@nowhiz, if Denison is in the mix, then definitely take a look at Kenyon as it’s a great school, a top D3 team and the facilities are amazing.
Concur. Son much preferred Kenyon to Denison (which he did like). Middlebury has a magnificent indoor track facility. If you like Amherst, you’ll like Midd, too, and may consider adding to your short list.
Actually, I forgot this was a track student athlete - Kenyon is known for swimming much more than track, although new sports complex is amazing. Middlebury’s track team is very strong and it’s facility is unmatched - for now. All of the NESCAC’s are great - my DD will be a xc/track student athlete at Hamilton and had a hard time picking the one for her.
I concur that Midd’s indoor track is best around and both the outdoor track and XC course have amazing views of the Green Mountains. The Trail Around Middlebury also makes for great training.
Colby is building a new athletic complex to be completed 2020. Looks to be pretty fabulous.
My D just went through the recruiting process for a different sport. We found that when a NESCAC, Ivy or other selective college’s coach is serious you get a VERY enthusiastic email that says how impressed they are with you, how they can see you making contributions to their team and asking when they could talk to you. The coaches that requested a date and time to chat were the most serious about wanting her. In the NESCACs the earliest time an early read could be completed was July 1st. You can assume that coaches top picks are getting that great call “you passed the early read and I want to support your application” in July our August. Or, at least a call that says, you passed the early read, please come up for a visit and an overnight with the team this Fall.
Regarding test scores, we were surprised to learn through this process, the some pretty great schools (Ivy’s, Carnegie Mellon, etc) can go down to a 28-29 for an amazing athlete.
Finally, talk to your track coach about what college is a good match for your ability level. Many of my daughters friends were Diii, or D II athletes trying to get DI scholarships. Or, lower level academically trying to get into more prestigious schools. Be realistic about both your grades and academics so you can find the best fit. You wouldn’t want to go to a college where you would be struggling academically.
Best of luck. There are thousands of great colleges out there. Many of them will be thrilled to have you.
Do any of the top NESCAC schools or other top academic schools that have a non binding early admission? My son would like to get help getting in to a school that he wouldn’t be locked into. I guess he could always fall in love but at this point is against committing early. He has talked with a coach that said he might be able to help with regular decision but wasn’t very enthusiastic about it. He would be a preferred walk on level at most of the better D1 schools but a very good D3 recruit.
He may be a better fit academically at a smaller school or an honors college at a larger one. We can’t decide if being full pay at a D3 is worth it when there are good state options because we are upper middle class but nothing more. At some schools, we would get some $$$ when his sibling enters college. Because of the cost issue, we haven’t visited any of the D3 schools but he has gotten a coaches visit, phone calls and a couple asking for pre-read information for admissions
You make that sound like there are not athletes who can play in any division, that D1 are the best athletes and D3 are the worst. That just isn’t true. Many athletes have the choice of which division, often based on the type of school they prefer. Kids make that choice all the time - ‘do I want to go to the top ranked team and be a bench player or do I want to be a starter?’ A player may be a top player on a mid ranked D1, or a starter on D3 but can compete academically and athletically with either level.
Agree with @twoinanddone as the NESCAC has a lot of athletes that decided academics would be the determinent.
@Windows16 asked above, “Do any of the top NESCAC schools or other top academic schools that have a non binding early admission?” I believe the answer to this is NO. They have ED, some of them EDII, and RD. If you are looking for non-binding EA, there are numerous CC threads on this topic. Perhaps read those over and see if any of those schools also have the sports opportunity your kid is interested in.
@twoinanddone I think what @Windows16 was trying to express, was that for some athletes, athletic scholarship money is very important and that is what is driving them to some of the D1 leagues that give out sports scholarships. Other kids just want the best academic experience possible and may use sports as their hook at an Ivy or Nescac. Though they certainly aren’t mutually exclusive as some D1 athletic scholarships also come from excellent academic schools.
There are great athletes at all levels. But the average D3 athlete in most sports isn’t athletically able to compete at D1. There are very legitimate reasons some D1 level talent chooses to compete at D3. But the majority of athletes even at the college level aren’t able to compete at D1. I don’t think there is anything wrong with acknowledging that.
As many people have suggested, the most helpful thing you can do is raise your ACT. Let me add one bit of advice : don’t just sign up and expect to do better a second time. Please, STUDY and prepare specifically for the test. Take multiple practice tests and work on your weaknesses. This looks to be the single most important thing you can do for your collegiate running carrer right now.
I don’t take the email from the Dartmouth coach or Brown coach as negative. My read is they have a limited amount of capital to spend each admissions cycle and right now your 800m time isn’t quite fast enough and ACT isn’t quite high enough for them to spend capital to bridge the gap. Your 800m time is right on threshold between walk-on and recruit for ivy programs. Your ACT is low in the range for those schools. I’m sure those coaches would love to have you on the team, But you need to get yourself closer to academic standards before they can try to give you a nudge in admissions. The Dartmouth coach gave you candid advice. Track season is over so you are unlikely to post faster times before admissions season. Focus on improving test scores
Word of caution: I advise not sharing details of conversations and identifying specific programs. Coaches might not appreciate it and will have no trouble figuring out who you are. When reading your post, names of coaches instantly came to mind, and that’s a good indication you are being too specific. Better to share details in generic way, without identifying school, when posting here and asking for advice.
You got some good advice about D3 programs. I expect your times will attract more attention in D3. In addition to schools already mentioned, maybe look into Haverford? Coach Tom Donnelly has built a good program and produced some very fast runners including sub4 milers. NY Times did nice profile of him a few years ago–worth checking out.
When looking for the right school, don’t only think about where you can get in. Also consider which programs will help your long term development as an athlete. A 1.56 high school runner can develop into a 1.4x stud by the end of college–and end up with a much better career than kids who had faster HS times. Ask not only “what coach will get me past admissions?” but also “which coach will help me reach my best?”
May I ask you a couple questions? How long have you been running and what is your mileage and training? Do you run xc too?
I’ve ran since the 7th grade, and currently I round roughly 20-30 miles a week. I run cross country and my best time so far this season is 16:26, alright I guess lol. Thanks for the advice, and I’ll try to be more discrete when giving details. I’m currently looking in to a couple of D3 schools as well as I feel that would be a better fit for me.
@nowhiz, that seems like really light mileage for a senior - most are running 40+ miles. 16.26 may be ok, depending on course, but it needs to start with a 15 to get attention. What’s your 1600 and 3200 times?