<p>Hi my son is a rising senior, in the thick of the recruiting process (lacrosse) for D3( all schools he wants to attend are in this category). So....he is keeping in touch with about 7-8 coaches on a fairly regular basis. What we are not sure about now is where do we go from here.</p>
<p>I know D3 is very different from D1. We had a brief exposure to D1 with interest from a few coaches but he decided that was not the route he wants to take.</p>
<p>A few coaches have asked him point blank "where he is", what he wants to do what his top schools are,etc...are they actually asking him if their school is a top pick? We don't know what this line of questioning means. Do they normally come out and say we want you or do they feel out the player first? We are wet behind the ears on this so to speak. He has gotten "thumbs up" from most of the admissions offices after submitting his scores/transcripts. </p>
<p>He does have 2 schools which are his definite top picks. At this point should come out and tell him as much? Then leave it in their court. We have no idea what the protocol here, on one hand he wants to be assertive on the other, he does not want to seem overly aggressive but we know also there is a small window and it is now. Any help or advice someone with this experience cares to offer? Thank you.</p>
<p>My son is not lacrosse, but from what I do know, lacrosse starts recruiting as early as sophomore year of high school. There are lots of programs who have their teams largely settled out at this point. That said, applications have not gone in, likely letters have not been issued and anything can still happen. </p>
<p>There is no downside to indicating to a school now that the school is a top choice, unless one might do something so ill advised as to tell that to ten schools. Mean it if you say it. Worst, coaches may tell you it’s not a good match and then you know to look further. Best, you have become proactive and maybe move ahead of some other recruits already in line.</p>
<p>Again, right now, anything can still happen. GL</p>
<p>My D was at this point last year with the NESCAC schools…It sounds to me that your son has not told the coaches where their school ranks on his list. Therefore, they are not willing to play their cards so to speak. I agree with GingerPeach, He needs to immediately call the coaches and say "I want to go to this school…and ask the coach if he will support him in the admission process. Also,to what degree will the coach support him is very important ; he needs to ask!! In July and August overnight fall visits should be scheduled. When he finds out what his top choice thinks he may need to ask the next on his list and so on. I would just be honest with them. But I think the time is now!</p>
<p>Mine is also not lax, but a NESCAC recruit. I agree that if your son has a clear “favorite” its definately appropriate to let the coach know that. On the flip side, you don’t have to be quite as forthcoming with the other coaches…I don’t like to use the term “string them along” but you can for sure be a bit more vague in where they fall in the standings. If he does have a conversation with the “#1” coach, be prepared with a response to the ED request…because it will surely come. I didn’t like the recruiting process at all! I never understood the “coach-speak” and it felt like we were doing this dance that I didn’t know the steps to. But in the end it worked out…and I hope it does for him too!</p>
<p>Thanks- I think that sounds good, he should express to #1 and #2 choices where they rank. Do you think its OK to send an email and express this in an email? The coaches especially in the summer can be hard to reach and my son works all day in a job that does not allow personal calls.</p>
<p>So once has made this declaration…will the coach then take the cue and tell him where he stands on the the list? Or should my son take the initiative and ask? He doesn’t want to overstep his boundaries however this is the window where these things and conversations are starting to happen.</p>
<p>Also Gingerpeach the recruiting in 10th grade is done with D1 but D3 starts very casually in 11th grade and then intensifies after July 1st (when they can obtain transcripts and scores and schedules to get a read from the admissions office). We just met with his high school coach who laid this all out for us.</p>
<p>If there is one thing I have learned its that you really have to advocate for yourself, and be the initiator. One thing I think my son needs to step up a little…but the interest seems to be there. I am just wondering at what point will a coach come out and say “we want you, admissions said you are good to go” then is it a verbal commitment with D3’s? This is one thing I have no idea about…thank you. I so agreed with the analogy “about dancing and not knowing the steps” I always feel one or two (or three)! steps behind!</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification on lacrosse … It is hard to keep track of all the differences between sports. As for telling a coach they are # 1 or 2 on your list, I would only say that they are one of your top 2 favorite schools and leave it at that. No coach expects you to have only one option you are considering, but no one likes to be told they are specifically behind another school. “coach, your school is one of my very top choices, I was wondering if you could help me by letting me know where I might fall as far as your recruiting is going right now” is a perfectly acceptable way to approach it.</p>
<p>Usually the offer comes at the on campus visit. My D also used the “you are in my top 2 schools” strategy & it worked beautifully. Schedule fall campus visits as early as you can.</p>
<p>OK questiont then- some schools offer official visits and some don’t. One of his top picks does and the other does not. So he has visited these schools already, are you saying he should go back again in the fall? He will for the official visit but not the other one. In this case could they communicate via email/phone. </p>
<p>Also is him telling the schools that they are the top picks appropriate to do in an email (nicely worded of course). Thanks.</p>
<p>Ginger is right…the coaches know full well that kids are looking at other schools so while it’s great to express true interest, there’s no need to pretend like they’re the only girl at the hop. My son is going to play for NESCAC in the fall and in our experiences with recruiting in that league I’d say the coaches are especially aware of “competition”. NESCAC includes alot of pretty highly regarded schools…schools that are considered (especially by athletes) alongside the Ivy league schools…and for better or worse, I know the NESCAC coaches know that a good number of their contenders are waiting to see how things shake out with their Ivy selections first.</p>
<p>kwalker203, I think it might be best to call the coach when discussing that a school is “one of my top choices”. I believe you get more done with a call. It also shows that you are more serious about the school…In regards to schools that do not have OV, you could consider meeting up with a coach at his office-especially if its a top choice and not too far a drive.</p>
