D3 High Academic/Ivy Recruiting Timetable

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Me_and_my_big_mouth

witty softball quote
Sep 11, 2014
437
18
Pacific NW
Don't overrate the value of the SAT/ACT - many high level schools are making these optional. ( I just re-read your post- shes a Sophmore and has taken one SAT already and is taking an ACT next month? that seems a bit unusual, but it's so early her scores will only go up with experience)
Also, most coaches consider a camp to be the best recruiting tool out there. on the other hand, if they are not telling you directly but are addressing invitations/notifications of upcoming camps directly to her, that is not the same thing. If they are telling you directly, then by all means at LEAST visit the school(s) if you can. show some interest.

sophomore at camp has less pressure on her than a Junior and good experience. Camps are good, I wish DD could have attended some but the timing was always bad. Maybe this summer.

Thanks for the input - and let it be fun's, too. Yes, she took the exams early because she wanted to know what to expect. She's type A - so being prepared and knowing what to expect calms her down. Traditionally, she hasn't been a great test-taker. These scores will give her the baseline she needs to focus her study goals. It's about helping her find herself and know where she's really wanting to be.

Several Ivies and high academic schools have shown interest directly with her - meaning they are interacting with her travel coach. A couple D3 schools are emailing her directly (and she's excited about two in particular), and we really want to get her to a camp. The schools are on the other side of the country, so she's being asked to commit to the academic side before we run off and spend thousands jet-setting. Now she's having to choose next year's class schedule, and she's facing the choice of all AP and a grind, or a couple non-AP in her weaker areas, and a little wiggle room. It's a decision we can't make for her - so she has to jump in with both feet, take a look at the real expectations for both her education and her softball future, and try to apply some realistic truth to herself and the process.

Man, it's heavy for me as a parent, so I have trouble imagining what her 15 year old brain is doing right now. We have told her that we appreciate the stress of the process and that it isn't coming from us. The desire for Ivy is all self-motivated - I'm a product of a JUCO myself - so I'm actually more concerned with her ability to sustain the pace and level that's required to get there, and still have a life as a teenager.

Facing the pressure of early exams, and making sure she takes all AP are things she really must do to be sure she's actually ready for the pace she'll see in college. If she doesn't feel she wants to push that hard, then she can dial-in on some different directions and switch her focus a bit. I guess I'll find out this afternoon when she tells me what she decided.
If there are 2-3 schools that she knows she is interested in and she has a decent chance of getting into, I would suggest that she go to those camps. Nothing tells a coach, "I am interested in your school!" like going to their camp. These coaches have hundreds of girls emailing them, sending them videos, letting them know what tourneys they are playing in, etc... Blah blah blah. Half the battle for them is sifting through all the spam and trying to figure out who is truly interested in their school. For the high academic schools, they then have battle #2 of figuring out who can actualy get into their school and who gets enough academic aid that they can afford to go there.

If she goes now, they will see that she is interested. If she gets the scores she needs, she can go again next year and be a known quantity. Having been at many camps, I believe it makes a difference when the coaches are calling your DD by her name and your DD is very comfortable in the environment. It helps most girls perform better.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
Good Luck with all this stuff. Something I learned was for a kid not to select a school because they will be able to manage/survive, select a school where the student will thrive! It sounds like your DD has the drive to survive anywhere, the trick is not to be seduced by the big name and go with what feels best.

A DI coach (I think in the Patriot League) said their school would take C's in an AP course over A's in a CP course. I find that hard to believe but that was her belief.

My DD gets all stressed out over school, etc- she cant multi task- she's going to have problems...
 
Mar 3, 2016
47
0
DD is talking with Ivies and high academic schools, too. She's a sophomore. They've been vocal about wanting her to come to camps, campus visit, etc - but there's no point in doing that yet until she gets SAT/ACT baseline. She just took her first SAT and will take ACT next month. If her scores aren't where she feels they should be (and we're really leaving this up to her) then she'll pursue other avenues. She is grinding hard at school and pushing herself, but those exams really are the equalizer that will help her decide a direction.

