<p>Hi, I'm a female junior who is new to the track and field recruitment process. I would really like to attend an Ivy League school.
I've talked to my friend on the track team, who recently signed with Dartmouth, and have some information, but I still need some help. I am not sure how I qualify both academically/athletically. I am in the IB program at one of the top high schools in the country. As of right now, my GPA is a 4.3. However, it should go up by the end of Junior year, because my second semester grades are not in yet. I'm ranked in the top 5% of my class. I've taken the SAT & ACT once and my scores were not too good. SAT (1900) and ACT (28). I'm taking a SAT class, and retaking the SAT in June. Hopefully my scores will go up...
Here are my athletic stats
5k-19:15 (from this year)
400m-1:02 (from sophomore year)
800m- 2:24 (from sophomore year)
1600m- 5:14 (from this year)
I really think I can improve my 800m to 2:20 and 1600m to 5:05 before this season ends (we are about mid season right now). </p>
<p>Anyways, could someone give me an idea of how much I need to improve both academically/athletically to get in an ivy league? I have received some interest from coaches (University of North Florida, University of Pennsylvania, University of Notre Dame...)
Also, could someone please give me a step like process to getting recruited? I don't know what to do!?! Email coaches first? Set up NCAA account?
Please help me! Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Greetings. Each track team in the Ivies has different recruiting needs each year, and each incoming recruiting class has varying degrees of talent, so these are real general guidelines. Each school is also going to have different academic requirements. </p>
<p>In the 400, I think a good benchmark to start the recruiting process in the Ivy League is sub 57. In the 800, sub 2:12. (There are Ivy freshmen doing 54’s and 2:07’s) So, honestly, I think you’ll have to raise your game a bit this spring if you’re looking at Ivies</p>
<p>Academically - the kids who are hitting the above mentioned marks should be around 700 per section on the SAT, or 32 composite ACT. Track kids don’t seem to get a lot of leeway on that.</p>
<p>As for getting started, yes, register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Before you start emailing coaches, check out some rosters and conference results to see where you might be a good fit. Good luck!</p>
<p>Varska gives you excellent advice^^^. Work hard at improving your ACT/SAT (and remember you need to take SATIIs as well- check each Ivy for how many).</p>
<p>Once your times and test scores are competitive with those suggested above, you can fill in the online recruiting forms (see the athletic sites), and email the coaches. Right now, you would not be in contention to be recruited.</p>
<p>I agree with Varska, but I would not wait for your scores and/or times to improve to email the coaches. Many athletes looking to eventually be recruited have been in touch with these coaches since early in their Junior year, some in their Sophomore year, and even some before that! Just to introduce themselves to the coaches. That is what you need to do to now to have any chance at being recruited. Ivy coaches already have lists of potential recruits. This list is not written in stone, and is subject to change, often many times, until the admissions decision is final. But the list is their pool of recruits and you want to be on it. But you will be coming to the game late if you wait much longer get your name out there.</p>
<p>But as Varska pointed out, you need to raise your game. So tell them you intend to do just that! Right now, as an IB student in the top 5% you have a lot to offer. Yes, your SAT or ACT score needs to come up, but the first step to being recruited is getting your name in front of the coaches.</p>
<p>My son received a likely and was accepted ED to Dartmouth. Meeting/exceeding the AI index, being competitive in your event , ensuring you start early to get the SAT2s done, and finding out through the school’s performance records if there is a need to be filled in a specific event are all important.</p>
<p>What also helped was attending the Northeast Track and Field clinic run by Latif Thomas (I think) in the summer. It brings out most of the IVY and NESAC track and field coaches. It was a great way to meet all of them in person and helped to put a face with the name with subsequent emails. My S also emailed several key coaches before the clinic letting him know that he was attending. He was invited to tour unofficially before /after the clinic to some NESAC and a few IVys as a result. All helped to secure official invites in September. </p>
<p>You have this outdoor season to make a statement before entering the summer. Also try to register for the NB outdoor nationals if you qualify. </p>
<p>For the 1600, you need to target sub-5:00, and for the 5K, close to 18:00. It is possible to be recruited with slower times, but keep in mind that distance running is one of those “smart kid” sports, so you will need to be both fast and academically excellent if you want to be recruited at the Ivies for a distance event.</p>
<p>So, I went through all of this with my son a few years ago, and currently going through it again with my daughter ;). The Ivy League schools are extremely strict on their academic / score requirements to get in the door. They not only look at your grades, but the difficulty of your curriculum. I have always recommended the straight forward approach. Make sure you have filled out the Recruit Questionnaire and have created some online profiles. Once you establish contact with a coach and reference the profile so they have a whole view of you, just ask. I have encouraged my son / daughter early in the process to just say “Am I on your radar and what can I do to improve my position.” Most coaches appreciate this approach and will tell you right then and there.</p>
<p>Ivy Track/ XC recruiting isn’t nearly as complicated as many other sports that are based on skill. It all comes down to meeting the academic standards and running fast.
