<p>thanks huskem55.</p>
<p>Condor,</p>
<pre><code> coaches telling you that they have no influence on admissions means that they had better start looking for a job. Even at the D III level the best athletic program get a number of "exceptions" every year. If they aren't getting them and other coaches in their conference are they are going to have a tough time winning. At the best 2 academic D III schools in my area ( U of Roch & Hobart / William Smith) athletes in almost every sport (if the coach pushes for them) are getting in with poorer quailifications than others getting rejected. Heck this happens at some places with vocal choruses, etc.
</code></pre>
<p>thanks csdad. that's good to know. sounds like we may need to be very direct and ask them if they have tips or not. thanks for the info.</p>
<p>condor, </p>
<p>Some D3 coaches have tips and some don't. Some that do will not plan to use them on your D so they won't talk about them. </p>
<p>IMHO: </p>
<p>(1) You need a precise, frank assessment of your D's sports ability. You have given too large a range. Know where she belongs athletically and shoot a little bit lower to get more selective admission and/or more merit aid. Your D's current coach can help here.</p>
<p>(2) Merit aid schools have been discussed a great deal on other threads. Search for "merit aid." Basically they are at liberty to give "merit" aid to athletes too. So your D would have a double chance at the aid-- as a scholar or athlete.</p>
<p>(3) You will not get a coach's auto admit without ED or ED2. You may however get a pre-read of your financials from the Fin Aid Office, and an aid estimate, if the coach is mega-interested in your D. In RD your well-qualified D will probably get a coach's endorsement (if the athletic level is correct) and this will help-- but no more than french horn, etc. The coach will not 'lay himself out' for a kid who is not committed. They will use the pull to pull in a sure bet.</p>
<p>(4) schools with larger endowments tend to give more grants and less loans in their FA packages. So among similar schools (say all selective & need based) look to "endowment per student" as a measure of more grants/ less loans.</p>
<p>(5) NAIA schools are not generally highly adademic/selective. Many are tiny religious schools.</p>
<p>Go to my old thread (search under my name: threads started by) and see more details about recruitment.</p>
<p>Finally: get going now because time is a-wastin' for seniors!!</p>
<p>The Patriot League would be a good start with Holy Cross and Colgate as prime examples. HC has some great new facilities and offers scholarships in selected sports all Division 1 . Also Duke, ND, Stanford are the big schools.</p>
<p>sbmom,
thanks for the info.
where do i find the endowment per student info?<br>
still very concerned about the ED because of the binding agreement. was told she would be required to attend that one school only if "reasonable aid is offered". the term "reasonable" aid ............what is reasonable to them.......might not be reasonable to us. have been told that a "release" would be needed from the school to go elsewhere if go ED and if we reject the financial picture. what can you tell me about students and binding ed's and releases? thanks for your help!</p>
<p>par 72 - yes, she's been contacted by a few in Patriot League. she is further along in the process w/some schools than others. thanks for the info.</p>
<p>we'll look into the pre-read. great info. wouldn't have known to ask for a pre-read. thanks!</p>
<p>questions on binding ed's. is it hard to get a release from an ed...... if not in agreement with the "reasonable" financial package that's been given to the accepted student?</p>
<p>I have noticed that east coast schools have primarily east coast athletes.
west coast schools have primarily west coast athletes.</p>
<p>It is probably because it is easier to see potential athletes in the same region as the school and recruiting budgets are low.</p>
<p>
[quote]
questions on binding ed's. is it hard to get a release from an ed...... if not in agreement with the "reasonable" financial package that's been given to the accepted student?
[/quote]
I'd suggest doing a search on "ED" in past threads ... this topic has been discussed many times. Before applying an applicant can get a pretty good idea of what kind of financial aid they may get ... schools have track records of meeting a typical percentage of need (as defined by the EFC/FAFSA calculations) ... and a track record of how much of their aid is work study and loans (non-grants). If the school offers close to what they typically offer than getting a release might be tough ... in general the applicant should present some compelling info about why the expected financial aid package isn't good enough (something like a new medical emergency as opposed to stating that this deal is less than I need so I want to try to get merit aid from another school).</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have noticed that east coast schools have primarily east coast athletes.
west coast schools have primarily west coast athletes.</p>
<p>It is probably because it is easier to see potential athletes in the same region as the school and recruiting budgets are low.
