What schools have said that? I know Furman dropped baseball and men’s lacrosse, but haven’t heard other schools aren’t supporting teams.
Sorry I should clarify - some schools have announced they are dropping certain teams, not athletics altogether.
https://www.si.com/college/2020/05/14/akron-cuts-sports-coronavirus-response
"With its athletic budget being stretched and future funding uncertain, Akron dropped three sports on Thursday in a cost-cutting move necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ohio school announced it will discontinue men’s cross-country and golf and women’s tennis at the end of the academic year. Akron plans to reduce financial support to the athletic department by approximately 23% ($4.4 million), painful actions necessitated by the virus outbreak."
I would think schools which don’t have huge endowments would potentially be at risk of cutting minor sports from their athletic budget. Akron seems to think women’s tennis fits in that category.
Women’s tennis is a headcount sport so it may be saving 6 scholarships. Looks like the conferences are in financial trouble too.
True
I only mention because it may be another consideration for OP in the decision making process. If there is some chance the team is no longer funded, it may be worth adding into the equation.
Thanks for highlighting other issues to consider.
My D is looking at D3 schools where she would be happy to attend for a myriad of reasons even without being able to play tennis.
From what we have read, the COVID-19 situation is impacting and making things financially uncertain for many schools, especially schools without a large endowment. The entire situation will be very fluid for many schools in terms of admissions, athletics, and academics, and there will most likely to be definitive winners and losers when all of this shakes out.
University of Cincinnati closed its D1 Men’s Soccer program; Bowling Green closed Baseball; Akron closed Men’s X country and golf and Women’s tennis.
Some smaller D3 schools had suspended football programs over the past few years, not Covid-related, while considering the future of those programs, including Grinnell and Earlham.
Grinnell, while a very good and financially strong college, seems to have difficulty getting interest and recruiting for football.
Many smaller colleges, especially the not as strong academically D3 & D2 schools with smaller endowments that are funded primarily by tuition, have to offer discounted tuition rates so they may already be financially stressed.
Any further financial strain could impact them significantly. Many of these schools use sports recruiting as one of the hooks to attract students while also offering good merit scholarships.
Some think that there could be a major shake up coming for colleges, but that has been predicted for a while.
Oops, I didn’t mean to suggest that Grinnell had financial reasons to suspend its football season — as a smaller LAC with a not super jock vibe, it suspended its season last fall because there weren’t enough healthy players to compete safely.
Thanks for everyone’s insight and all of the issues to consider.
@jwchoutx my D currently plays D3 tennis. Message me if you have any specific questions as I’m familiar with 3 of the 4 teams you have listed.
Most of my thoughts have already been covered by others, so I’ll try not to repeat what’s been said. NYU has the shortest tennis season I know of and travels very far to practice. Most girls at Chicago do not play all 4 years. I don’t know why that is, but the rumor is it’s because it is so difficult academically. Someone mentioned that you only have to play 1 year at D3. Not true. We know of multiple recruits who only played the 6 week fall season and quit before ever playing a dual match.
Some colleges don’t require ED admissions. You should double check that with each coach. Some can only support a candidate during ED, but some can support in RD. If D can get into the college on their own, I’m sure the coach will take her on the team. If @publisher is correct and you really are talking about Emory, which I doubt, definitely message me. That is more like a D1 program.
I think it is impossible to predict the post graduation outcome. As others have mentioned, I think you need to focus us how tennis will help with admissions and whether your D really wants to play or not. It isn’t easy and she has to really want to play.
Out of curiosity–Why ?
@Publisher because she said D was a middle of the pack recruit. Emory usually only offers spots to the top of the pack. However, Emory does cast a wide net and may be in communication with her, but being offered a spot is different than being offered an official visit. I think every girl in the top 300 with good grades is offered an official visit to Emory.
@jwchoutx has your D spoken to the MIT coach? They check both boxes T5 and D3!
Hippo, yes we have visited with MIT but my D did not think MIT was a good fit. MIT is a great academic school but my D felt like she wanted a more well rounded college experience. No offense to MIT.
I will message you privately too to ask some specific tennis related questions. Thanks
I am late to the party but can still add my 2 cents. Choosing between the guaranteed admission to a school like UChicago or JHU vs a very improbable admission to the top Ivy league schools without any hooks is a no-brainer.