<p>Ok, a slightly different angle and sport -GOLF D3. Although I am not sure the sport really matters, i.e. a team sport only needs one catcher, Wide receiver,etc… My son is about to get a letter from a couple of coaches SPECFICALLY asking for his interest in the college. As a sales person for 36 years, this is the same as asking a customer, “If I meet your price, will you BUY?” This has me concerned on 2 fronts: this is a bee-line to ED <which would="" be="" ok=""> except it would seem to take the merit money competition amoung colleges OUT of the equation…? I like the above answer, “you are in my TOP 2”… but when a golf team needs only 2 or 3 golfers, I do not want to get too cute and blow my sons chance…HELP!!..any previous threads on this question…Thank you!</which></p>
<p>Golf4fun, you need to determine if the schools that your son is interested in give merit aid. My DD will play golf next year at a NESCAC school that does not offer merit aid but does meet 100% of need. That was good enough for us. The EFC calculation was very accurate, although I would not trust it if you are self employed with significant business assets. Many top academic D3 schools (and the Ivies) do not offer merit aid.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that you try to meet with the coach and admissions person for your area at about the same time. My DD was recruited by lower level D1 schools that offered both merit aid and athletic aid, but both admissions and coach were present at that time. I am not sure that either one would have had the authority to make an offer with the other person’s money. Also, recognize that your son will need better grades and test scores than the average applicant to that school to get merit aid. D3 schools of course cannot offer athletic aid.</p>
<p>The top D3 schools that recruited DD wanted her to apply ED. I would try to nail down any merit aid before the ED deadline. You can ask for FA pre-read as well. The coaches have more influence ED and may move on if you don’t apply ED. This is especially true in golf where they are probably recruiting only one or two players and when they have those players in hand they will stop recruiting. It becomes an act of faith at some point. I would cast a wide net and keep some back-up schools in the loop. DD second choice said they would support her in RD but some other schools dropped out when they were not the ED choice.</p>
<p>My D is a senior and is strongly interested in several NESCAC schools. She is having a hard time figuring out which one is her top choice because they’re all really good and she is not certain what her major is going to be. Since it is a hard decision, she might not be applying ED to any of them.</p>
<p>My question is: Does the XC recruiting pick up again in December after the season is over but before the RD deadline? I’m hoping so because I thought my D was a fairly strong recruit but we haven’t gotten strong interest from coaches. Her stats are:</p>
<p>19:04 in the 5k
2:21 in the 800m
ACT Composite: 29
GPA: 4.08</p>
<p>Please comment freely. Thank you.</p>
<p>I could be wrong with the sport, but I think in most cases unless you are a standout recruit who is being courted by everyone, or confident in admission without athletics, you lose much of your athletic advantage in not applying somewhere early.</p>
<p>Keep too many top choices waiting too long and they will pass your daughter by in favor of a runner who is more sure of her choices. Some people here call it the game of musical chairs - you want to be sitting in a chair when the music ends. By spring it might not matter which school she wants, it will be a scramble to find which school will still take her. Her GPA is great, but so are the gpas of most NESCAC academic candidates. I would not be comfortable sitting on any laurels with a 29 ACT.</p>
<p>I cannot speak for all sports but for lacrosse the recruiting for the 2014 class is wrapping up with the NESCAC. Many of the programs are full or are filling up. The vast majority will apply ED. So not sure if these rules apply your daughters sport but its my perception that your daughter loses a big opportunity in not applying ED.</p>
<p>I feel like you are leaving an awful lot to chance in going the RD round when I would think most of the spots would be filled by now unless she is OK with potentially not being a recruited athlete and maybe playing club? For my son that wasn’t something he wanted to entertain so committing to an ED was always on his agenda it was a matter of finding the right match which thankfully he did.</p>
<p>I think at this juncture you need to ask a lot of specific questions that pertain to her sport. Maybe the timeline is much later/looser. I am not sure but better to know before and not after. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hi lynch112,</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about track 
However, looking at times from last years NESCAC championship, your D time of 800mm is pretty good. It seems that she could be representing her NESCAC school at the championship meet. …She also has the academics. So I am wondering…did you meet/talk with coaches etc.and show how interested you are? In my D case, it was a process…updating coaches, going to visit with them, seeing them at camps,and speaking specifically about how my D felt the school was a good fit. The more contact she had with specific coaches, the more they felt she was serious about their school. I get the feeling from your post, that D is still looking at schools and not sure. Perhaps coaches don’t get the sense that their school is high on her list yet. So if she can narrow down to a top 2, then she can call the coach and get a response from them as to whether she would be a good fit for the team. If financial not a factor please reconsider ED 1 or 2</p>
<p>As a NESCAC recruit at the top school in my sport, I was offered an overnight over a month ago and have been in contact with the coach quite a bit.</p>
<p>We have spoken to many coaches. We were on the road two weeks last summer. I guess our mistake is thinking that the ball was in their court so we were waiting for them to respond.</p>
<p>We have noticed that coaches waver in their enthusiasm. The coach at one school was urging my D to apply ED. That was a month ago. I guess the pre-read didn’t go well.</p>
<p>I should have mentioned that my D does have two OVs at NESCAC schools. A third liberal arts college in the south has been very encouraging. <the times="" at="" d3="" schools="" are="" noticeably="" slower="" when="" you="" go="" outside="" of="" new="" england.=""></the></p>
<p>The reason I have been thrown by this recruiting is that last year, my D’s friend who is one year older was recruited all the way through March. She did not apply ED. I should add that her times were much faster. What I am getting from these responses is that my D’s times aren’t good enough to get recruited past August. That is really upsetting to learn.</p>