<p>I would REALLY appreciate hearing from serious athletes who have applied to D III LACs, in terms of admissions, financial aid and anything else you can share. </p>
<p>(I would also greatly appreciate NOT hearing from the non-athletes with an ax to grind -- my D comes home from games and then studies till 1 a.m., so...)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Laxmom07</p>
<p>So I'm not sure exactly what you want to know but a lot of my friends have gone on to DIII athletics, although I'm not planning on it.<br>
Most of them didn't really qualify for/need financial aid, and DIII schools aren't supposed to give (non-need based) money to athletes but I do hear a lot that if a coach really wants you they'll give you a really nice financial aid package (within reason) at most schools.
Definitely talk with the coaches at whatever schools you're interested in and they should be able to tell you want they're looking for, etc. My friend talked to a coach at Dartmouth for example and the coach told him if he could get his time down by x amount that he could help him get in</p>
<p>Well, if any of your friends were "recruited" to a D III school, I would appreciate the chance to talk with them. This does not include kids who got in through the regular admissions system and then decided to play (unless they know about the others...)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm a rising senior, so I haven't applied yet, but I've basically heard that if you're good enough, the coaches can both give you an edge in admissions and wrangle a nice financial aid package for you, despite the fact that no Division III athletic scholarships exist. Not sure how true this is, though.</p>
<p>I submitted the prospective student-athlete forms to all the D-III colleges I was interested in at the time in the winter last year. In November, after the swim season's done, I'm going to email the coaches at the colleges on my final list, letting them know about my time drops, and that I'm applying and still interested in swimming at the college level.</p>
<p>I've already gotten phone calls from one college, and I'm expecting more in the fall. If I get an opportunity to visit the campuses, I will definitely try to see the coach & the facilities as well.</p>
<p>And I definitely place in the top 5-top 10 in my events at the colleges I looked at; I wouldn't have tried if I had known I was out of range.</p>
<p>lax07--
It would be useful--before this thread gets muddled--for you to clarify what "recruited" means to you. We go through this every year here, and it gets confusing and sometimes sends a thread in the wrong direction. </p>
<p>For some, you are a recruited athlete only when there is a quid pro quo involved: offers of athletic scholarship money or a willingness to overlook a couple of Cs or a lower than average SAT in return for a committment to play on a team. </p>
<p>For others, you are a recruited athlete if, upon expressing an interest in playing on a team, a coach begins wooing you in the hope that you will come to his/her school, and play. This can happen to students who don't qualify for any financial aid (merit, athletic, or otherwise) and who need no special intervention with an admissions committee because they already have academic stats at the top of the heap. Such players can be stars, or they can simply be solid varsity workhorses that D-III schools (typically small LACs) need to field a complete team. The athletic contact aphot describes is important at an LAC, and will help in either case, IMO.</p>
<p>However, the recruitment dances are different, and appropriate respondents to your query will have different stories/advice to offer.</p>
<p>My friend recently committed to Williams as a diver. If you have any questions I could toss them his way.</p>
<p>Williams is a D-III member of NESCAC
[quote]
Student-athletes applying to NESCAC institutions should be aware that, although each college has its own distinct admissions process and requirements, the following guidelines have been agreed to by all eleven members regarding all candidates for admission:</p>
<p>· All admissions decisions are rendered and delivered in writing by the admissions office only. Any communication regarding the status of admissions decisions conveyed by non-admissions personnel should be considered preliminary, unofficial, and subject to change.</p>
<p>· No admissions decision, including an Early Decision, will be made until the candidate’s application is complete and all necessary supporting documentation has been received.</p>
<p>· By NCAA and conference policy, there are no athletic scholarships awarded at NESCAC institutions. Financial aid awards are offered in writing only by the institution’s financial aid office and not before the student has been admitted. Institutions may not provide written or oral financial aid evaluations to prospective students prior to being admitted. </p>
<p>· All NESCAC institutions have an Early Decision Round One option with a mid-December notification date. All NESCAC institutions except Amherst and Williams have an Early Decision Round Two option with a notification period between February 1 and February 15. All NESCAC institutions have a late March-early April Regular Decision notification period.