Unlike other sports, a long-term relationship with the coach is not all that important. A phenom who shows up with an 18:00 5K in September of senior year, and is academically qualified can be recruited ahead of someone who has been visiting campus and sending friendly emails for years.</p>
<p>The faster you run the less wonderful your scores need to be. Your 1900 would actually be OK if you were a little faster. No test score will make up for lack of speed, however. You’re not quite Ivy recruitable with your current times, and you will get all kinds of attention if you run a sub 5 mile or a sub 18 5K, as Bay says. </p>
<p>Running a sub 5:05 is pretty darned hard to ignore, though, if you have some other positive factors like no health issues (stress fractures/over training/eating disorder), downward trending times through your junior year, and a good report from your high school coach saying you haven’t peaked yet, are coachable and dependable, have the potential to race DI, and have demonstrated that you can handle hard training while managing a difficult academic load.</p>
<p>Now is a great time to write a short email to each coach summarizing your academic stats and your PRs. Include your coach’s contact info. You can say you’ll report back at the end of the season with an update on grades, scores and any new track PRs. Track coaches don’t need to see you run to know you can. There is no need to create a fancy profile, website or to register with any online recruiting group. This will be useless to them. (Skill sports, ignore this advice)</p>
<p>Ivy track coaches know exactly what they are looking for and the more simply you can communicate your profile the better. You are going to go on the bubble pile with your current stats, and they’ll all encourage you to get back to them when your times are a tiny bit faster.</p>
<p>Thank you Varska. My son’s best times are 49.8 and 22.03 and I’d like to prioritize which one or two camps would be best in terms of which are most likely to be interested in him. Of course, this assumes that the camps relate to recruitment as well as skill development. Any thoughts appreciated as to Ivy League schools most likely to be interested in him at these times. His academics are strong. Thanks again.</p>
<p>You don’t have to attend camps if you don’t want to. I’m a senior, and I’ve gone through the recruiting process, so I’ll throw in my two cents. Because your son’s times are competitive, you don’t have to go to the camps. I’m assuming you son is a junior. During the summer after his junior year, he can start contacting coaches. I know for a fact that he will get recruited with those times by a few Ivy League schools so long as he is on par academically.</p>
<p>I agree with FlyEagle - camps aren’t important in track and field recruiting. But qualifying and participating in some of the big national competitions (New Balance, JOs) can be a benefit.
Not sure what year your son is, but he can go ahead and email coaches now with his best times, GPA and test scores.</p>
<p>The only time I’d consider a camp is if you’re certain the coach for your events is going to be there and you have an interest in evaluating their coaching style. You don’t need to make a particular effort to impress a coach if your times are a fit. If you have any network into a current Ivy track runner you can often get good information about coaches. Current athletes have the very best view of how things are done on the various teams. Check current rosters to see if you have any connection to athletes. The world of track is pretty microscopic, really.</p>
<p>Thanks so much. Excellent advice. We’ll just keep reading to see if we can tell differences in the programs, but we don’t really know anyone running on these teams. Good idea to attend camps to learn what running for a particular school would be like. The clinic at Harvard this summer was at Brown last summer. Is that the same as the Northeast Camp mentioned in a prior comment? Also, can anyone comment about the UPenn Camp and whether a letter inviting a student to the camp is meaningful in recruitment? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Hi junmom,
All the college coaches have access to right now is what you tell them in an introductory email, and what they see on stats clearinghouses like athletic.net<br>
It is common practice for coaches to reach out to all “fast” athletes. So getting a letter from the Penn coach may just be part of a mass mailing.</p>
<p>The best way to determine REAL interest is to contact coaches at the schools you are truly interested in attending with your GPA, class rank, SAT/ACT scores, events and PRs.</p>
<p>Contact window is July 1 before senior year and weekly phone calls on and after that date will tell you who is truly interested. If a school you are interested in fails to call you, contact that coach and let him/her know they are in your top choices and ask if you are a match for their program. </p>
<p>Do not wait for coaches to discover you. A look at athletic.net should show you just how difficult it would be for coaches to contact personally all qualified athletes. Make their job easier by self-recruiting.</p>