<p>Many schools (and the Common App) ask what sports an applicant plans on pursuing on the "intercollegiate" level. Yet these days even D3 varsity are mostly recruited, and walk-ons are pretty rare. How should an athletically inclined (e.g. 3-sport kid like my D) but not recruit-level student respond, given that, whatever they might wish, its unlikely they will compete at the intercollegiate level? There certainly will be no tips, but is it at all useful to let the admissions office know they would be interested?</p>
<p>It would certainly be useful. Even if you aren't a recruit, it is possible to walk on for some sports. It is always good to show interest. You never know.</p>
<p>Most schools also have club sports and intramurals that are very important to the life of the school community. Schools want to make sure that those less "selective" sporting opportunities continue.</p>
<p>Admissions officers will certainly value the dedication of a student who's played with passion throughout HS, and for whom sports are a major and important EC that's required many hours of committment. You should certainly stress this on an app if it's been important. (But of course having dedication AND talent are better than just dedication :)</p>
<p>If your daughter has any interest in playing a college sport, I encourage her to contact coaches at the schools where she's applying.</p>
<p>I have two daughters, neither of whom was recruited for her sport. Even so, both showed a great deal of interest by contacting coaches and going on overnight visits arranged by the coaches. Once she decided on a school, daughter #1 tried out and made the D3 team in her sport. She earned a starting position her freshman year and was so excited when her team made it to the NCAA playoffs. This past year, the team made it all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16! Because of our daughter's small stature, my husband and I never dreamed she would have the opportunity to play a varsity sport in college. Needless to say, it's been one of the highlights of her college experience.</p>
<p>Daughter #2 was just accepted Early Action at a top university. The coach for her sport wrote a recommendation for her application, although he didn't recruit her. I can only believe it helped her in the admissions process. Our fingers are crossed that she makes the team.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>drb - my daughter checked off the interested in intercollegiate box even though she wasn't recruited. She did ponder whether her interest would equate with an invitation to participate, but decided to adopt a "nothing ventured, nothing gained" attitude. What are they going to do? Sniff and say "My word, this person is getting above themselves!" ;)</p>
<p>drb, I think you are getting good advice here. I concur.</p>
<p>D was not a recruited D 3 athlete but was welcomed onto bball teams at all but a few D3 powerhouses after sending a couple of game tapes and a visit. It wouldn't hurt. D answered the question at one school "I will play basketball. The only Q is whether it will be club, varsity, or intramural". She is living up to that and has made both the coed and women's Ultimate Frisbee teams after deciding not to play varsity ball. (Grrrrrr. Another story. LOL. )</p>
<p>I have a freshman (DS2) who's in a full IB program and plays football. Will likely have SATs and grades that will be in the 50-75%tiles at highly competitive schools (albeit probably not top of the class). He is considering playing in college. It's too early to tell if he will be a recruited athlete, but he certainly has the size (and we certainly have the grocery bills :)). He is interested in small LACs, maybe Ivy. </p>
<p>So how do coaches find out about these kids? Do the HS coaches let schools know? Do the kids need to make the outreach? Do many kids send in tapes?</p>
<p>I am totally in the dark on this one, but DS2 asked me, so I figured I'd ask for your collective wisdom.</p>
<p>Cur, any young woman who plays competitive Ultimate is A+ in DS1's book!</p>
<p>CountingDown, there are several great threads on this topic. I'd search "recruiting" or "recruited". AS for D, the schools she was most interested in have teeny tiny recruiting budgets. There is zero chance they would have ever found D. Tapes, online interest forms, coaches phone numbers. They will watch and they will call. We used full game tapes . (They were good games but not some highlight reel.) That's pretty much how it's done and YOU (your family) have to do it.</p>
<p>D3 schools can't recruit enough kids to fill their teams. . not enough staff, time or budget. And small liberal arts schools love to see multi-sport kids apply (especially males that list football.) Your S should definitely list the sports he is interested in playing, and send tapes and coach recommendations if available. </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that there is a wide range of athletic skill and team needs found among D3 schools. Student A may not be able to swim for Kenyon, but might be able to swim for every school in another conference.</p>
<p>D3 schools vary remarkably in terms of athletics. At Williams, the coach never returned my D's emails. At WUSL, the coach essentially told her that she wouldn't make the team. Midd told her that she would stay on the JV team. Other schools, however, seemed to really like the fact that she was athletic and dedicated. At Swat and a few other places, the coaches told her that they would like to hear from everyone who in interested in participating on the team and that they really couldn't predict who might blossom into a star. </p>
