@mcr976, please apologize as I know it’s a year later, but I have a D17 going through a similar process in both the NESCAC and Centennial Conferences and was curious as to how it wrapped up for her.
@Chembiodad As you can imagine it was nerve-racking experience. Throughout the Spring, my D made several visits and took a couple of OVs. A NESCAC school in CT was VERY interested in her and emailed/called several times. However, during her OV she felt some bad vibes and wasn’t sure that school was for her. During the fall, she settled on applying early action to two state universities in MA (one of which recruited her as well D1) and ED to one NESCAC school who also recruited her (not in CT). We were on edge until mid-Dec when the acceptance came in. She will be a Jumbo in the fall.
Although my D was recruited by several DI and II schools, I urged her to focus on D3 especially NESCAC as We felt that D1 would put too much pressure on her when she needs to be focusing on academics as well. I have one piece of advice that has been shared by many posters. Be it track or another sport or activity, choose one that you are very good at to help differentiate you from another applicant with the same academic credentials. Unless you become a professional, in twenty years no one is going to know how you got into a specific college but where you got your degree can be important. Use your extracurricular activities to their full advantage to get you into the best college you can at a price you can afford.
The recruiting process was long and arduous, but believe me it can be rewarding at the end. Make sure you reach out with emails and phone calls this summer to stay on the coaches radar. We thought Tufts was a long shot until the coach contacted my D last summer.