Academically, my test scores are good but I want to run xc and track in college, and athletically, I’m not fast enough for good d1 schools. Any suggestions for a good school?
Williams College is outstanding academically & athletically without requiring D1 times.
Are you fast enough to be recruited for D2/D3 schools? What year are you in? Have you started the recruitment process?
And you can google a list of D2 and D3 colleges with cross country teams – Williams is but one of the many outstanding choices. Not knowing the details of your academic stats, what is affordable, what your preferences are in terms of size, location, potential major etc. it is hard to suggest any group of schools.
D3 schools go all the way to the super-reach level academically. (MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Pomona, JHU, WashU, Emory Tufts, etc. etc. etc.) The only caveat is that the tippy-top academic D3 schools tend to be private, because public flagship U’s tend to be D1. If you need public-U prices and D3 sports, then you’re typically looking at branch campuses (though there are some that are academically strong). As far as the private D3’s go, if you cannot pay your EFC (whether that is full pay or whether you are eligible for need-based aid), then you would need to target schools where you’re in the upper quartile academically to get merit aid. If they want you for athletics, that can enhance your merit potential even though there are no athletic-specific scholarships.
As others have said, there’s no way to make suggestions without knowing your academic qualifications, interests, and goals; but you can start by looking up the list of D2/D3 schools and identifying ones of interest. Most will have a form you can fill out on the athletics website to express interest.
@happy1 and @aquapt I am going to be a senior this year, and have actually started the recruitment process, I’m just looking for some schools I might have overlooked. My ACT composite is a 33 and I got a 1410 on my psat. Individually, my ACT subscores are as follows: 36- reading, 32- math, 36- english/language and 34- science. I’m fast enough to run at basically any d2 or d3 school, and weak d1 programs.
Are you already looking at the Claremont Colleges? The five colleges share two athletic programs - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer. There’s likely at least one school in there that’s a match for your interests unless you’re looking for something specifically pre-professional. What are you hoping to study? Would you need merit aid to attend a private LAC?
Some of the best colleges academically compete in D3 conferences. Schools like MIT and Johns Hopkins and CalTech.
If you’re interested in D3 schools with strong academics check out some of the following conferences:
• UAA (nicknamed “the Egghead Eight”—Chicago, WUSTL, Emory, CWRU, URoch, Brandeis, CMU, NYU),
• NESCAC (often called “the Little Ivies”—Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Tufts, Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams),
• Midwest Conference (lots of excellent midwestern LACs in Illinois and Wisconsin, including among others, Beloit, Coe, Cornell College, Grinnell, Knox, Lake Foret, and others I can’t remember),
• Minnesota Intercollegiate (with all those great upper midwestern schools like St. Olaf, Macalester, Carleton, St. Thomas, etc.)
These are just the tip of the iceberg and reflect a bias based on the schools that my kids were interested in. D has classmates from high school who are running XC at SLU and MIT (and NU), IIRC.
D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, but if you’re good at your sport and want to continue to compete as a scholar-athlete and get a great education, there are are many, many schools where you can do that. Many of the most selective ones also guarantee to meet financial need.
For many academic interests, look into NESCACs such as Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, Bowdoin and Wesleyan, Vassar, Kenyon, Colorado College, the Claremonts.
UC San Diego is D2, fwiw, and is a highly ranked public U, but it’s no bargain for OOS students. Same with UC Santa Cruz which is D3. (I can’t imagine a nicer setting/climate for XC though!)
Any typos in your ACT section scores? As posted, they combine for a composite of ~35 (34.5).
Alabama-Huntsville competes in NCAA Division 2, and can be a definite bargain if your stats are good. I’m not sure if an athletic scholarship would stack to any automatic academic aid you’d receive. However, that might not matter, depending on your financial/academic/athletic situation.
The previous posts are pointing you towards D2 and D3 options. And it’s true that there are a number of D3 athletic conferences that combine strong academics with relatively relaxed athletic standards, like NESCAC or UAA. The Centennial Conference (e.g. Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr) or the SCIAC (Caltech, Claremonts, Occidental) are other D3 leagues like this. In general, it does seem like many D3 schools could be academic and athletic “fits” for you.
However, there is also a D1 option that seems like a potential fit. Check out the Patriot League: Colgate, Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Holy Cross, Boston University etc. These schools are strong academically, like the D3s – yet their athletic programs are D1 (typically weak D1), so you could potentially get an athletic scholarship. I wouldn’t count on getting the big bucks for track/xc, but hey, it might be cool to hold an NCAA D1 athletic scholarship, even if the actual amount is nominal.
The Ivy League is obviously another D1 option with great academics and relatively weak athletics. However, the Ivies would tend to be more of a reach for your stats, while the Patriot League would tend to be more of a match. Note also that the Ivies decline to offer “athletic scholarships”, despite their D1 status.
UCSD was historically D2, but is now in the process of moving to D1. It’s joining the Big West Conference, which also has schools like UCD, UCI, UCSB, UCR, Cal Poly SLO, and CSULB. Seems like a natural place for them.
I think you should post more information regarding your intended major or at least your interests. The vast array of various schools which posters have offered are very different. Someone who is applying to MIT would not likely be someone who is also applying to Lake Forest.
Also, beware the donut hole. Folks are suggesting applying to the little Ivies and other strong schools. If your EFC doesn’t match up and your parents make too much to qualify for big aid and they cannot pay 50-60K you might be stuck. Strong schools like these might not give you as much money as you may get elsewhere where you’d be at the top of their list in terms of applicants. You’ll have to compare. Also, some of the schools suggested are tiny so that might impact both your learning and your sport. You’ll have to do serious research to cull the lists.
@merc81 no, my overall composite is 33. They combine to form a higher composite because I have taken it twice and those are my highest sub scores.
@Happytimes2001 I’m not quite sure what I want to do academically, but I’m thinking something along the lines of biomechanics/kinesiology or biomedical engineering.
Most of the selective D3 schools are liberal arts colleges. Most LACs will not offer majors in fields like biomedical engineering or kinesiology. So you probably need a university, not a LAC, and this restricts the choices. Possible options:
- D3. The UAA consists of academically strong D3 universities. MIT, Caltech, and Johns Hopkins are other top D3 universities.
- D2. Some smaller engineering-oriented state universities, e.g. Colorado School of Mines, UAlabama-Huntsville, Missouri U of Science & Technology, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
- D1. Patriot League universities, e.g. Lehigh or BU. Bucknell is a large LAC, but has biomedical engineering. Strong academics, but relatively weak athletics for D1.
@1t1a11 You should look at the best academic programs in those fields. I have STEM kids who play sports. They are stronger academically than in sports but one might be recruited ( DII-III would be more likely). Coaches always tell them pick the school first then the sports program. Also don’t forget to check jobs in both fields. I would imagine that bio medical engineering is a stronger degree than biomechanics. Talk to people in both fields if you can and see what prospects are available in your field. Remember too, it’s better to have a more general but strong undergraduate degree. If you specific too much it could become obsolete.
Here are four private D3 schools ranked in the top 100 nationally for track with biomedical engineering. Two are tech schools and two are universities with med schools
RPI
MIT
Tufts
Johns Hopkins
UMass Amherst has a strong graduate program in kinesiology, but I am not sure if it has an undergrad program and it is D1.
Here are the D3 track rankings. Others may recognize schools with biomedical engineering or kinesiology…
http://www.ustfccca.org/infozone-rankings-hub?season=2018&sport=O&div=3&sub=99&type=R