First off, I want to thank anyone who helped me with a post a while back regarding Ivy League recruiting. I’m excited to say that I currently have 9 offers to play baseball in college: MIT, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Middlebury, Vassar, Hamilton, Colby, Bard, and Lafayette (D1 Patriot League). 5 of those schools have offered me the opportunity to play multiple positions which is certainly enticing. I also plan to major in economics and minor in computer science, unless I go to MIT where I will most likely major in finance with the same minor.
My question now is: how do I choose? I live very far away from all of these schools so I am making one big trip to try and visit the ones I’m most interested in. All of the coaches are great; some I like more than others and I’ve gotten to know very well. Which one do you all think is the best mix of academics and sports? Which do you think personally is the best school? I know most will say MIT but UChicago has an incredible economics department and core curriculum, so it’s up for debate in terms of what is best for me. How do I decide? And how do I tell a school I’m not interested? The first five I listed are the ones I’m planning to visit and the ones I’m really, truly considering.
Congrats, doesn’t seem like you can choose wrong with any of them. How did you get an offer from MIT if they can’t do a pre-read? Did they just say you have a spot on the team if you get admitted?
@alwaysdriving yes that is what it is. I use the term offer loosely but I just thought it was easiest because hopefully most people that comment on this thread know the way MIT recruiting works like you do. They will essentially “highlight” my application and it should help with admissions. My grades and test scores are top 50% for the school so they said that helps. Right now that is what I’m leaning toward IF I get in
If you are happy with all the teams, all the schools, all the financial aid offers, you will be in the enviable position of getting to pick the nits. Which school has the best facilities, the best schedule, the best ice cream, the best dorms? Most people can’t make decisions based on those things because Team A is a better fit or School B has the better choice of majors.
I haven’t read any of your other posts, but I’m wondering if you’ll you need financial aid? If so, I would think that would be a major deciding factor. At this point, I wouldn’t tell any of the coaches you aren’t interested - just wait and see how things play out in admissions and the financial aid process, then make your decision. Also do some research on the quality of the economics/finance programs at the schools you are considering - maybe that will help you narrow down your options.
@twoinanddone I guess you’re right. Time to start looking up what schools have the best ice cream options. I’ve decided that will be what I make my final decision based on.
@LeastComplicated my other posts aren’t super important… they just provide my test scores and how I was feeling about the recruiting process before I really knew too much about it. The only problem with waiting for admissions is that a lot of these schools would use some sort of “pull” to help me get in (although they have said it wouldn’t be that hard considering many of their recruited athletes have lower academic profiles than myself).
If I don’t commit to their school, they won’t use their pull. Or if they do use their pull and I choose another school I’d be hurting their recruiting process. I will try and get financial aid information from all of the schools, as only two have sent my financial info to admissions so far. You’re right that having that will clear up the process a lot more. Thanks for your help.
P.S. If I ever talk about my academics and sound cocky, please know I don’t mean it like that. I’ve just worked really hard to set myself up to be in this kind of position and I like to be objective about my chances and scores and such!
I would say it depends on how important baseball is to you in regards to winning and what level you want to compete. Academically you can’t go wrong with any so choose the best fit for both you the student and you the athlete. Don’t fall into the ranking category as so many others do.
@moscott I’m really trying not to, but sometimes it’s all I have to go off of because I haven’t visited all of the schools. I’m not choosing one school over the other based on rankings (except for something that’s well known like UChicago economics department being definitively better than most of these other schools) but it helped create an early list of schools I would consider. I think now, you’re right, I need to find what I like best. It’s definitely a good problem to have and I’m grateful but I don’t want to make the “wrong” decision.
Well again, academically you can’t make a wrong decision. You can still have an idea without visiting which college you might be happy at as Chicago/MIT are different environment than the others. So which environment would you prefer and just as important which is the best fit for you the baseball player. Traveling, competition, winning etc…
@moscott very good point. I’m stuck in between wanting a city environment vs a smaller school in a more rural area. Once I narrow that down it should help a ton too, although I see the upside to both. Baseball for me is a close second to the school as a whole when it comes to me choosing, but if a school is all around a better fit and the baseball isn’t as good then I’ll go with that one over the best baseball school.
Oh, no, you don’t sound cocky at all! Maybe some other parents can chime in here, but I think in Div III, you have to be looking out for your own best interests, and not be worried about possibly hurting a school’s recruiting process. From what I understand, in Div III, there really is no “commitment” such as signing a letter of intent, etc. since there are no athletic scholarships, so both the athletes and the coach can back out of any “commitment” at any time. And considering you may not be accepted to some of the schools even with the coaches “pull” (I’ve heard of that happening), I think that you should keep all your options open until you have your list of acceptances.
Hopefully, a more experienced parent will offer some insight here.
While academics should come first you need to find a happy balance. You might not be so thrilled about practices, travel, weather etc…on a team that isn’t very competitive. I’m assuming baseball has been a huge part of your life and the games end when college is over so make the most of it while you can.
*** I came back after I read your stats, and I’m sure you’ll have a great list of schools to choose from! Do some diligent research on each of the programs/coaches, etc, and then make your choice based on what school is the best fit for you athletically, academically and in all the other categories (just like everyone else said).
I’m sure you’ll have a better sense of the schools after you visit. Good luck!
The admissions process will partly help you make your choice. D3 baseball at those schools is generally not highly competitive. Find your best fit among your acceptances and take it from there.
@moscott that’s one of the reasons I wrote CalTech off the list. While their situation is much like MIT in terms of admissions push, I decided I don’t want to win 8 games a year while working my butt off. Thanks for your help!
@LeastComplicated you’re right in that the visits will help. Some of the schools look gorgeous in pictures and I can’t wait to see them in person. I’ll try and follow your advice and like another poster said, I can’t go wrong with these schools! I just want to find the one that I’ll enjoy most all four years because it is a huge commitment! Thanks for your help!
@ClarinetDad16 well I wouldn’t say it’s not highly competitive. Colby plays D1 teams in preseason and they’re one of the worse teams record wise of the ones that have offered me. Johns Hopkins went 38-8 last year and Middlebury plays in the NESCAC conference so the baseball is still pretty good. I agree best fit is important, and I’ll figure it out from there. Thanks!
@ClarinetDad16 I think about three or so NESCAC players got drafted last year, along with something like 6 or 7 that signed on to play pro ball (either independent or with an MLB farm system). While D3 will certainly not match up to power-5 conferences, a school like Johns Hopkins could beat a lot of lower level D1 schools, or even some good D1 schools maybe once or twice in a three or four game series if they play really well. I also think there are plenty of D-1 level players who voluntarily choose D-III, slightly lessening the gap between the level of incoming recruits.