<p>My daughter is a three-sport varsity athlete and B plus (unweighted) student with 680 verbal/560 math PSAT. Loves to read, very social and taking mostly honors/AP courses with GPA going up steadily. Her best sport is tennis, where she's near top on the high school circuit but has little tournament experience outside that and isn't in the DI or DII zone. But she'd love to play DIII. Would it be worth her while to send out some emails to coaches? And would it help her get in/get aid? She's interested in the likes of Colorado College, Bates, Ithaca, BC, Montana State, SUNY Binghamton and other schools that might match her profile. Also, she's getting mail from Northeastern, WPI, University of Chicago presumably based on PSAT report. Does this mean anything?
Any suggestions and anecdotes helpful - thanks.</p>
<p>Coaches can influence the admissions decision at DIII schools. There is no harm in having her contact them.</p>
<p>The mail you are getting does not really mean anything. Everyone who checked the box is getting something.</p>
<p>you should also post this on the recruited athletes forum.</p>
<p>Thanks. Is the best route to contact them filling out the prospect recruit form at the college’s admissions site? This seems very formal, etc.</p>
<p>i don’t know the answer, but I do that being recruited has lots and lots of rules[ in order to avoid abuses by unscrupulous college coaches?] A friends son was just recruited and the stories she told me about all of the rules and restrictions about who can call him and when were eye-opening!The pros over on this forum know far more than I.
[Athletic</a> Recruits - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/]Athletic”>Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>Yes fill out the prospect recruiting form, but follow up with an email to the coach with the same information. The prospect recruiting forms are very hit or miss. My son only got 2 responses back after filling out about a dozen Direct emails (or phone calls from your daughter) to the coach are much more effective.</p>
<p>All good tips - thanks.</p>
<p>It really depends on the school. D-III does not offer any athletic scholarships, yet at some schools a coach’s word can tip the scales in favor of a certain recruit in the admissions process. The aid will depend on your financial need (as determined by the colleges :rolleyes:), and merit scholarships (if any) will be given based on the academic credentials. It really does not hurt to approach the coaches at your target schools. Do it in the middle of the junior year.</p>
<p>Some thoughts:</p>
<p>It is always OK for a student to contact the coach - the restrictions are on the coaches.</p>
<p>Find out if the coach holds summer camps and plan to attend.</p>
<p>Ask to visit the campus and meet the coach and players. Again, if the student initiates there are little or no restrictions.</p>
<p>Pick academics first - many athletes find their interests wane with all the new opportunities and the commitment required.</p>
<p>Yes, e-mail coaches, and yes, fill out the online recruit form. Admissions will use this information to start sending more snail and e-mail about the school. Your d has taken a great first step by identifying schools she’d like to attend vs. teams/coaches she’d like to play for. Too many kids do it the other way around, and, particularly in DIII, the sports often do not work out. </p>
<p>The merit/fin aid offers she gets will not be tied to her athletics–another good thing if she ends up not playing. DIII coaches rarely have much pull with admissions unless it’s a program with a strong history, long-standing coach, and she is a top recruit.</p>
<p>Also be aware that DIII coaches often use playing on their team as a hook to get the kids to come there. Many many kids go off to __ LAC thinking they will play but there will be tryouts and not all of the kids will make the team. Again, as long as she chooses a school she’d like without the sport, she’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I have become pretty familiar with D3 colleges and athletics recently. Here is what I have learned, been told, etc…</p>
<p>At most colleges every coach get a specific number of “tips” every year with the admissions office. Meaning, they can get admissions to admit a certain number of kids who normally would not get admitted. It appears to differ from college to college and from sport to sport. A sport like tennis would probably get 1-2 tips a year, unless it is a powerhouse D3 program that puts a lot of emphasis on tennis and then maybe they would get a few more.</p>
<p>Additionally, coaches do have the ability to have input into admissions on kids who are already in consideration. If a kid is borderline and seriously being considered, a coaches recommendation to the admissions office can push the kid over the edge and not counted as one of their tips since the kid is getting admitted on their own merits. Usually coaches are willing to do this, even if the kid is a walk-on type of kid, because it doesn’t use any of their admissions resources but it gives them another potential athlete.</p>
<p>So, even if you kid isn’t sure if they want to play sports in college, or isn’t sure if they could make a college team, it is almost always worthwhile to pursue athletics to help the kid get into college. Fill out the recruiting form on the college athletics website. Call/e-mail the coach. All are acceptable. Send video if they request. Schedule an official visit, you will have to fill out NCAA forms. Show the coach your interest. Talk to the coach candidly about your admissions possibilities at the school.</p>
<p>I can tell you that my son chose to not apply to at least 1 school after meeting with a coach. The school was a school my son probably would not have gotten accepted to on his own and the coach pretty much told him that unless he was a “stud athlete” he wouldn’t help him get admitted. The way the coach approached the conversation turned my son off completely from wanting to play for the coach. I can also tell you that my son got accepted into at least 1 school that he was a borderline candidate at, and that the coach put in a good word with admissions.</p>
<p>We also met a few coaches in our process that were part of the admissions committee. I am not sure how that works, as to me it seems like a major conflict of interest… But, we missed the application deadline at one school and the coach flat out said not to worry, he was on the admissions committee and would get him in.</p>