Me_and_my_big_mouth
witty softball quote
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.