Hey everyone! So a little about me. I am a female runner and an upcoming senior in high school. I run in the sprints category and give off some pretty good times. I’d say my times give a lower D1 to higher D3 vibe. Anyway, I have a few questions relating to recruiting since I have been attracting some nice interest.
I have been invited to visit (unofficial) this summer by a lower tier D1. They have shown me a really good amount of interest and also said they’d love to have me aboard. My grades are what they are looking for and they are awaiting my June SAT scores. What should I expect on this or any unofficial visit?
This school holds lots of interest from me too and I know the coach mentioned that there is an emphasis on early action which starts in August. If the finances are right I would love to attend. I know that many of the runners that currently go to this school had their official visits around January to February. It seems to me that they were on a regular decision timeline rather than early action but I am not sure.
However, I personally am not really sure the calendar of recruiting. I have about 10 or so schools in my ballpark and I feel like I am in a weird stage with them. They have my transcripts are awaiting my SAT scores. I can kind of feel which schools hold more interest etc.
Anyway, if anyone has any recruiting experience at any of these schools:
Davison
Williams
Rhodes
University of San Fran
Pepperdine
NYU
Claremont Mckenna
Pomona
Bowdoin
Bates
UChicago
I have a son going through this now. Good luck to you. Looks like you have a nice interesting list of school choices.
From what we’ve been told for D1 they will do pre-reads and all that over the summer( after July 1) and then there will be OV visits n the fall for early applicants. It seems like some of the bigger state schools keep recruiting right through the winter track season, as many of our best local competitors just committed to their schools in the last few weeks. I guess this gives kids a chance to improve their grades and scores during senior year, and the coaches get to watch another season of performances.
For a few selective DIII and D1 schools they expect an early decision app in order to have an official slot from the coach. There will be some kids added in the Spring too, as many some of the recruits fall off or don’t get admitted for whatever reason.
As far as finances go, when you submit your info for your pre-read ask the coach if it is possible to get a financial pre-read done ( if you are concerned about the $$)
Remember,there is no athletic $$ in DIIi ( but maybe nice need based financial aid), I and there is limited amounts of funds for D1/D2 track too.
Yeah that’s something I was wondering. For the D1 schools I was wondering when finances would be apart of the discussion, but I guess that is a topic that is still further down the line. And yeah I am hoping to get academic aid of some sort for the D3 schools. Has your son, if you don’t mind me asking, been on any unofficial visits?
ALSO I JUST REALIZED I TYPED DAVISON INSTEAD OF DAVIDSON FOR THE COLLEGE LIST
Whether a school is D1 or D3 is not necessarily based on competitiveness. There are plenty of D3 schools that have stronger running programs than many D1 schools. If you need the athletic scholarship, you are limited to D1 but there is a broad range of D1 schools for different levels of runners. You then need to look at whether the other aspects of the school are what you want in terms of size, location, academics, etc. Some D3 schools offer merit scholarships, but some don’t (NESCAC league for example) so you need to do your research. Many schools will pressure you into applying ED but don’t do it unless you are really sure you want to go there and get a financial pre-read, or at least run the net price calculator on the website. Track tends to be a late recruiting sport. I know of kids who don’t reach out to the coaches until the beginning of senior year. If your times and grades are what they are looking for, they will be interested.
@justarunner yes my son has been on several unofficial visits with coaches, that we tied into school tour info sessions. We met with the coaches, discussed track, discussed grades, discussed benefits of attending their school. My son had copies of transcript, sat, etc and the coaches reviewed them. He was then told good luck with the rest of the season, they would be attending certain meets and they’d be in touch early this summer, after July 1 for pre-reads . We only dd the unofficial visits because the schools were close by and the coaches were interested, so we figured why not see what happens.
