<p>Okay...then all the top lacs would be especially eager...she might try, particularly, Davidson or Williams (though her boards will need to be perhaps a bit stronger for Williams.) Washington U does not place as much emphasis on athletics, but I am sure they would value her abilities and ease admission. It may not meet her athletic needs, however. She will want to meet the upper mid-point on any school's times, etc. to have a particular shot as she apparently does at the St. Louis school. That information is relatively easy to find.</p>
<p>My comments are based on the 2006 experiences of a recruited female athlete--at an Ivy where you wouldn't expect such anamolies. The girl did not accept the offer based on the constricted experience of the other team members. She accepted a top 25 offer instead--sans sports. Coaches from other Ivy schools made all sorts of odd comments about this girl's huge academic ability.</p>
<p>Though they don't have athletic dorms, some Ivies do corral their teams. Some Ivy coaches prefer that the teams sequester themselves with their teammates. At least one Ivy prevents one team from participating in freshman orientation. </p>
<p>My recommendations stand. Do a gut check.</p>
<p>Here are the 2007 championship D-III times and standings:</p>
<p>Williams (second overall), Bowdoin, Amherst and Bates all placed.</p>
<p>She doesn't want an LAC...Oh well. I will tell her mom to go through the schools that the girl likes academically and just manually look at the times to see where she fits but doesn't "run away" with it. <em>Poor attempt at a joke...</em></p>
<p>then I would look at Ivies as well...</p>
<p>
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Gerogetown is not nearly as strong as Ivies in athletics, save for its largely special admit class of men's bb players.
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<p>Not true for xc/track, Georgetown is probably as good or better than any Ivy on the men's side. Almost as strong women's xc, historically the women's track program is excellent.</p>
<p>Alumother, your protege needs to speak directly to the coaches in question to get a better picture of her standing, as suggested by MOWC. No amount of adult coaching in this process can make up for that direct contact. Coaches will more likely support kids that they connect with (although they will often put that aside for the superstar). And if the kid and coach connect most of your questions suddenly get answered authoritatively.</p>
<p>Didn't Georgetown lose their men's coach? (I may have that mixed up). Also, Georgetown doesn't have it's own track, which is really odd, but they do have strong teams.
I'm convinced that the best combination of athletics (especially running) and academics to be found in the US is at Williams.<br>
Rice has a strong program. It is DI unlike WashU or Chicago, which are DIII.</p>
<p>What does Williams do that impresses?</p>
<p>I was impressed with the quality of the athletes and the program (in many sports, not just my kid's sport), the coaches, the fact that academics come first and the overall balance. I think the league has intense competition and offers a good collegiate athletic experience while also offering an excellent education. I think the coaches are able to give more individual attention to the athletes than at DI schools, even the Ivys.</p>
<p>redcrimblue,</p>
<p>I note in your post you said: "You are right, in general, that if your daughter is the type of student and athlete who can go to Ivy, then she would fit well at other similar top flight academic schools, save Stanford most years." Am curious why you said "save Stanford." Is that because the xc program is a notch or two above -- or because it's an entirely different experience studying there?</p>
<p>Princeton clearly have a very strong program, with some very solid recruits. Other Ivies seem to be hustling, at least on the women's side. I'm curious how the experience might be different running at Stanford v. Princeton, Yale, Harvard or Brown. For the top runners at these programs, I gather they're all doing the same mileage, though the supporting cast and coaching may vary. Are there other differences worth noting?</p>
<p>It is a very interesting point that some teams tend to house/socialize together. At the Ivies, where is one likely to be less sequestered? In some ways, I suppose it might be nice to be together (e.g., commitment to healthy diet, adequate sleep, less drinking, etc.). I'm hoping the official visits will clarify thing, but alas we parents aren't going. Any insights appreciated. Sounds like these next three or four weeks are critical.</p>
<p>
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but alas we parents aren't going
