<p>So I am a class of 2015 senior that is a 3.3 GPA, 1800 SAT all AP/Honors student. This summer I went to the New England Elite Camp where I was a standout at DE and ILB. I was invited and took visits to Amherst, Wesleyan, and Bowdoin where at one school, the coach said that they would "support my admission 100%" and invited me to come back out and visit in the fall. From where my GPA/Test scores stand, is this good news or just talk?? </p>
<p>Based on what you’ve shared, I’d say you have the start of some genuine interest. You need to follow up with this coach to gt specific dates and details about the football program and academics at this school. You should continue your search to see if there are additional schools with similiar interest. </p>
<p>You may want to consider retaking the SAT if (I repeat if…) it will help you with additional opportunities that may interest you. Whatever you do, do not give up your search because one school is interested. The more options you have the better your chances of finding the best fit. JMO. Good luck.</p>
<p>My son is a rising junior, who attended a few camps and who drew interest from all 3 schools. Hope this helps. Wesleyan is trying to turn around its football program, is upfront about the process and seems surprisingly aggressive in its recruiting. Bowdoin seems to be interested in spotting “diamonds in the rough” and trying to pick off that talent early with an emphasis on getting the recruit voluntarily to visit the campus as soon as practicable and building personal relationships. Amherst appears to be the top of the food chain ,runs like a well-oiled machine and it seemingly takes a D-1 quality athlete to spark its interest. </p>
<p>I have found the advice of fenwaysouth to be most helpful. </p>
<p>My son looked seriously at both Amherst and Bowdoin. Didn’t look much at Weslyan. Just didn’t get the right vibe from the coach. The coaching staffs at Amherst and Bowdoin seemed to have a number of years experience dealing with admissions, and at least in his case, were as confident as they could be in how admissions would react with their recruits. That said, for those two schools, I would assume they felt confident in your chances with admissions or they wouldn’t have invited you out in the fall or have committed to supporting you through the process. I know it is tough at your age, but ask direct questions. The coaches do this stuff over and over, you will only do it once. Might as well get the best info you can.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your input! </p>
<p>I will share my honest opinion based on our experience. Unless you are a tremendous D1 candidate - for the nescac schools like Amherst Bowdoin and Wesleyan your 1800 is too low to go with a 3.3 gpa. (I will also say it’s low for Middlebury and Williams.) If you were a standout quarterback or running back there <em>might</em> be some good wiggle room but not for DE or even for ILB. </p>
<p>Excellent players with your stats have frequently been wanted by coaching staff - that’s not the issue. It’s getting you past admissions. I would really beware of putting your eggs into the basket with the nescac schools above. They’re probably telling you the truth about their level of support - but that and a nickel still won’t buy you a cup of coffee if admissions says they can’t do it. </p>
<p>Other nescac programs have a lot more room to move. If they are showing interest in you - don’t be quick to dismiss them. Get pre-reads back from any program that’s showing interest in you. You want to hear that you have a “green light” from admissions and a “slot” from the coaching staff. Don’t depend on anything less.</p>
<p>Do not forget that you can retake your SAT as well as ACT thereby increasing your chances if you improve in any categories. Although new to the whole recruiting game, we were led to believe by NESCAC coaches that pass- rushing DE was frequently a position of emphasis. </p>
<p>Though you can’t do much of one without the other, any position that gets the ball into the end zone is worth more than a position that blocks. </p>
<p>It is still very early in the nescac game; I have heard of players who committed early and everything was fine; also of a few others who committed too early without hearing the right words and crossing fingers. I made a point of not having our son commit to any nescac school until he had done all his visits - he committed in late October. The coach went through his pre-read folder and said there were no red flags and made sure he had his application submitted ED. </p>
<p>You just need to make sure you are hearing these words along with all the other stuff they tell you.</p>
<p>The coach said that the feedback from admissions was positive and said that my senior grades are very important as well as advised me to take the SAT one more time in October. </p>
<p>OnEsTePcLoSeR,</p>
<p>I would take the coaches “advice” as more of something you absolutely have to do not something to casually consider. JMO. </p>
<p>I was planning to take The SAT again anyway so that won’t be a problem</p>
<p>OneStep - good luck with October SAT & your recruiting journey. In case you haven’t explored this site beyond the athletic recruit page, there is a specific SAT preparation forum with helpful threads re: books/study materials and testing advice etc. I’ll try and paste a link. </p>
<p><a href=“SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/</a></p>
