? Where they pay for a recruits airfare, etc?

They don't do official visits. It is Div3, official visits only happen for Div1 and 2.

 

[Korab]

USCGA absolutely has recruited athletes.

Do they get as much of a boost as a football player at Alabama? No.

Are we privy to exactly how much of a boost they get in admissions? No.

Does the amount of boost they get vary based on the sport? I'm sure it does.

Does the amount of boost they get depend on their ability to influence the program? I'm sure it does.

Approximately 50% of each incoming class is recruited athletes - you need to have recruits in order to field the number of Varsity teams CGA does out of a student body of 1,000.

Does USCG do official visits? Where they pay for a recruits airfare, etc?

They don't do official visits. It is Div3, official visits only happen for Div1 and 2.

Div 3 is permitted to offer "official visits" where they pay for transportation for the athlete, but it is rare - they generally don't have the recruiting budget for it. Generally, you pay your own way there and they feed you in the dining hall once you are there.

 

[Impulsive]

IMHO the difference between D3 recruited athletes and D1 recruited athletes is the ability (usually) for an exceptional D1 athlete to possibly have a professional career in the sport they excel in (mostly because of exposure to the national stage). Most D3 recruited athletes (I would think) take the athletics to get the education and career, whereas many D1 athletes (even those recruited by the academies) either get an early separation (and use the draft money to pay back the academy) because of their ability and performance, or chose the service as a career or stepping stone to management in athletics after serving the commitment. The CG probably loses less percentage of graduates to early separation to play professional sports than the other academies. That is not to say, they don't recruit as @Korab advised, but maybe those that do get recruited tend to accept because of the career and not the opportunity to go on to professional sports. Every academy wants the best possible sports teams, so yes, CGA needs top notch athletes, IMHO I just think maybe less CGA applicants who are athletes attend because of the athletic opportunities post academy. Just my personal thoughts, it would be interesting to see if any statistics are out there as to CGA D3 athletes who go professional upon graduation, or are high draft picks?

 

[KM68]

My DD was invited to, and attended, an event during her Junior year that was geared toward recruited athletes. During the parent briefings they ensured that everyone was clear that being an athlete can help "round out" your package, however, the academy appointment numbers are so low and the standards are so high that athletics alone will not gain someone entrance into the academy if they are not well qualified in ALL areas. My advice to my DD has been very simple - don't focus on being "recruited" and don't focus on receiving an "LOA". I told her to just focus on what is in front of her at the moment and THAT is the acquisition of the knowledge that will move her forward in life - academic and otherwise. Let's encourage these young adults to do the best that they can in the classroom, in their fitness, in their leadership and in the community. Support them in filing the best application package they can - and then let the chips fall where they fall. My DD is the youngest of my four. I have a phrase that I like to recall at this juncture of parenting - and one I like to share with other parents who are stressing out: "The Children will All Be Fine".

 

[sanman]

My DD was invited to, and attended, an event during her Junior year that was geared toward recruited athletes. During the parent briefings they ensured that everyone was clear that being an athlete can help "round out" your package, however, the academy appointment numbers are so low and the standards are so high that athletics alone will not gain someone entrance into the academy if they are not well qualified in ALL areas.

That is exactly what my DS has been told as well.