On the other hand, all Ivy women tennis teams take walk-ons. If your daughter gets admitted and really wants to play she will get her chance to practice, play and even travel. D1 tennis does not have an off-season and is pretty demanding, there will be little time for any other ECs. If she goes all in with her tennis she may even become a team captain or travel to Wimbledon to play against the Oxford/Cambridge team.
Ivy athletes who are doing pre-med often take a gap year before applying to medical school - there is not enough time for medical ECs during the school.
Northwestern team is stronger than any Ivy team and probably does not take walk-ons as all players are on athletic scholarships.
I had a similar question for my 2021 daughter who wants to play a sport in college (not tennis). She scored a 35 on her ACT, is an A student, and has hooks (legacy for an Ivy and legacy for a top 10 non-Ivy school). She really wants to be a collegiate athlete but is not a top recruit at the two legacy schools as they both have top 30 D1 programs. She ultimately made the decision to pass on the legacy schools to play her sport. To be honest, I had a tough time with her decision as I thought she should play club or try being a walk-on and not pass up a chance to attend a top 10 academic school. Unlike many of the previous posters, I do believe there is a difference post-graduation for a grad from a top 20-30 vs top 10 school in terms of job prospects, alumni networks, “shine” from attending a top school, etc. I know this is an unpopular opinion 
However, I came to the decision that sports are my daughter’s identity and the trade-off for her happiness is worth it. Her closest high school friends are her teammates, being an athlete is what she has always been the most proud of (and not her academics), and she loves competing and she loves sports. So I am 100% supporting her decision to pass on the two legacy schools, even with her strong academics, extracurriculars, and legacy hooks. She has been asked in the last week to submit pre-reads to four fine schools and she is really excited. I know in my heart she will be happier as an athlete at a top 20-30 school than a club player at a top 10 school.
Also, having gone through the college process recently with another kid (who was fortunate enough to get accepted ED to a top 10 school), I would say that unless your daughter has 35+/1520+ scores and a near 4.0 unweighted GPA or a significant hook, it will be incredibly difficult for her to get into a top 10 school. The schools that you have mentioned for your daughter through tennis are fantastic, and if she really wants to play, I wouldn’t pass up those opportunities unless your kid has the scores/hooks. I wish your daughter and family the best in making your decision!
Frequently the hardest part of this whole College process is the part where the student has to get inside their own head and heart and figure out who they are and what they want. You can fly through high school on momentum and vague notions of Top Schools, but at some point it’s important to pause and do some reflecting. @momofthree53 should be proud of her DD for identifying and owning her priorities in the face of differing parental desires, and @momofthree53 herself should get a hat tip for acknowledging and supporting that choice. There are stories around here all the time where this doesn’t go well, so I like to recognize success when I see it.
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It depends on the kid. My oldest daughter was a fantastic softball player and recruited by D3 schools in the Northeast. There are excellent LACs in division 3–competitive in admissions and in sports (Amherst, Carleton, MIT…many, many…). This particular daughter fell in love with Dartmouth though and wasn’t even sniffed at by their coaches. She decided that Dartmouth was worth the sacrifice of college softball. My other daughter–a current junior–would never make that same decision. She can’t imagine college without softball. D1, D2, D3…she’ll find a fit but softball will part of it.
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As a parent of a rising senior and rising sophomore (tennis recruit) I know this feed is old and the decisions have likely been resolved which I am very curious about too. I am 51 and an orthodontist. As a student had a very similar situation but chose to play D3 tennis which is a forever experience that I cherish. My school small and academic (Dickinson College) assisted me in every way on my path of becoming an orthodontist. At the same time, my time as a D3 All-American tennis player is something I will forever embrace and reflect on with pangs of nostalgia. I vote for this route every time!
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Maybe an old thread, but a relevant topic.
My D23 is recruited for a sport, but not at the high academics. She loves the sport, coach and would love to play in college. Her stats will likely admit her to much higher academic schools (just below Ivy), but there is a small chance she’d be able to play. To complicate matters, she wants to do MechE, which we are told is NOT a prestige driven major.
To say its complicated is an understatement.