<p>My gridder S is headed to Midd this month. His SAT’s and GPA are higher than yours. zenator’s comment on Wesleyan’s turnaround attempt makes me think that is the “100% admission support” coach. The key is if they want you to apply Early Decision. That is where NESCAC coaches direct virtually all of their top recruited athletes. Be very direct in asking and confirming that 100% support means they want you to apply ED. Reflecting the above “food chain” comments, know that Amherst and Williams have 16 “slots” available for football, 2 fewer than other NESCAC’s. There is an academic pecking order in NESCAC, some may think the differences minute but you’re probably aware of the US News liberal arts college rankings which currently place Williams, Amherst, Middlebury and Bowdoin in the top 4 with Williams #1. Also, is NE Elite the feeder camp for Top Gun in Dublin, OH? If it is, they invite the top 15% from their camps around the U.S. to attend Top Gun. Were you invited, did you go? If you feel you are a very superior football player you might want to look at Ivies. It’s been conjectured elsewhere in CC that it may be easier for a top football talent to gain admittance to an Ivy over a NESCAC if only because there are double the number of football slots. Get you highlight reel off to all your schools now; top 20 plays, front load your very best ones, no music, 5 minutes tops. Finally, visit campae and go to a game. You’ll gather insight about your future teammates’ interaction with each other, the coaches and student body, besides first hand feedback on how you’d feel spending four years at each place.</p>
<p>@hoopsgriddad
</p>
<p>The differences are less than you would think. The US News rankings aren’t everything (though they would like you to believe they are), and a significant component of those rankings is “peer rating.” Forbes put out a ranking too - Amherst and Williams still rank very highly, but just goes to show there are other ways to rank schools. The difference between Amherst and Hamilton or Wesleyan is slim. I also might add that Wesleyan, as part of the Little Three, has the same amount of slots as Williams and Amherst. </p>
<p>I’m not sure I would put Hamilton in that group and I can tell you firsthand that our experience with Hamilton’s recruiting was less than salutary. They were pushing incredibly hard, for both ED’s. Yet the coach tried the old squeeze play by saying that he wouldn’t support S for RD. Two weeks after S’s decision the NESCAC athletics’ site carried the news that the Hamilton AD was acting as their interim football coach. I guess that’s what happens when you go 1-15 the last two seasons. The new head coach is from Alfred. noodle and Forbes show acceptance rates in 2012 and 2014 as Hamilton: 27% for both years; Wesleyan: 24.2% in '12, 21% in '14; Middlebury 18.3% in '12, 17% in '14; Bowdo:in 15.8% in '12, 15% in '14. As noted earlier, there’s a pecking order.</p>
<p>@hoopsgriddad And Williams has an 18% acceptance rate - does that make Bowdoin better? But Williams was ranked #1 by US News and Forbes… acceptance rate isn’t everything. Is Harvard a better school than Williams? I bet not, even though its acceptance rate is lower. I’m not saying a school with a 50% acceptance rate is equal to a school with a 25% acceptance rate, but you’re parsing pretty small difference in numbers with the NESCAC schools. Besides, there are multiple overlapping pecking orders. There’s academic reputation, athletic reputation, etc. Trinity is going to win recruiting battles in football over Hamilton, despite being an academically “inferior” school (by the rankings). Look at lacrosse and things change again. Same with any other sport. </p>
<p>A couple of quick points. First, my perspective is more limited than others. Second, my son is a rising junior, who has not taken his SATs, but also who attends a leading private school with many graduates attending Ivy and NESCAC schools. My son has communicated directly with coaches from 5 NESCAC schools to date of which 4 expressed a decree of preliminary interest. My sense is that different coaches at different schools express a greater or lesser decree of confidence in the willingness of their admissions department to play ball assuming that minimum standards are met. I do not know but would guess that the minimum standards of all of these schools, even with a coach’s support, are still high to very high. That said, winning coaches remain employed and recruiting well is key to continued employment.</p>
<p>Received slot offers from wesleyan and bowdoin today! Thank you everyone for your opinions and useful info!</p>
<p>Congrats OnEsTePcLoSeR . You are one big step closer.</p>
<p>Good luck zenator. You’ve still got a ways to go, and lots of things can change. Junior year was the toughest for all three of my boys. Having the projected athletic ability but not (yet) having SAT scores can be provide additional pressure for the student at SAT time. Best of luck going forward.</p>
<p>Congrats OnEsTePcLoSeR. Great Colleges! </p>
<p>Thanks fenwaysouth. Agree that there is a long way to go and much can change.</p>
<p>For example, my eldest son, in the fall of his junior year, completely shattered his knee putting an end to his aspirations regarding playing college sports. But, in the long run, his injury proved to be a blessing, since it forced him to focus on academics and extracurricular activities. He ended up going to a great college that proved to be a perfect fit for him. </p>
<p>Personally, I do not buy the hype regarding HYSPM or the hype about playing Division I. The challenge is for us as parents to help and encourage each child find a college that is the right fit for him/her. Easier said than done.</p>