<p>My D-- definately NOT a recruited athlete--earned a spot on her LAC team this year. Though she is far from the top of the heap, she is having fun. Did it help in terms of admissions? Probably not, but it might have made her sound more interesting and focused.</p>
<p>It may be a bit late to try to use athletic interest to leverage admissions. It is worth a try and it is also worthwhile to check out the opportunities. Your kids should call or email the athletics dept and ask about opportunities. If your kid is athletic, but not at a competitive level for the major sports, there may still be a lot of opportunities. Consider some of the lesser sports. At one school, my D asked about crew. The school was very encouraging and sent followup emails and a letter. Just adding information about that interaction on the application may make a difference.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great info.<br>
We have a family friend who wanted to play field hockey in college (she was captain of a championship team at her small, rural HS), and her first choice college (Div I) said she'd ride the bench for four years. A small, all-women's Div III an hour away recruited her -- she was first string, captain and got job offers based on her leadership skills from the experience. They contacted her, though -- so that's what prompted my questions.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>There are tons of D3 schools and I would not paint them with a broad brush. The top 10-20 programs in any sport may recruit heavily and not accept walk-ons ... there are some schools that do very minimal recruiting and see who shows up for tryouts (I had a friend who played varisty soccer at an excellent LAC who did not make his HS team) ... and the lion's share of schools probably recruit some, mostly locally, and are very open to prospective students contacting them. Almost all schools web pages have a "contact the coach" system on their web pages ... it's definitely worth the 10 minutes to send an email to see if a school might be interested.</p>
<p>In addition, I would consider making a tape to send to coaches. Some sports like swimming and track that are timed on standard distances just sending times probably is enough. For other sports like basketball or soccer a tape can be a big help. I have read that most coaches prefer to see continuous action versus a pure highlight reel. Highlight reels allow people to cherry pick moments ... continuous action allows a coach to see if the player does all the dirty work and if they always are in the game.</p>
<p>All students interested in playing an NCAA sport in college are supposed to sign up with the "NCAA Clearinghouse". This is the website that all coaches look at to see what high school students are out there. It also lets them know if the students are eligible academically, as you are required to send transcripts and sat scores to the clearinghouse before you get posted on the website. If a student is interested in possibly being a late recruit at this point, or especially if interested in a smaller, div III college that will be looking to fill out its team come this spring, he or she should definitely be on there. My daughter goes to a school for athletes in FLorida. Trust me, there is not one student out of 800 who is not on that clearinghouse. Some are professional level, some are not very good. But ALL are on the clearinghouse.</p>
<p>The clearinghouse is NOT required for D3 athletes. A great many kids who know that they don't want (or wouldn't quailfy for ) D1 or D2 opps don't bother to register with the Clearinghouse. No D3 schools D contacted asked her if she had registered or suggested she needed to register. (9 schools , seven of which were in competitive D3 conferences of schools she applied to, and she contacted 10 or more other schools)</p>
<p><a href="9%20schools%20,%20seven%20of%20which%20were%20in%20competitive%20D3%20conferences%20of%20schools%20she%20applied%20to,%20and%20she%20contacted%2010%20or%20more%20other%20schools">quote=me </a>
[/quote]
Lemmee try that again. Sorry, I'm in a bit of a waking coma tonight. </p>
<p>She applied to nine schools where she wanted to play BBall , 7 of which were in competitive D3 conferences . She also contacted (without applying) to 10 more D3 schools and sent tapes , had conversations with coaches. None of these schools required D3 clearinghouse. There. That now makes some sense. Sorry. ;)</p>
<p>SUNSHADOW - NCAA Clearinghouse is only REQUIRED for D1 and D2 - for academic eligability purposes and to determine non-pro level of the athlete - not for D3 (for which the NCAA rules are a bit different) or for any club eligability - and there are some very competitive college club sports out there - with national championships and all - Ultimate Frisbee - touch football - snowboarding :D - crew - etc..... There is a way for any athlete to compete at some level in college if they want to - even to find a completely new sport if they choose as well :D</p>
<p>
JeepMom, Speaking only of my family's situation, I wish this one weren't true. Grrrrrr. Ultimate Frisbee instead of God's own sport of women's basketball? Grrrr...LOL. I am STILL not over it. <sniff></sniff></p>
<p>AAWWW CURMUDGEON - have you ever played ultimate?? My gal got involved in it as well LOL - and she loves it - AND they play at nite to boot LOL - with a glow in the dark frisbee LOL.</p>
<p>...........even to find a completely new sport if they choose as well..........</p>
<p>I know what you mean - my gal found a new way to compete from everything she had ever played - but on a field of white LOL - the snowboard team - altho she boarded for a while - she had never raced before joining the college team ROFL - and off to Nationals 3 times to boot :D - and came out of it ranked LOL - so - I hear your pain but I have to to admit to some satisfaction in my outcome :)</p>