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</p>
<p>Probably a good thing.</p>
<p>It works best if the kid figures it out. The official visits are a good time for the kid to get a feel for the program, and the coaches put a lot of effort into seeing if the kid is a good fit for the program from their perspective.</p>
<p>At Harvard the athletes are not housed together. For freshman year the Frosh dean's office matches rommates according to habits listed on a detailed survey. For upperclasses, they are randomly assigned to Houses as a block of friends listed at the end of freshman year. They stay in that House all three years. (But each House has several buildings so they will change rooms.) Some Houses are very close to the track, just accross the Charles River, and some are very far (Quad Houses),so the shuttle must be used. At Princeton everyone is close and conveniant. I believe the Yale track requires a shuttle from the main campus also. And of course, Columbia doesn't have any facilities nearby.</p>
<p>Alu if she doesn't like LACs and she is an academic match at Wash U I would suggest she look at Emory. No idea about the track program there but it is a D3 small University. They have a rockin' womens' tennis team is all I know. </p>
<p>In general NESCAC offers very high level academics + sports, but the NESCAC schools are all LACs... Though maybe Tufts would interest her? Maybe for a safety?</p>
<p>The way we went about it was to find out where D would be an athletic "match" (somewhere between shoo-in and a strong player) and then narrow that list down for fit, academics, region, etc.</p>
<p>Is her primary goal the academic excellence or is her primary goal to develop as an athlete and continue in the sport after college? That makes a difference.</p>
<p>My D's HS teammate who went to D1 (to USC) dropped out because the intensity was huge. Factor the intensity in (look at the schedules to see how much traveling is involved...)</p>
<p>Thanks SBmom. Her primary goal, reconfirmed today from the horse's mouth, is for the academic excellence. Running is second. Push comes to shove she will go to the best academic match and if she can't run there she will just play club soccer:). She's also a good soccer player...</p>
<p>I think Tufts would be great for her, since she has interests in biology and in politics...</p>
<p>It is so hard to see where the athletic match happens. I just don't see the equivalent of the USNWR rankings by sport:). Going through all the results to see what their athletes times are for the right events is tedious.</p>
<p>Also go to the NCAA divisional individual championships for her events. May be quicker than team stats.</p>
<p>Don't forget that if in a given league, say NESCAC for example, there are individual stars from Amherst, Trinity, and Wesleyan, then Williams will be hungry for someone who can kick butt in that event....</p>
<p>She may want to attend a regional meet, whether Ivy or NESCAC, to see the level of competition and to interact with lots of coaches at one event-- if the season/timing works...</p>
<p>I think it is easy to figure out your match in track. You go to the roster and look at the sophomores and freshmen on the team. You either read their bios or google them and figure out their best times from high school. That gives you an idea of where you stand and what the coach is looking for. There are some variables, of course. For example, some coaches don't want kids who have done really high mileage in high school and may have tapped out already, while others can see the potential in a kid who is running a strong 5K off of 40 miles a week. However, the roster will give you a great idea. To me, that is better than looking at college times.</p>
<p>alumother,</p>
<p>in addition to ivies and d3's, she may want to also take a look at the the patriot league schools:</p>
<p>Richmond has a pretty good track program.</p>
<p>There are a number of NJ girls there now, all very talented. </p>
<p>At least one has a full athletic scholarship. My understanding is that she fell in love with the school, parents were more comfortable financially than with the EFC from the Ivies that heavily recruited her. She was a great athlete when recruited, blossomed into a superstar to finish her senior year as All-American. My daughter knows her well, there was a lot of thought put into the decision, knowing the pressure that comes with athletic vs need-based scholarship money.</p>
<p>To give you some idea, I think her PR's are something like 10:33 3200m, 4:53 1600m. As a Junior when recruited she was more like 10:5x 3200, 5:01 1600.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. If it makes a difference, she's a hurdler - 100M, 300M ( I know it's 400M in college) and she runs the 4x100.</p>