Where do we start?
She is a softball player and has good grades. Other than the obvious of preparing for SATs, volunteering, developing as a player and posting season stats… any suggestions on how to get her in the door at Cornell?
Contact the coach.
Yes, contact the coach. Ask if you can send tape of her playing. Is she being recruited by other schools?
Develop a highlight reel. Remember that athletics is only a portion of what an Ivy League coach looks at when determining who to recruit. I’m Cornell class of '78, Hopkins MA, Harvard Law, and a Cornell double parent. Both of my kids were above average athletes (tennis and field hockey) but both were outstanding students.And the depth of their EC’s (including work in the family businesses) were exceptional.
Seeing that she is only a freshman in high school, it is a long way off to predict if she will be good enough to be recruited as a DI athlete.
Grades and scores are a HUGE part of the equation. Not that the athletic skills are secondary – but Ivy athletes need the whole package.
You also shouldn’t be focused on any one school’s pgm at this point too. If you’re going to go the recruited athlete route (which is perfectly viable), you should be looking broadly. If one day she’s viable for Cornell, then many schools will also be wanting her. It’s getting her to that stage of attractiveness that’s the real issue.