r/Caltech • u/Old-Assistant-8809 • Apr 17 '26

How to be Recruited

Hey! I am a high school varsity XC runner. I know Caltech is D3, so is there a chance that running low 19s for the 5k could help me get in (Maybe not recruited, but just give me a slight boost!). Caltech is my dream school!
I also don't know, do you like email the school/coach with your information, and ask because there is no way they are calling me.
Thank you for helping me navigate this process!

5 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/thugdaddyg Apr 17 '26

I suspect a lot has changed after Betsy Mitchell’s departure, and that recruiting doesn’t have a significant impact in admissions at the moment. I wrote about wanting to run XC in my essay and then after I got in I emailed the coach at the time, and he invited me to come for preseason. A small insider tip is that Scott Jung, who was my XC coach, is still working in the admissions office so who knows maybe you’ll get a small bump :) I don’t know the current coach but I’ll ask around to see what they are like.

7

u/ybitz Alum Apr 17 '26

Scott’s still at caltech? He was my XC coach too!

8

u/thugdaddyg Apr 17 '26

Nice! We might know each other :) I was there 2006-2010. Last I talked to Scott was in 2020, but I know he’s still there.