Ivy vs DIII for football recruit - Opinions

Athletic Recruits
21

I had two sons go through the high academic D3 process and commit to a NESCAC school and one of the Claremont consortium schools in the past couple of years. I think everyone has offered great advice so, far, but here is my two cents (this all applies to D3):

  1. Get his ACT/SAT scores as high as possible; coaches at these schools have more flexibility with higher standardized scores.
  2. Sound like he's actively involved in the process already - that great.
  3. Cast the net wide early. As long as the schools match academic, you don't know how it will play out. Also, like academics, you need to have safety schools targeted, so make sure he contacts his safety schools also. My oldest son narrowed down his choices to three schools and then during his senior year, he was asked to apply ED1, but opted for ED2. My youngest son had six schools he was working through (4 safeties and 2 NESCACs). One of the NESCAC's went with a higher academic qualified recruit and my son went ED at the other NESCAC. He kept in communication with coaches, so we knew how this could play out. It's good to understand where you stand.
  4. I agree to not overload on camps, but you can spread them out, its worth it. For instance: Pomona usually has a April Camp, NE Elite West Coast (early June) will have Pomona, Claremont, some Ivies, the bigger Ivies will likely have all NESCAC's at them, and NE Elite (in Boston) is great if you want to meet a lot of schools --- but frankly if I did it again, I'd advise my sons to do more work in March and April to get their relationships built, etc.
  5. Even if you don't camp at every school, you can visit the schools your son is interested in and schedule visits with the coaches; take the tours, etc. Your son will be spending 4 years there, getting to know the campus, vibe, etc. is extremely important. My son's were completely opposites in their likes - such as most of the NESCAC schools are in smaller communities (this can be a plus or minus depending upon your son).
  6. My son's recruitments went into their fall season, although I know many D3, NESCAC and Claremont Consortium recruits that get a "nod" in August or slightly earlier. Some of the NESCAC falls out after the Ivies work through their likely letters, so again keeping up with the coaches is important.
  7. It can be overhelming, but necessary to find the best fit academically and athletically for your
  8. Do the Net Price Calculators. Also note, that there is no merit scholarships for NESCAC and Ivies. Only need-based aid.