[/quote]
I'm sure that is part of it ... epecially for DII and DIII programs. In addition, I'm sure local kids have more affinity for their local schools. (I doubt a lot of kids in Mass are thinking I'd love to play for Pomona when they grow up).</p>
<p>thanks for your thoughts. makes sense and very good to know. yes, experienced that already. one patriot league coach didn't travel to see her play in a national level tournament....instead he chose to go to a tournament on the east coast.</p>
<p>3togo - thanks to both you and dstark for the observation. makes sense and very good to know. yes, experienced that already. one patriot league coach didn't travel to see her play in a national level tournament....instead he chose to go to a tournament on the east coast.</p>
<p>good info. thanks. will review percentage of need figures. very good tip. was wondering what that term really meant........i'm such a novice....but am learning, thanks to all here.</p>
<p>condor30, have you seen this web site...<a href="http://www.varsityedge.com%5B/url%5D">www.varsityedge.com</a></p>
<p>One factor you've left out of your question is what sport are you talking about. The football coach is going to have more clout than the field hockey coach most anywhere.</p>
<p>typically what you will find in general is that you need to be "around" the general range of the incoming freshman class at a given school with respect to gpa/sat. Then, depending on the school and the coaches influence, availablity of scholarship, the particular division etc. etc. will determine how far from the general range you can stray.</p>
<p>Schools that are considered (or consider themselves) "academic" don't admit those that stray toooo far from the general profile, so they will, by necessity, limit recruiting to athletes who have the "grades"- among these IMO would include the Ivy League schools, Stanford, Rice, Duke for example among d-1 programs. At the d-3 level, you will typically find most of the top LAC not allowing much leeway from the general student profile e.g. Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, Amherst. </p>
<p>Bottomline, most any and all of these types of issues can be addressed in talking to the coach of any program that you're interested in.</p>
<p>The admissions at the most competitive levels are very "sport specific". You'd be surprised at some of the guys Coach k can get into Duke. For basketball & Football at Duke alot of weight is given to the interview. If the kid is fairly well spoken they have admitted kids with 800 SAT's (old Verbal / Math combined). I can't speak for the other major Universities but UNC, Wake Forest, U of Florida, Pepperdine, Boston College, to name a few, have athletes attending right now who are 400 SAT points below their average admitted student.</p>
<p>Csdad, 400 points below...that is an amazing stat.
Do you know anything about Wash U, Emory, Claremont or some of the lacs on the east coast? How much lower, if any do you think they will go?</p>
<p>condor, </p>
<p>You really have to make up your mind re your priorities between merit aid/aid, recruitment, & selectivity level. You are playing three games at once, and I worry this will divide your focus, or cause you to wind up with a selective school you can't afford & a cheap school you don't want. </p>
<p>(1) Academic Selectives - almost all are <strong>need-based</strong> schools</p>
<p>Some are loaded and are known to give great aid packages (Princeton & Williams are on this list.) By inputting your info into the Fin Aid calculators on "need-based" schools' websites, you will get a decent idea of what sort of aid you'd be eligible for; by looking for their typical grant/loan proportions, you will have an idea how that will likely shake out. If you <em>want</em> more $ than the calculations suggest you will get, you need to move on from these kinds of schools altogether. </p>
<p>(2) Generous Athletic Scholarships = almost all would be major D1 programs in revenue sports</p>
<p>Might be unlikely for your D to be athletically viable in these schools. Many are not "selective" academically.</p>
<p>(3) Merit Aid = schools that are trying to attract high-stat kids or over-qualified athletes to boost their profiles</p>
<p>These will be schools a rung or two lower than your D might otherwise expect to be admitted to... She will be in the top 25% of the student body (& probably higher,) stats wise. They will 'pay' to get her. Some are very very good school now trying to move into the uppermost tier.</p>
<p>Truly the only very selective, athletically appropriate, D3, with great merit aid college that I can think of is Grinnell.</p>
<p>I think you should go a different path. Find schools that will work for you financially (whether need-based schools where EFC is doable, or those that offer merit aid) and from within this list look then for academic & athletic fit.</p>
<p>CC poster curmudgeon is in a very similar situation:a smart, BBall playing daughter & the need for merit aid. Even worse, he has a wacky financial picture with no certain EFC. Thus his D must focus on merit aid schools. It might help to search his old posts for ideas on schools.</p>