<p>You didn't meet the head coach at Brown? I wouldn't think of going there to run track and cross country (for school only is a different thing) unless you met the head coach and knew what you were in for. Don't mean to burst your bubble - but I would heed this advice at all costs.</p>
<p>We tried to get there, but she was not in when we were there on our 2 day tour. Head coach asked us to drop by, but she had just gotten back in as we arrived and we did not have much free time since we visited 4 schools in 2 days. We plan to stay in touch and see what will happen - If Brown won't pay for an official visit, D will probably abandon it. Obviously, she would meet everyone then. Providence will pay for an official visit, so my D would meet everyone then (head coach was in Europe or would have met with her.) We have found it difficult to track down coaches all summer - even DIII schools. D won't attend any of these schools without an overnight visit and for DIs that should mean an official (paid) visit. D wants to run track/XC, so that is an important consideration. Even if she got in on other merits, she wouldn't go there if coach had little interest. So I get your point, but things are not quite that dire yet.</p>
<p>There was a significant coaching change at Brown last year. You should send Ecliptica a PM. He spent fall semester there when he had to leave Tulane after Katrina. He can fill you in.</p>
<p>corunnerdad -</p>
<p>My D plans to walk-on at Brown this fall for both track and CC. I'd be glad to keep you posted on her progress.</p>
<p>The coach indicated that her h.s. time of 2:19 in the 800 is outside the range where she normally recruits, and my impression is that it takes a time in the low-teens in the 800 to make the recruiting list. </p>
<p>Good resources to check for Brown (or any other school): </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The school's athletic site will list past track meet results, giving you an idea of what times the athletes are currently running.</p></li>
<li><p>The site also lists the current roster, including each athlete's high school and bio. Several of the athletes have their high school PR's listed along with their best times for each season.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>momofwildchild is picking up my drift....</p>
<p>The new coach drove away a once in a lifetime coach for the Ivy League..a former Olympian who was a multiple All American at a school the academic equal of Brown, a great coach, and more than anything, a mature, quality guy who oozed integrity. So my language bespeaks caution...</p>
<p>Well, folks are responsive if nothing else! Thanks for the insights. DIII schools like Wheaton and Willamette are starting to look very attractive. Funny - even at Providence with a super-intense track/XC program, I have the feeling they are a lot more supportive than the Ivies - cheaper, too. D will probably have to post a 19:15 5K this fall to get a shot at RA status and, frankly, as parents we're a bit skeptical about DI as the best place for her anyway. I think after the first wave of excitement, D is beginning to think more that way, too. Running is too important to D to have the experience suck. (But academics are still her first priority - running is not.) Any other DIII ideas? Avoid Illinois Wesleyan - it's my alma mater and the coach called her 5 minutes after he knew she existed, but D ain't goin' to the midwest or south. (Clearly the verbal standards are lower there if I am an example.)</p>
<p>Wheaton College is one of the best DIII running programs in the country (at least for the sprints, not too sure on the distance program there). My high school coach has been coaching their XC team for the last two/three years though, and she did a pretty damn good job with our high school XC team (two-time defending state champions in XC), so I can only see that program going up. If I didn't live within walking distance from campus (and if it wasn't DIII), I would've definitely considered going there.</p>
<p>My S was recruited by Wheaton as a sprinter. Athough he liked the coach the school was never at that top of his list. As of last fall, the school did not have an outdoor track although Wheaton does have a nice indoor track. The academic reputation is good but it is a very small school in a very small town - not much of anything within walking distance and Boston is 20 to 30 minute drive away. This is a school that one would want to be especially certain was a good fit in all respects.</p>
<p>I think there is a lot to be said for DIII running. However, several of the Ivy programs are excellent and the coaches are very caring. That said, my personal opinion is that the school which offers the best combination of running and academics in the country is Williams. It was too small for my son, even though he tried really hard to keep it at the top of his list. I was ready to sign up myself!</p>
<p>One of my D's best friends runs XC at Oberlin and loves it. Very competitive, dedicated DIII team. (Also, Oberlin is perfect for her apart from the running.) I am not positive what her times were her senior year in high school -- I know they improved enough over the season that she was getting DI interest, too, by the time she applied ED to Oberlin. The coach was very helpful and straight with her, too, which contributed to her decision.</p>
<p>But . . . it IS in the midwest. This is a very East Coast kid, though, and she certainly isn't minding Ohio.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for all the good input. We'll probably add 1 or 2 of these DIII schools to the list. Sorry if the thread has deviated from Ivies to DIII distance running. I agree with MomofWildChild - after many of the school tours, I wish I had 4 years to go back! What's that about youth being wasted on the young...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Any other DIII ideas?
[/quote]
that is a VERY broad question ... I'd suggest going at this from 2 directions. Track centric - find the NCAA results from DIII from last year and check out the top programs to see if your daughter is a fit for track and also for the school (location, stats, feel, etc). School centric - there are 2000+ DIII schools so I'd suggest this approach ... do a school search ignoring track ... region or country, city-town, big-small, etc ... the from this list check out the track programs. Given some interest from DI and DIA programs virtually any DIII team would love to have your daughter run for them ... checking out <a href="http://www.d3hoop.com%5B/url%5D">www.d3hoop.com</a> might help you find schools. One last tidbit, there are no scholarships in D3 so, for my kids, I will council them to not pay too much attention to whether they got paid trips or not ... do you like the coach, their training philosophy, the kids on the team, the college, the area of the country, etc, how do your times compare to the other kids on the team? ... if all this looks good go for it as long as the recruiting experience was not negative.</p>
<p>If running is important to her, Oberlin is not the school for her. The program is weak.</p>
<p>Question: How does a 4:12 mile stack up when competing against others for HYPSC?</p>
<p>Very well. . .and would probably get you some decent money somewhere (not Stanford).</p>
<p>A 4:12 mile will be a huge help with any of those schools. No money from the Ivys for it, though. Harvard doesn't recruit for track and you don't want to run there anyway. With a 4:12 mile I would suggest Cornell or Penn if you are looking at Ivys. Otherwise, Texas or Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Well, I'm gunning for 2-3 of HYSC as one of my RD choices and Princeton ED; running is fun for me, but I'm not interested in receiving financial aid (nor would I), and I'd rather be at a place with everything else I want as well.</p>
<p>D has sort of changed tack on where to go. Wheaton and Willamette are still high on the list. D1 possibilties include University of Portland and University of Vermont. D does love to ski, besides track. Willamette, Wheaton, and U of Portland are all very responsive, both from admissions and from the coaches. These smaller schools are likely to be the best fit for her. I think she has gotten over Brown, thank goodness.</p>
<p>Another thought on runners and schools- UW-Madison has a running club and the Wis Track Club besides the D1 teams; the track club goes to some meets at the D3 level so there are some chances to compete. A runner may not want to sacrifice academics to compete, even at the D3 level; I'm sure other schools have opportunities like these. Runners have an advantage over other sports in that they can run independently. Of course it is different if the athlete wants the team experience.</p>
<p>Friend's D was recruited for Bethany College. Anyone heard of them?</p>