@eastcoast101 The main D1 school that is interested in me is actually my top choice. The location, the major, and the overall feeling is there. It is a well known good school and I was super excited when they spoke of their interest. The coach told me he would wait on my SAT scores but in the meantime would like to plan an unofficial visit. I am likely going to take him up on this offer and go check it out. I am just a little confused onto when serious talk comes into play. This school offers early action only and I’d be happy to apply in that group which is late summer early fall. However, their official visits usually occur in the late fall. Does this happen a lot? Do recruits often apply early action or early decision before their official visits?
I see. The weird thing about my situation I guess is that my unofficial visit (at my top choice school) is right before school starts/ at the end of summer. I feel like this is weird timing because it is also the time they open up early action and that is something the coach already has encouraged me to take part in. I am in the process of having some pre-reads done from a few of the other schools, but this one holds probably the most interest at the moment. I just wonder how the timeline will flow from here on out.
If you apply EA you do not actually have to attend there. You could change your mind and go someplace else.
If the school offers ED, and the coach will only guarantee a spot on the team via ED, then you have a choice to make. Go the ED route and forgo other schools, or hold out until RD round in January and see what other kinds of offers come along.
Top DIII schools will likely ask you to apply ED, but many still allow you to apply EA to your state school or wherever else. If that school doesn’t accept you ED come December, then you can apply to other schools in RD round. You might also have some acceptance from other schools EA.
If you go DIII, commit to a coach, get accepted, then you must attend. You would notify any other schools that you applied to that you have accepted an offer elsewhere ED and terminate your application there. That’s how it works.
The school that has early action is the one I want to attend. I just think it’s odd to apply early action and then take an official because I always though the two events to be swapped.
Not odd at all. Get the application in and then visit the school. If after you visit you don’t want to go, then don’t go. Since early action is not binding it just means that you can get your acceptance earlier than regular decision. It does not obligate you in any way.
Also before committing you should make sure you have the opportunity to meet your future teammates, sit in on a class, etc. End of summer may not be the best time to do that.
@eastcoast101 Thanks, and yeah I definitely want to feel a team vibe before making any decisions. I’ll keep the thread updated for sure with my recruiting updates.
another female track athlete here! (but im a distancer lol) check out NCSA for recruitment advice and info!
Awesome! Yeah I use NCSA for the articles but I decided not to pay for the services. Have you started you recruitment process?
@catiestudyingg Whoops forgot to tag ^^
I had a D that was highly recruited for track. Once July 1st prior to Sr. year came the coaches started calling. She was a top student as well and when the top tier academic & Div. 1 schools started calling she only focused on a few of those schools .There is not a lot of scholarship $ for track even with good Div 1 programs and they can split scholarships and some coaches save $ for the All-Americans. Even without scholarship $, at the top programs the coach can get you in, such as a likely letter at an Ivy or support or scholarship at another school.
From your times and the coaches/schools that are calling/contacting you, you should have a sense for your level. To be a top recruit you will need to be able to make an impact on the team right away and score points at college meets.
Have fun-Good luck!
@justarunner my son was recruited for Davidson Colllege and he took an OV sometime in October. Feel free to PM with any questions about their T&F recruiting
My D20 is also a sprinter. She is registered with NCAA. @recruitparent I am wondering if there is anything she needs to do on her end to be visible to coaches, or do they just look at times on milesplit and athletic.net and reach out to them. After her freshman year she got two letters from colleges but that’s it. A friend told me that once her junior year arrives they will look more closely.
The coaches do find some athletes, but now is not the time to be shy. Send in the recruiting questionnaires, update any coach at a school you are interested in with highlights and times, if you are going to the state meet. Ask your local coaches if they have any connections or suggestions.
@S18D20mom junior year is when things pick up. With the rule changes this year I don’t even think she can meet informally with coaches on campus until junior year. I’d focus right now on identifying colleges she’s interested in, then fill out the forms and email the coaches this fall. Also good to get testing done junior year if she is ready. I wouldn’t expect her to be discovered outside her state or region unless she is top 20 in her event. Although there are definitely a lot of eyes on Texas sprints, so it could happen. Still, plan on running at new balance nationals next spring assuming she is at that level. Good exposure there.