Swarthmore was in the news this week but please know that thriving lacrosse programs had similar issues. Middlebury, Wesleyan and Duke come to mind.
Some tips from a dad. Coach is the best. I like him because he runs a tight ship. My kid loved his drills. The college likes to see an ACT32; and I heard they reached to ACT28 for some. Behave if you visit overnight. Every year, or two, it seems that one of coach’s recommendations does not make it through. IMO your admission is near-certain if your application is solid. The essay is important. You can verify all this by meeting with coach.
Team graduates have a great network. Each year’s grads includes Wall Streeters, consultants and med/law schoolers. A grad is working on his PhD in electrical engineering; and I say this so you know that you can play ball and survive a tough undergrad major.
Good luck! Swarthmore lacrosse players are the best guys and will be your friends for life.
Any idea about the women’s team and if the stats they look for are similar? My daughter visited this spring and loved the coach and the girls on the team. It was by far her favorite visit from both a lacrosse and overall school perspective. She’s a strong student academically but hasn’t taken ACT yet (this summer).
Always confirm with coach. Believe they are similar based on an ACT32 target stated by men’s coaches at Williams, Midd, Hamilton, W&L, Vassar and Swat.
@LMC9902, the admissions requirements may well not be similar, although ACT scores for the women’s team could not be too, too much higher. Overall, girls tend to do better in high school and on their standardized tests. You will see the consequence of this in an institution’s overall ratio of men to women matriculating. Many institutions have a higher percentage of women. Thus, the standards for admission, including recruited athletes, may well be different. But every team is different, and in particular the degree to which the coach wants a particular recruit, which may vary the stats for a given applicant. Saying, that I have heard that College X has taken someone with a 25 ACT is meaningless to the “usual” recruit unless the recruit is an immediate impact player and perhaps has some other hooks.
You definitely should have that discussion with each coach, even if it occurs during an unofficial visit. But, remember what the coach says is only what the coach says. You always should ask for an admissions preread before applying as an athletic recruit.
Good luck for the ACT.