<p>MickeyD- we just went through the track/cross country recruiting process with our son, who will be running for Penn. I sent you a private message and would be glad to compare notes with you.</p>
<p>Hi track parents: my son ran his first varsity event tonight (in fact he's not home yet!) so it's a bit premature to know if he has a future in this sport. But I'm wondering how athletes get written verification of their "official times" for their events? And if they can get something in writing, do they send it to the coaches of schools in which they may have an interest? Or do they simply fill in their times on the recruitment form without the burden of verification? Please teach me the ropes!</p>
<p>Hi Worrywart - They fill in the recruitment form and also include the name and numbe of the coach for verification. Often, for the bigger meets, all of the scores for a meet are posted on the web. To enter many regional and state meets a qualify time is required. Seed times are assigned based upon previous races. The Dyestat website is a terrific resource for learning about track and field recruiting.
<a href="http://dyestat.com/3feature/scholar/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://dyestat.com/3feature/scholar/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Dyestat is hands-down the best website on the Internet. I've been using it since 2001 (mainly for the message boards, I'm a message board junkie. . .MoWC knows :p)
I never received any verification for dual meets, times were recorded and "league leader" lists were posted on the Internet eventually, so don't expect your son to come home with a paper in his hands telling him what he ran. The coaches will handle almost everything. I never really had to submit my times to colleges or anything either, I guess coaches look at times on the web and will find a way to contact you one way or another.</p>
<p>If you can sift through the ---- letsrun.com has some good information. The site isn't as closely monitored as dyestat, so it takes more work to find things of value.</p>
<p>we knew nothing about recruiting. talk about amateur and unprepared--that was us! my son had met a head coach at a summer camp two years ago. once we got my son's act scores, we contacted them to see what his chances might be. they suggested a summer camp, we went. there were a lot of very savvy parents at this camp with their kids, we were just there like some country bumpkins taking it all in! who woulda' thunk it? anyway, here we are a mere 4 months later with our ed acceptance in hand. </p>
<p>i do think you can count on some of your academic success to open doors athletically. as a result of the exposure at that camp he has been contacted by a lot of d3 schools. as a result of a successful season, he is being contacted by a lot more. however, he wanted to attend a specific school since he was a kid, so the choice he made was easy.</p>
<p>my best suggestion is to contact the school directly, make a visit, and attend a summer camp if at all possible. that would be the best way to spend the money!</p>
<p>if anybody has specific questions about ivy league recruiting for the cut and dry sports swimming/track feel free to PM me (better than posting questions on this thread b/c i rarely visit this forum). </p>
<p>for a little background: this past year i was recruited by 7 of the 8 ivies (no penn) in both sports and can provide a very recent story of how the schools/coaches are working. at the beginning of the process i dabbled a bit in the DIII area so i have a bit of knowledge there as well.</p>
<p>What helpful advice from you all! Thank you. Stupefied (before I PM you): Would you have been a strong candidate for the Ivy's without athletics? (I'm guessing my son wouldn't make the cut based on GPA/SAT alone).</p>
<p>my scores and grades would probably have put me a bit below the average accepted student. my stats 32 ACT, 2150 SAT (690M/730CR/750W), and top 7% class rank. but i also had several other pretty good EC's.</p>
<p>have you heard of the academic index, because what your son's score is on that greatly affects his chances of recruitment. here's a link.
<a href="http://collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3.htm%5B/url%5D">http://collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3.htm</a></p>
<p>My Son is interested in one Ivy and one Nescac for track/CC. Very High scores/Very High class rank + leadership so he should get in. Borderline Div I, for sure Div III. Apps in to 4 or 5 high standard academic schools also. The big Q is with financial aid.</p>
<p>We have reasonable income and assets but the cost is daunting. We do not see loans or work study as financial aid as we and he are well qualified for either stand alone. We had a major disappointment with a fine Midwestern University with our other son, (not interested in college athletics), as they would not budge from their financial aid package; loans were a big part of that. So I am gun shy about Ivy and Nescac, as we cannot afford them without major aid, no matter what they say we can afford. As there are many ways to get a quality education, coming out of undergraduate school with loans of $50,000 or more is just not advisable in our family.</p>
<p>Did you see any flexibility in converting loans and work study to grant aid? Also any interest in matching out of conference aid or merit aid?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>daffymom, I've bookmarked the link you provided and I took a look at it. Ashamed to say that I haven't a clue how to find the meet that my son participated in on Friday. Is there a quick and easy way to navigate that site?</p>
<p>MickeyD, it might be better to start a new thread with your specific situation re: $. You would probably get more posts. That being said if you are talking about a need-only Nescac school and the Ivy League, they are not going to match an out of conference merit offer no matter how high the admission stats or how badly they want the athlete.</p>
<p>We have heard many "stories" about the quarterback (or needed cellist)whose financial aid package was more generous than one would have thought given the dry numbers and I tend to believe those stories. But matching a merit award or going very far outside someone's EFC is doubtful IMO. </p>
<p>I do think where lots of wiggle room comes in is when some need is found, and the student is highly qualified academically and much needed for their talent, that need is "preferentially packaged". More grant less self help. </p>
<p>At least that is the delusion D and I are working under in her applications to Nescac schools. LOL. Good luck.</p>
<p>Worrywart - there is a section of Dyestat that lists the state championship results at the end of season but I do not belive that the smaller meets are posted during the season. Your son's coach is the best source of information regarding posting of the team's results. I don't know what state you are from -- but some schools post meet results on
<a href="http://www.directathletics.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.directathletics.com</a><br>
Select meet results in the upper right column and then select your state and level of competition and events. You don't need a pass word.
Again - best bet is the coach.</p>