The common data sets for each school seems to be the only place where they write numbers. When Canadian First Nations attend US schools they are considered domestic via the Jay Treaty unless they just don’t self identify. NA students on campus numbers would be hard to fudge because of the low numbers or high numbers and I am sure people would have called that out a long time ago if they were lying. But maybe you are right and I should call the schools itself to find out just how they are supporting indigenous students. I am highlighting this because my son is well-adjusted to dominant society (Asians make up about 60% of his school) but he is very connected to our culture and loves to hang out with his cousins and such. If he is going to be far away, it is something we need to consider for his whole well-being. There is only one other FN/NA person in his whole class but he has been with all of them since kindergarten so he is fine. We are discovering how important this is by going through this process. I thought these number were interesting and there were some surprises(UC SD, UNC Chapel Hill) I was a bit disheartened to see that Dickinson , Denison and Bowdoin NA numbers be so low. On the other hand, if the baseball culture is tight and he feels he’s found his ‘tribe’, it may no be a big deal. We are also looking into Indigenous research opportunities now so that the “Why this school” Essays have more than the sport, the major and generic opportunities that draw him to the school, even to study other cultures would be great too, not just environmental engineering. We are planning to attend the Showball Head Coach event in Cali this summer which should help him know where he stands amongst these schools. Should he send his video and an email to all the coaches he will see there now? or wait until June?
He absolutely should be contacting coaches now. It can be difficult to stand out at Showball.
Yes, the common data set is where you see the percentages and kind of get a feeling for the demographics of the schools. Usually there aren’t that many foreign students so it doesn’t matter that much. However, at my daughter’s school, almost 25% of the students are international, so it might matter. Her school only showed a small percentage of Asian students (including her, because she is a citizen) but there were many internationals who were Chinese or Indian and weren’t included in the numbers. There were many South Americans who weren’t included in the Hispanic numbers. The common data stats for her school were way off because international diversity is not reported on federal forms.
As I said, she didn’t interact with a lot of those students because they weren’t on her team and the language issue was so hard. She could see them on campus, but it wasn’t one big melting pot.
I don’t know if the stats include those from Canada, treaty or no treaty. I don’t think so, and I don’t think they are reported in the stats to the department of education. Are they filling out FAFSA and are they eligible for dept of ed funds? I know your son is because he is also a US citizen, but other NA who do not have citizenship may not show up in the stats.
Skills and game video plus resume a must that you should send now. If I remember correctly, he is a pitcher, so you need to show angles from behind the plate with radar readings, from his front side for mechanics and from behind to show movement. Batting in cage or outdoor bp from behind and front side. Infield fielding forehand, backhand, at him and slow roller with a separate radar reading on throw to first. Middle infielders, show double play turn, both as the person making the first throw as well as the finishing throw. Outfield, shag balls from RF with throws to third and home. Catcher, pop time on throw to second. Resume includes GPA, test scores, list of classes taken, baseball honors/awards/stats, HS and travel ball.
Make sure you understand the Showball format. How many players, how many fields (and critically are they in same complex or spread out), how many players per team, how many practice games and rules governing exposure (innings on field, innings pitched, AB’s, what happens if you choose to both pitch or catch and also be a fielder – the rep formulas will vary). Is there a skills/physical eval (fielding, hitting, sprint, jump, agility tests)?
We had always chosen Headfirst because the fields were next to each other and it was an easy drive to Palo Alto to attend the Stanford camp which occurs right afterwards. Almost all the HF coaches go down to Stanford, so it can get you follow up looks. Stanford is a lot more kids and spread out, also some D1 schools attend, and coaches that are not coaching are relatively free to roam around. The schools that liked my kid at HF, saw at least 1 or 2 of his games at Stanford. You can do the same at Showball, but the drive is longer to NorCal. In any event, if you have the time and can afford it, I’d do Stanford right after Showball.
Regarding numbers of Native American students reported by colleges in their Common Data Sets…
Note this Common Data Set definition:
“American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and maintaining tribal affiliation or community attachment”
How much variation can there be in how colleges interpret the definition (particularly the last clause) when counting students in this category? A college may not necessarily ask about tribal affiliation (especially if it does not consider race/ethnicity in admissions), and may not want to deal with defining “community attachment”.
@ucbalumnus Thank you for that clarification. Either way, it does give a sense of whether or not there is a ‘presence’ of NA people on campus. There is so much that goes into college admissions and also baseball. @BKSquared That is awesome advice, We hope to stay for HeadFirst too. This week we will be getting film for him and creating a new video with his new numbers. He has worked very hard during the winter and summer and we are seeing it start to pay of with increased velo and speed. It is a struggle to get a sub 7 Dash 60 but we are closer to that goal. Canada has allowed no games outside your organization which makes it tough, that is why we are aching to go South! Have to do covid testing and such, then quarantine when we get back but this will be worth it!
The reporting is self reporting, by citizen students. A student would have to identify as an NA from South America for it to be reported that way, and only if that student was a citizen. OP’s son will identify that way, as he’s a citizen. A friend may not even be asked if not a citizen.
As far as I am aware, Denison is one of the few schools that does not release a Common Data Set. It’s possible the number is that low, but it might be worth checking with the school. My son is indigenous, although not NA - he would not show up in the diversity stats. He’s probably in a category all his own but has been very comfortable at Denison.
A subset of Common Data Set information can be found on https://www.collegedata.com .
I was never able to see where CollegeData gets their various numbers. I found it helpful at a big picture level but I found their numbers were often out of date or otherwise off. I learned to double check against the CDS or the school sites if it mattered. In Denison’s case, they don’t post a CDS, which is voluntary, so it’s best to check with the school.