DIII recruitment-can a player tell the coach she wants to commit to the team before being officially offered.

[UB40]

Just keep in mind - not all schools will do this, so please don’t think that if they haven’t asked then they are not interested. That might not be the case at all.

Thanks. Since DD told the HC that she is an honors student in her first email, I wonder if that might've covered it. The school is not that competitive.

 

[Orange Socks]

Pre reads are usually required for High Academic schools (Ivies, Little Ivies and others) If this has not been any part of any conversation then you can assume, it's not an issue. DD's school needed to know that she could at least be accepted to the school with a minimum top 10% class rank in order to be granted to get an on campus visit. They don't want to waste their time with students that would have a hard time with getting accepted. ACT scores of 34-36 will get all or most of the tuition paid for, otherwise you are on your own.

 

[black17]

I am going to throw a wrench in this a little. Remember, scholarships are a negotiation. Free information can ultimately hurt you.

While D3 is going to be a little different, I would not tell them they are your #1. Instead I would tell them they 'check a lot of boxes' for you, but have a short list of other schools that you can quickly speak about in an informed manner that are also on your list. Every coach asked our DD right away what other schools she was talking to. That is the mark they have to compete with. If you tell them there isn't any other school, you have no bargaining chip at all.

 

[Orange Socks]

While D3 is going to be a little different, I would not tell them they are your #1. Instead I would tell them they 'check a lot of boxes' for you, but have a short list of other schools that you can quickly speak about in an informed manner that are also on your list. Every coach asked our DD right away what other schools she was talking to. That is the mark they have to compete with. If you tell them there isn't any other school, you have no bargaining chip at all.

This may work for anything other than D3. The coaches cannot decide how much money to give a PSA. That's up to their FAFSA form and Admissions. The coach may be aware of some random institutional scholarships that are available, but they aren't giving it out. If anyone has a had any other experiences, please share. That's what we are here for.

IMO, the D3 PSA has more leverage than the D1 PSA's at most schools. Most D3 coaches are pretty much greatful if they can get an awesome player. I think I will start another thread topic on differences in D3 softball programs.

 

[midwestdad]

Very helpful information, waiting on that new thread specifically for D3 programs. Would like to see info on the UAA conference in particular.

 

[black17]

This may work for anything other than D3. The coaches cannot decide how much money to give a PSA. That's up to their FAFSA form and Admissions. The coach may be aware of some random institutional scholarships that are available, but they aren't giving it out. If anyone has a had any other experiences, please share. That's what we are here for.

IMO, the D3 PSA has more leverage than the D1 PSA's at most schools. Most D3 coaches are pretty much greatful if they can get an awesome player. I think I will start another thread topic on differences in D3 softball programs.

That's what we have also been told, but our experience was different in the end. Well before FAFSA was involved, and even before D1s could talk to us, we had 'an offer' from a D3 up for discussion. It was a high academic institution in our region. Not only could they tell us about where we would be financially, they offered my DD a spot on another team in a sport she hasn't played since she was in middle school. We told them we were going to wait and they made it clear, they had room to move if needed.

The intent is definitely there, but right or wrong, at least some schools have $ they can direct to players. D3 is kind of the wild west from what I hear. Despite signing at another level last November, we still have aggressive D3 coaches contacting us a couple times a month.

 

[Orange Socks]

Very helpful information, waiting on that new thread specifically for D3 programs. Would like to see info on the UAA conference in particular.

That conference is definitely HIGH academic, and I am pretty certain those schools protocols mirror the NESCAC. NESCAC doesn't offer Academic monies like the Ivies. Blind Need Based Financial Aid. The UAA might be similar, but I cannot confirm. I know WashU is a very difficult to school to get into. These schools are very selective as well that might require a pre-read before they can even offer you a spot, and if they offer you a spot, they might not even know if you can get accepted to the school. DD wanted to go to WashU and had good comminication with the coach, but I don't think she could have gotten accepted based on her scores. Her target schools took an about face after her summer before Jr year.

 

[Vertigo]

Very helpful information, waiting on that new thread specifically for D3 programs. Would like to see info on the UAA conference in particular.

Dd was being highly sought after by a UAA school so if you have specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[MNDad]

The biggest thing I’d do over if I could would be to ask more questions. I was too worried about being proper or following the correct protocol.
Now I know there is no protocol. Pretty safe bet whatever we’re hesitant to ask they’ve heard a lot worse. Just be polite and humble and have her tell the coach the school is where she wants to go and ask the next step.

 

[black17]

DD wanted to go to WashU and had good comminication with the coach, but I don't think she could have gotten accepted based on her scores.

When was that? The staff at WashU and my DD were pretty tight as well. We were also well down that path. Financially, it was just too big of a bite considering the career path she wanted so she took another option.