My son is a rising junior, so he has some time, but has been looking at colleges for about a year. The reason is he was considering playing D1 lacrosse, but after touring a few colleges interested in him he realized the schools he could get recruited to, he wasn’t interested in. They were mostly too big. He is very excited about Saint Lawrence and plans to visit next week. He’s a multi-sport athlete (football & lacrosse), loves to be in the gym, wants a school under 4,000 students and currently has a 3.5 GPA and scored 1220 on his PSAT’s. He should improve by about 100 points on SAT’s when he takes them in the spring after he takes a prep course. He is also a bit of a loner, meaning he just likes to be alone and is a bit of a home body, but all the kids at school like him and he is a leader on the field and in the classroom. He wants a school that really supports the student/athlete. Are the Saints a good fit for him and what other small colleges fit the profile for him? I heard Gettysburg (D3) might be one. He also likes Bates (D3) and Bentley (D2) has expressed interest in recruiting him when he becomes a junior in September. He is unsure what he wants to study, but I see him in the FBI or CIA someday. He might disagree, but that’s a dad for you. Any help is appreciated!
St Lawrence would be a wonderful school for a young man like your son. The teams get tremendous student support, the facilities are drop-dead gorgeous. Campus is lovely, a mix of older and new buildings (the Adirondack/ski chalet style student center is gorgeous). The village has a movie theater, coffee shop, pizza – the college essentials, and the St L bookstore is more like a bookstore/coffee shop/boutique. There is a strong outdoors culture and, of course, winter sports. The kids we met were grounded, decent sorts. We know a current student there who is more of an introvert, and he is very happy.
Other strong lax schools include Denison, which is also a kind of “balanced” school in terms of the student body, and is easier to fly in and out of, with Columbus about 25 minutes away (St L is about 2 hours north of Syracuse and 90 min south of Montreal). Denison and St L both give merit aid, if that is a consideration. Dickinson might be another “balanced” school to consider.
My kid visited Bates as a prospective recruit, and liked it very much, though not the program in his sport so we moved on. We considered Gettysburg on paper, but never made the trip, though I think it has higher greek life involvement than either St L, Denison or Dickinson. Franklin & Marshall is another possible, though it does not give merit aid, only financial aid, which may be a consideration.
Good luck, this is a fun process, I really enjoyed watching my kid mature through the recruiting process, as he handled coach interactions with increasing ease and confidence.
My son is also looking at some schools for lacrosse. You may also want to consider Providence College, if being at a Catholic school is not an issue. A smaller D1 lacrosse program, very nice school and about the size you mentioned. Another one may be High Point Univ. in NC. Lastly, take a look at Middlebury in VT.
Best of luck, but importantly - ask him how would he like the school if he got injured and was unable to play for 4 years. He has to love the school first, sports second.
If he’s really good enough to consider D1 (be honest!) then grab a list of the top D3 LAX programs and work your way down, tossing the ones that are too expensive or too far away or are beyond his academic range or don’t fit whatever other criteria you have. There are regional rankings as well as national ones, so you should be able to find a good program at a school you can like.
One other consideration: do you want to be part of an established power or help build something new? My DD has this on her Twitter feed, and it’s something some kids find very important: “If you’re on a paved road, it’s because somebody paved it for you. If it’s not paved, it’s your responsibility to pave it for someone else.” She went to a growing program instead of a powerhouse.