I attend one of the top Highschool’s in the country, top 50 in the U.S, top 5 in the state, 2nd in NYC, The Bronx Highschool of Science. Im currently a Sophmore going onto my 6th season of track( 2 years each of cross,indoor and upcoming outdoor.) I am a Sprinter, planning to do hurdles, pole vaulting and throwing. My times are
55m 7.20
100m 12.5
200m 25.7
300m 39.7
AVG 93 with 2 aps at the moment y and let’s just say I get a 1500 on my sats. Based on my plans I should have around the same avg 92-93 with 9 aps.
Now, I don’t want go into track, with a mindset of making the Olympics. I just want to stay active in sports in college and not just sit around. As I am more on the academic side, I want to run track as a side thing in d3 schools like NYU,HUNTER CUNY ETC.
I will def be able to lower my times, and im wondering how the entire, not full scholarship thing work in d3 schools. Is it walk on? Will I be able to get on, without trying out ? Will it be competitive? How do my chances look right now.
Thanks!!
I know nothing about running times, but know that colleges will definitely be interested in you as a student athlete. I would try to figure out what you might want to study and then look at top schools in your major. You should start filling out recruiting profiles on the school’s webpages and also email some coaches to say you are interested.
D3 schools do not give any athletic scholarships. Some D3 schools give merit scholarships for academics, and some also give need based scholarship. What your athletics can get you is a push or tip in admissions from the coach if he feels you will help the team. It’s up to every coach to decide how to use his influence if the school even allows the coach to have a say.
Whether you can try out or walk on when you get to campus is also up to the coach.
D3 schools recruit high school athletes just like D1 and D2, they just don’t offer athletic scholarships or have National Letters of Intent. If you are interested in college track, email the coaches of the schools now, introduce yourself and tell them you are interested in learning more about their program. You have a much better chance of being on the team if you recruited in high school than you are walking on when you get there as a college freshman.
I also suggest you look at the meet results of the schools you are interested in to see what kinds of times they are putting down. It can help you determine what kinds of times the coaches will be looking for in a recruit. In addition, if you go to the schools’ athletics websites, they will often have profiles on the athletes with their high school accomplishments. If you see a pole vaulter jumping 3-4 feet higher than you can, for example, you know what you need to hit. Every D3 school is different; I’m guessing (but haven’t actually looked) that NYU will be more competitive than CUNY.
Keep working on your grades and try to improve your running times a bit. In your Junior year, you can reach out to schools you are interested in. Send notes to the coaches and have a list of verifiable FAT times included. Share your transcript,GPA and test scores. Most coaches will take a more serious look at you knowing your gpa/test scores are recruitable and your times will be batter next year. D3 track recruiting doesn’t really happen until late Jr year/early senior year. Good luck.
I am glad you said ONE of the top high schools in NYC, since I am a Stuyvesant grad ;)) (albeit MANY years ago). Both my son and I ended up at D1 but we had conversations with a few D3 schools.
Have you competed at PV and or throws, or do you want to broaden your skills? Based on your description you will likely find yourself being pushed into being a multi-event athlete since schools are always looking for sprinters who can clear a bar in PV. You will find many D3s interested in you, but you will need to think through what you want in a college experience. Many D3s do not have good coaching in the vault and often specialize in one aspect of track (distance vs. throws). If you just want to compete and want to focus on one type of event vs. another look for schools that have a strong program in that area. Throws and vertical jumpers tend to gravitate to schools that have good coaching in their event, which is why you see lots of D3 that don’t even have athletes for some events, which doesn’t always mean they want athletes either. Schools often choose to not buy the necessary equipment or hire specialty coaches. They will take you on the team if you show up, but without a coach or equipment for all events, it may be frustrating for you. I am most familiar with the vault and you will find that many D3 athletes continue with their HS coach or personal/club coach, or a family member is listed as a “volunteer” coach at their school. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it means when that athlete leaves, so does the coach.
As others have pointed out, D3s do not give athletic scholarships, but if they want you they can sometimes get creative with academic scholarships. Look through schools first for your academic areas of interest and then contact the coaches of the schools that look like a good fit. Since you have a local list, you may be able to go to a nearby collegiate meet and meet the coaches in person, offer that suggestion and see what responses you get. Different schools also have different approaches to who is on the team. Not all schools take walk-ons so you will need to ask the coach of each school what they do. Sometimes schools take all who show up, but only select athletes compete or the roster may be invited athletes only, with try-outs for everyone each year. There is no one set policy across schools or even divisions, you will need to ask.
You do have time. Track recruiting typically goes into senior year, so focus on the academic fit first but make sure to contact coaches before any applications go in to get any assistance possible and make sure you will have choices you are happy with athletically.
In addition to the advice above with regard to track recruiting - D3 coaches can initiate contact with you on January 1 of your junior year (D1 and D2 is in July). If you want to get recruited, you should be talking, and if possible meeting with the coaches before that. You can look at stats at colleges that you are interested and you want to see numbers that are better than where you will be when you graduate HS. So pick out the top performers in your event at the colleges you are interested in, then look them up on milesplit.com and see what they were doing as HS athletes. That will give you a good idea how the coaches will see you as a potential athlete. Submit the recruiting questionnaires and then follow up with an email or phone call. Since you are a sprinter you won’t have the opportunity better your times in the fall, so contact them early and provide updates through your junior year indoor and outdoor seasons. In our experience, the D3 coaches recruit most heavily in the fall and most track official visits happen during XC season. I would not not sign up for a program without taking an overnight visit with the team (either official or unofficial). Good luck -