I agree that taking the ACT in June of Sophomore year is helpful if the score is good...and if it is bad, you can get your DD to study, or decide to aim at different schools.
I also have to say that several of these coaches have said "You must take the most rigorous classes at your school" While I think a "C" is frowned on, a "B" in an AP is definitely better than an "A" in an easier course.
 
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JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
A DI coach (I think in the Patriot League) said their school would take C's in an AP course over A's in a CP course. I find that hard to believe but that was her belief.

Different schools have different admissions policy's and I would highly recommend getting in touch with the academic adviser for the schools your DD is interested in attending to confirm their expectations. DD changed colleges late in the game and we had to scramble on a couple of things academically to make it happen. Her previous school did not require AP courses, while her new school was a stickler for them. DD had not signed up for an AP class during her senior year at the suggestions of her first school academic adviser. DD ended up scrambling to register for an AP class for second semester to meet the requirements of her new school.
 

Me_and_my_big_mouth

witty softball quote
Sep 11, 2014
437
18
Pacific NW
Different schools have different admissions policy's and I would highly recommend getting in touch with the academic adviser for the schools your DD is interested in attending to confirm their expectations. DD changed colleges late in the game and we had to scramble on a couple of things academically to make it happen. Her previous school did not require AP courses, while her new school was a stickler for them. DD had not signed up for an AP class during her senior year at the suggestions of her first school academic adviser. DD ended up scrambling to register for an AP class for second semester to meet the requirements of her new school.
I recall your DD story, JAD, and I read it to my DD as a lesson!

I think that the choice to take AP classes boils down ultimately to whether or not she's capable of performing at that level and pace - not really about whether she should because a college will value it. The schools she is most focused on are academically rigorous, and they will demand that she be able to balance her course work and her softball schedule. In my mind, she'd better take advantage of the opportunity to work with her amazing AP teachers in high school who will teach her study skills, balance, and organizational skills if she's to have a chance at succeeding at the universities she's looking at. I keep telling her that the path she's chosen is a tough one but do-able - and we don't just want her to get by, we want her to succeed and thrive (as someone else said). If she loads up on AP classes now and it's too much, then that's a really good process of natural selection for her and she'll know that perhaps she needs to bend a little in her expectations for herself. Or, she'll kick AP butt, learn how to manage herself and push herself, and get even more confident about her abilities. Either way, it's a crucial part of her process so we're just sitting back and offering support when called on.
 
Mar 3, 2016
47
0
So I'm gonna go out on a limb here-

We were at the Headfirst Camp in October, and the Georgetown coach said "Give me an ACT with a 3 in it, and if it's a 34 the admission people hug me!" The Amherst coach said that something with a 3 wasn't necessarily good enough for her to get by admissions. At the Williams camp, the coach said " I can fix a throwing problem, but I can't fix stupid!"

And there you have it.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
So I'm gonna go out on a limb here-

We were at the Headfirst Camp in October, and the Georgetown coach said "Give me an ACT with a 3 in it, and if it's a 34 the admission people hug me!" The Amherst coach said that something with a 3 wasn't necessarily good enough for her to get by admissions. At the Williams camp, the coach said " I can fix a throwing problem, but I can't fix stupid!"

And there you have it.

Does a 23 count? It has a 3!
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
Words of caution, if your dd is locked in on one or two high level academic schools be prepared for the chance she won't be accepted. I don't care what her grades are or if she has a good test score, sometimes the numbers are not in her favor. I suppose if the softball coach is in her corner that will help.

My dd was #1 in her class, her ACT score was a bit lower then we expected but it was a 31. We figured that along with her unweighted 4.0 (most higher end colleges don't use the weighted score) would be enough to get into most any school. Plenty of AP classes and dual enrollment as well. Add in her being a 3 sport varsity athlete, in the band, NHS, student government, yearbook... All the things we are told to get on the student resume she had. But she was applying for engineering school and for University of Michigan that wasn't enough to be accepted into the engineering program. It was a surprise, but she had a secondary school and she is very happy there.

Be prepared, to help your high achieving dd if one or more of these schools say thanks but no thanks.
 

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