<p>Pomona is high on my D's list of colleges; she'll be a junior next year. Can anyone talk about whether Pomona admissions would value an interest in playing varsity soccer, and whether the soccer coaches actively recruit and advocate for players in the admissions process? If so, do you have any advice on being seen, or getting the coaches' attention, given that we are not in southern California, and the Pomona coach doesn't seem to be listed at the showcases D's team will play in this year? Thanks!</p>
<p>Being a good player will help especially if your D is on the border of admission. That said I know of applicants with stellar grades and scores that coaches tried to get in and weren't able to. Because Pomona is division 3 it would help for your D to write the coach a letter, send along any newspaper articles written about her, any sports awards or student athlete honors, records set, a recommendation letter from her coach. My son had calls regularly from the coach at both CMC and Pomona once he submitted his info. He also visited the school and had lunch and a tour with the coach. Most students will spend a night on campus and stay with someone on the team.
That said pomona is very committed to finding students that are a good match and they need to make the criterea, ie have good recommendations, good essays, and the numbers. It always helps to have a coach advocate for you. Div 3 coaches do not have the same power or budget as a Div 1 school. There are probably some articles in the archives of the school newspaper on recruiting and how it works. I remember reading something at one point. There are also forms for athletes to fill out in their application packet. I vaguely remember that there is a date that coaches cannot contact a player before, probably summer of junior year though. They can recieve calls and mail from students before then. You probably know all about that I'm sure. Good luck! I have also heard of soccer players making short videos of plays and clips of games to send to the coach.</p>
<p>If she expresses interest in playing for Pomona (and has the skills of course), the coaches can put her on a list for the admissions office to consider. She'll have to get in touch with the athletic department first though.</p>