[/quote]
<a href="http://www.nescac.com/Conference/visit.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.nescac.com/Conference/visit.htm</a> </p>
<p>For more general D-III recruiting rules, you can visit here: <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4j3CQXJgFjGpvqRqCKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQiHJHRUUAc0tpTA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfTFU!?CONTENT_URL=http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/legislation_and_governance/eligibility_and_recruiting/recruiting.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4j3CQXJgFjGpvqRqCKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQiHJHRUUAc0tpTA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfTFU!?CONTENT_URL=http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/legislation_and_governance/eligibility_and_recruiting/recruiting.html</a></p>
<p>i was admitted to a few d3 schools as an athlete, but opted not to go. you can message me if you want</p>
<p>To me, recruited means a guaranteed roster spot. This is especially important in Div III because there is no scholarship money involved (which can mean less commitment from both sides). Some coaches will bring in extra athletes to fill the gaps left by those who change their minds and decide not to participate while other coaches just want a lot of players to choose from and then makes cuts.</p>
<p>Unofficially driver...</p>
<p>What I want to hear about is the experience of students who (without the legalistic mumbo jumbo please) are "recruited" by coaches to attend the school for the purpose of playing -- the coaches approach them, invite them to visit (whether official or unofficial), watch their playing and, to some extent "shepherd" their application through the system. That is, more or less the same thing that we mean at a D I school, but without the scholarships and the letter of intent. (I don't really care what we call it, I just want to talk with or about students who have had this experience.)</p>
<p>Smytty -- yes that would be wonderful! That's precisely the kind of info I'm looking for -- I'll send you my email privately to pass on to him if you don't mind </p>
<p>Driver -- Thanks, that info is very helpful. I have had a lot of trouble keeping all of these various leagues and their rules straight, and which teams belong to which, so this is helpful -- we're not talking to Williams, but have been talking to a couple of the others in that league. How did you happen to know this information? Are you a VKJ (very knowledgeable jock) or...?</p>
<p>TheKramer -- yes please, let's talk</p>
<p>SON12 -- That's a really good point -- but do coaches actually have the clout with admissions to bring in that many players? Even a Div I can't do that (I think). Are you saying that we have to ask specific questions, or that we have to get it in writing? The Div IIIs that my D is talking to are all talking as if it's a given that she'll be their starter if she comes in board -- do we need to ask for it in writing. (And, oh yes, what is the source of your knowledge?)</p>
<p>Thanks again to all!</p>
<p>laxmom07</p>
<p>
[quote]
How did you happen to know this information? Are you a VKJ (very knowledgeable jock) or...?
[/quote]
My daughter played for two years at a NESCAC school. All of her schools, except for a couple of safeties, were NESCAC or Ivies, so my knowledge is limited to those leagues. She prepared a sports resume which included her basic academic stats and sent them to all the coaches. All the NESCAC coaches responded, some quite enthusiastically with multiple calls/emails etc. All set up visits and overnights, when asked. No one offered to shepherd anything anywere. I believe there is a rule requiring that first contact be made by the student, but I don't remember if it's a NESCAC or D-III rule. I don't think coaches are allowed to visit a student's HS for the purpose of scouting, either. We went through this over three years ago, so I don't have complete recall of all the details, though.</p>
<p>If what you say is true driver, then it doesn't get followed 100% of the time. My friend was contacted first by the Williams coach (and if it is a rule, it is certainly a NESCAC rule, not D3).</p>
<p>First contact rules ... a lot of this depends on how far along in school a student is. I believe the rule is that the school can not initiate contact before the summer before a athlete's senior year. The school can respond to any contact by the student before then though. The NCAA site driver provided above has the specifcs by sport by division.</p>
<p>My son was recruited by DI, DII, DIII, receiving recrutiment letters starting the middle of his junior year of high school . The phone calls started in the summer before his senior year and continuing through the fall of senior year. He initiated contact with a few schools he had not heard from (some have larger recruiting budgets than others). The excellent academics and competitive but less pressured filled option of a NESCAC DIII school seemed to be the best option. Last October he accepted an athletic slot or tip from a NESCAC school, applied ED and was accepted. We made it very clear that we needed financial aid and received a fair package that was 85% grant. PM me if you want more details.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My son was recruited by DI, DII, DIII, receiving recrutiment letters starting the middle of his junior year of high school . The phone calls started in the summer before his senior year and continuing through the fall of senior year
