<p>I am applying to some top private colleges that are D3. I want to do sports in college, and am hoping that by contacting the coach, he/she can put a word in for me during admissions. I'm hoping that this can boost my chances for admission. What would be appropriate to talk about with the coach? Should I mention my high school record and stats for my sport, and ask if they are good enough for that school? What is important to mention? Thanks!</p>
<p>I think a lot of schools have a separate application to fill out–you can usually find them on the college athletics website under recruiting. They typically ask for your weight/height, SAT, gpa, etc. My friend in High School went through the recruiting process as well and he sent personal letters to the coaches as well–explaining his dedication to the sport as well as academics, sharing titles he had won, etc. This of course helps show that you are really interested. It might also be in your interest to look at the school’s athletics site and peruse the current team’s stats…for example if you want to do swimming check and see how fast the typical swimmer is and see if you are in the same range. </p>
<p>I saw my friend go through this process and you definitely need to be aggressive/assertive about it, unless you’re in the top percentile, colleges will unlikely contact you first, you need to contact them and make yourself known/available. </p>
<p>hope this helped!</p>
<p>Yea I was specifically thinking about MIT, a D3 school who’s sports aren’t top notch…
I am not that great at my sport (track) (only varsity level: no League/Regional/State awards or anything like that), but am thinking of participating in MIT. I’m not sure what I should say to the coach though…should I just mention how I am dedicated to the sport, my personal records, and ask how competitive I would be?</p>
<p>Remember that athletic “recruiting” at D3 schools carries much less weight in the admissions process than that in D1, so don’t expect athletics to be some sort of panacea (especially not at MIT).</p>
<p>Yea, I’ve heard. I am most heavily involved in math/science (doing 2 research projects, taken 2 math college courses, 2 science college courses, Rank 1, National AP Scholar, NMSF, 2290, 34, went to prestigious summer science program, various math/science competitions). I’ve just been very dedicated to running throughout high school, and I’ve spent many hours at practice. I want to continue participating in this sport in college, and I think that I could be eligible for the MIT team. </p>
<p>My question is, what should I include in my email to the coach, to see if he/she will talk to the admissions office about me? Thank you.</p>
<p>You should read through this Athletics Recruit section. Your questions most likely have been asked and answered already. There is much talk about MIT and recruitment there. But don’t be fooled, D3 recruited athletes are often just as good as D1 athletes. If you are “not that good” chances are you won’t be recruited.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to times that the divisions are looking for:</p>
<p>[Men’s</a> Track Recruiting Guidelines](<a href=“http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools/track/mens-track-recruiting-guidelines]Men’s”>http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools/track/mens-track-recruiting-guidelines)</p>
<p>Even at DIII level, they are looking for state qualifiers and county/conference awards.</p>
<p>MIT generally isn’t looking for athletes in the same way the Ivy’s are. Even though they want to field good teams, it doesn’t have a huge impact on admissions. Because you’re academically qualified, I think if you were a standout athlete you would have a good shot. The coach only has so many players he can tip in, and those aren’t even guaranteed, so you have to make sure he wants you. Otherwise, I don’t think it would have a huge impact on your admissions - it would just be another thing on your resume.</p>
<p>I would suggest emailing the coach and giving him some information about your athletic and academic qualifications. They’ll usually be pretty straight-up with you about where you stand if you ask some questions. Also, do it soon. I don’t know how track recruiting works exactly, but in a lot of sports most coaches have established contact with the kids they want.</p>
<p>There are a few things you can do.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fill out the online recruit form for each college you are interested in. You’ll see there what info they are looking for. You might get responses from coaches just by filling out the form.</p></li>
<li><p>If you’re going to be visiting colleges, email the coach first and ask to meet with him/her. A great way to get the discussions going.</p></li>
<li><p>Create and mail in a sports profile - kind of like a resume but highlighting sports. Basically, a coach will want to know whether you’re a good match academically for the college, and have a good chance of being accepted. So give all the info you would highlight on your app, plus tell the coach about your performance in your sport: statistics, honors, varsity letters, club experience. My D mailed a packet with her profile, a highlights reel, and personal letter to several coaches at highly selective LACs. In her letter, she said she was interested in playing at college X, and asked the coach to support her application. Every single coach has responded. Some have invited her to visit the college to get to know the team.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you don’t want to get coach support for you application, you don’t have to do any of these things. I’ve read that MIT puts almost no weight on coaches’ recruiting needs, but many other top LAC’s definitely use coach evaluations in admissions.</p>
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<p>Hmm really? Almost no weight? I’m sure it’ll help at least a little though, right?</p>
<p>^^ That’s based on a study by Bowen and Levin, published as “Reclaiming the Game …” You might want to pick it up at your library and skim a few of the chapters about the athletic advantage in college admissions. I would have thought even MIT would have to give some preference to athletes, but this book says it ain’t so.</p>
<p>MIT clearly gives some weight to basketball. Still VERY difficult, though.</p>
<p>tomjones, are you in the accepted ranges for MIT for GPA and test scores? MIT wants to accept kids who will thrive there, and running track while hanging in academically would be a challenge. They want to make sure you can do both successfully. Answer that in the affirmative, with something to back it up, and you might have a case.</p>
<p>We’ve known 3 kids who were/are on the track team at MIT. All were All-State athletes in high school. All were strong candidates for MIT based on their academic records alone. All were told by the coaches that they had little, if any, impact on admissions; however, after being admitted the athletes thought that their athletic abilities might have been a tip that resulted in their admission over equally academically qualified applicants who couldn’t make that contribution to MIT’s athletics. Another track athlete who was recruited by MIT and had equally good academic credentials did not end up being admitted, so it seems that the coach’s influence is fairly minimal there.</p>
<p>If you haven’t even qualified for state I wouldn’t waste the time and effort. Just try and walk on if you get in.</p>
<p>^Hmm ok thanks. I think my academics are up-to-par (regional/state recognition for math/science competitions, research projects, summer science programs, college classes, Rank 1, 2290, 34, National AP Scholar, etc.), but I wanted to know if getting the coach to support my admission would increase my chances…I guess not. However, I did email him my times, and he said if I improved just a little bit, then I had a chance to make the team…(his email reply was basically 90% automated copy/paste from the website, and I think he included his own message…)</p>