<p>Our experience with the NESCAQ is that its very competitive but for some sports more than others, lacrosse, football being the top two. Some are now score optional, don’t remember which ones. They are all very competitive schools and the coach does not have a lot of pull, the grades in other words have to be in range. It has become an increasingly competitive process but if you can take the testing scores out of the equation that just might make the difference for your son. Good luck.</p>
<p>Theres really so many nuances that its difficult to answer as to what SAT is high enough for a NESCAC (or equivalent in Centennial or other league).
The short answer is that a 1700 is too low for most prospective athletes at all of the NESCAC schools. But if youre an underrepresented minority athlete, then that probably wouldnt preclude you from any of the NESCAC colleges. Being from an underrepresented geography is also a benefit (North Dakota is good).
If youre of a level that might approach All American, a coach could possible get one slot to get someone in with scores well below the 25% percentile. And while some of the colleges are SAT optional, probably not if youre a recruited athlete.
Some sports will dip lower (football and ice hockey), whereas with other sports (e.g., cross country and swimming) the coach will have very little sway to bring in someone with a low SAT. How much leeway also depends on the school, and even a particular sport at a particular school.
Ivy schools will generally dip lower than the NESCAC schools. This is because their bigger student body can absorb more low scores and because they are trying to compete at a D1 level. For example the entering soccer freshman class for Harvard might have a target average of 2000. If youre a 2100, then you offer up 100 points that can be used to get a 1900 in. (The caveat being that the coach might be valuing you more for your excessive SAT points than your soccer ability.) If youre really good, you can get into Harvard with an 1800.
So youll find that coaches cant give you hard and fast answers, because there are so many variables that come into play, including what are the scores of the other athletes being recruited?</p>
<p>The closest thing my S is to a URM is that he was born in Kazakhstan and not adopted (to the US) until almost 8 years of age.</p>
<p>Our state is not underrepresented either.</p>
<p>S will take the ACT in Feb and then we’ll evaluate which test (SAT or ACT) is better for him to repeat.</p>
<p>We have the “blue book” and the “red book”. </p>
<p>I have found a tutor, although she is many states away.</p>
<p>I need to talk to S about what strategy he wants to use to prepare.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Both S1 and S2 strongly preferred the ACT. Both took it more than twice. Once they refreshed all the math required and practiced the reading section to adjust for the need to read faster, their test scores improved steadily. In fact S2 had his largest gain in the fall of senior year. He was motivated to get into the ‘range’ of the selective LAC that he wanted to apply early decision to. It worked out. I kept telling both of them that the test was ‘good for their brain’. Not sure if it worked but at least they kept trying and it paid off for both.</p>
<p>From what I have seen is that a school whether nescac or ivy, will take an athlete with an 1800, if they want the athlete badly enough. I have seen this over four years in my kids program, not a helmet sport.
Is your son a native kazakh? Talk about an unrepresented nationality. Adopted? I see these factors as being positive for you as hooks, which will make his scores more palatable for colleges.
Good luck in the process.</p>
<p>Yes, native Kazakh, yes adopted. </p>
<p>But he’s not “urm” as he’s “asian”. It will be part of his application though somewhere :-).</p>
<p>He’ll be testing again, so hopefully his score will improve!</p>
<p>FWIW, my son went from 177 on the PSAT to 1980 on the SAT, and plans to take the SAT again, probably in June after AP exams are done, and we believe the SAT course (again, we found one for $300 for 8 weeks of 3 hour sessions) helped him a lot.</p>
<p>I think the course helped him more in Writing and Critical reading, but oddly enough even though he was getting perfect on Math practice exams, he did not improve his math. The class was not targeting students who were looking for the 750+ range in math, and that should be a consideration. If you have the money, a personal tutor might be a better answer for high-achieving students looking to improve.</p>
<p>(my son is European and Asian, and hesistant to list Asian but in athletics, it might be a diversity boost)</p>
<p>I had this process explained to me so well by the wrestling Coach at Trinity College (a NESCAC school but not as competitive as Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, etc.) Yes, being an athlete helps with admission, but not financial aid. He said that at Trinity, athletes are broken up into three categories. The three categories are known as A Band, B Band, and C Band. A Band athletes are those with a SAT score of 1950+, and a coach is allowed as many of these as he wants. They are all almost mindlessly accepted. A B Band athlete is one that has a score between 1750 and 1940. These athletes are put under the microscope and their GPA, ecs, and athletic abilities are looked at and admission is offered accordingly (I will i knew more about B Bands). C Bands are students with below a 1750 SAT. only 50 of these students are allowed admission every year, so the coach has to push really hard for you (you need to be a top recruit). From my understanding football takes up a majority of these recruits leaving only 1 or 2 for other teams. From my understanding, Trinity’s average accepted student SAT is a 1950 and 1750 is 20 percentile. This banding system is limited to the NESCACs but others use very similar systems.
Hope this helps</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1583815-chances-diii-wrestling-recruit-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1583815-chances-diii-wrestling-recruit-will-chance-back.html</a></p>
<p>That’s a question I haven’t figured out the answer to. It’s clear to me that Ivies have the academic index, and we know where my son stands on that. But it’s not clear whether D1 and D3 schools would both favor students with high academics, or if they don’t care. Do they have a form of “GPA and SAT balancing” that the Ivies must do, but lower standards?</p>
<p>1170</p>
<p>Cast a wide net.
No Ivy.</p>
<p>S took a practice ACT and scored considerably better! He will be taking it in Feb, so I hope he is prepared and does well.</p>
<p>1170 is NOT a final score, unless he doesn’t take any more SATs and just takes ACTs, but he’ll be taking more than one. Also 1170 is not the total score.</p>
<p>S is very unlikely interested in Ivy and probably couldn’t hack it academically anyway.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What does athletic division have to do with SAT scores?</p>
<p>Unless you’re making the false assumption that all Division III schools are highly selective LACs … which is not true.</p>
<p>^ the ones that fulfill our financial need are :-)</p>
<p>The prep course my son used and was happy with was:</p>
<p>[SAT</a> and PSAT Classes](<a href=“ESC:”>ESC:)</p>
<p>He has 1340 for M + CR and will take it again. The Ivy coach who he has been in close contact with indicates that the score is on target, but should take SAT again to try for an increase “to be safe”.</p>
<p>I agree about the D3 scores required being similar. One has about $15,000 in merit aid, solely based on SAT score, and that’s based on his current M + CR. We still would have to pay a lot, but $60,000 over four years would be substantial.</p>