[/quote]
hmm ... obviously I had it wrong ... maybe writtten correspondence is OK before the summer before their senior year but it is live conversations that need to wait until that summer?</p>
<p>When I first discovered the NESCAC site several years ago, there was a detailed manual dealing with coaches and recruitment regulations available for pdf download. It is no longer there, for some reason. It was quite detailed and strict--about three full pages long. Perhaps they no longer use it....I may also have misinterpreted some of the legalese. An abbreviated portion of it remains on the web, as it was adopted verbatim in the Middlebury athletic manual, which can be seen here: <a href="http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/athletics%5B/url%5D">http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/athletics</a>
[quote]
C. Recruiting Activity of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics or Athletic Representatives</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A member of the department may visit a secondary school, public or private, only on specific invitation from an appropriate authority at that school and for the purpose of being present at, or speaking at, a banquet or an assembly to present awards or a similar scheduled function.</p></li>
<li><p>The institution will pay only those traveling expenses for coaches incurred in carrying out regular coaching duties, in accepting invitations to speak at schools as described in 1 above, or to speak at or attend other appropriate meetings.</p></li>
<li><p>No member of the athletic department, or athletic representative, may visit prospective students (or prospects' relatives or legal guardians) in their homes or otherwise seek private interviews with them off campus.</p></li>
<li><p>Only officially appointed admissions staff members are authorized at any time to make promises or commitments to prospective students as to admission, scholarship, or campus employment.</p></li>
<li><p>Group Admissions Meeting Guidelines</p></li>
</ol>
<p>a. It must be sponsored by the institution or an alumni group.</p>
<p>b. It must be open to all prospective students and announced as a function of the sponsoring group.</p>
<p>c. Expenses may not be paid from athletic department funds.</p>
<p>d. All athletic staff members are prohibited from attending, organizing, or administering any off-campus meeting for the purpose of recruiting student athletes.</p>
<ol>
<li>Neither the College nor its organized alumni athletic associations may pay the travel costs of prospective students to the campus for the purpose of athletic recruitment.
[/quote]
</li>
</ol>
<p>All the recruiting rules only apply to division I and II. Division III have no rules regarding telephone calls or written mail. For Division I and II, coaches can send mail and information about the school at the start of the students junior year. Telephone calls can start on July 1 of the students senior year. You can only get one phone call per week from the coach. E-mails are unlimited. These are the basic rules for D-I and D-II. I believe football and basketball have different recruiting periods than the rest of the sports though. But as far as D-III, their are no restrictions as far as when coaches can call and send mail.</p>
<p>REFERENCES:</p>
<p>NCAA - Division III - Coaches Recruiting Guide (updated 2/06/06)
<a href="http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/recruiting_guides/2005-06/2005-06_d3_recruit_guide.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/recruiting_guides/2005-06/2005-06_d3_recruit_guide.pdf</a></p>
<p>NCAA - Division III - Manual / Bylaws
<a href="http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_iii_manual/2006-07/2006-07_d3_manual.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_iii_manual/2006-07/2006-07_d3_manual.pdf</a></p>
<p>NCAA - Online Resource for Membership Publications link:
<a href="http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4j3CQXJgFjGpvqRqCKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQiHJHRUUAc0tpTA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfTFU!?CONTENT_URL=http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/ncaa_publications/membership/index.html#bylaws%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLN4j3CQXJgFjGpvqRqCKOcAFfj_zcVH1v_QD9gtzQiHJHRUUAc0tpTA!!/delta/base64xml/L3dJdyEvUUd3QndNQSEvNElVRS82XzBfTFU!?CONTENT_URL=http://www2.ncaa.org/portal/media_and_events/ncaa_publications/membership/index.html#bylaws</a></p>
<p>my friend got recruited to haverford and W&L for lax, and chose W&L. Im not sure about the aid package he got, but im sure they gave him more than they would have if he wasnt an athlete... he had a 1940/1320 SAT score and was ranked barely in the top 25%.</p>