Response Rate and Degrees of Interest from College Coaches

[girliesmom]

I would say write a D3 in a neighboring state and see if you get a response.

I can certainly appreciate what you're saying but I'm wondering..... should we be writing to schools that she has no interest in attending? There are no schools within driving distance that DD is interested in attending. Closest school of interest is still a 2.5 hour flight away (3 states over). If we were to write to a nearby school and they respond with interested but DD has absolutely no interest in attending, that's sort of embarrassing, isn't it? So far, DD has only written to schools that she's serious about attending - Reach, Match and Guarantees. Her and I agreed that we don't want to waste anyone's time by writing to schools that she wasn't interested in.

Not trying to be argumentative. Just wondering if we're approaching it wrong?

 

[CoogansBluff]

Thanks for the tips. I must be living under a rock because it never occurred to me that a kid would write to a school that he / she would not be interested in attending. Thanks for turning on that light-bulb. We will make sure that the schools understand exactly why she wants to go there and that if given the opportunity, she will definitely attend.

One of the most attractive qualities that a recruit can possess is a strong desire to attend a certain school. The reason is that softball is a non-revenue sport, and the recruiting budgets are small. Coaching staffs are small. Even small schools may get dozens of emails a day from prospects. Had a D-II coach tell me this summer that she gets 150 emails a day from prospects, and she's just a middling D-II school that people on the West Coast may never had heard about. D-III coaches might not have time to converse with everybody who sends an email. They don't have time to chase a lot of people who are only mildly interested. They want to narrow it down to kids they think will be very interested if they give them attention. So you have to stand out. You have to show them you know something about the school. 'I want to major in biology, and your school has a great reputation for it.' 'I saw that you won your conference last year. I want to play for a play for a team that competes for titles.' 'There aren't many options that I like out West, so I really want to go to school in the Northeast.' 'I want to play D-III ball. Academics come first for me.' 'When are you having a camp? How can I get in front of you? How can I let you know I'm serious?' That sort of thing.

fwiw, my DD got the attention of that D-II school that I mentioned because she went to one of their games, and it was 2 hours away, and because she would comment on things she saw on their Twitter feed. 'Hey, I saw your team is starting your winter workouts, I think I would like working out with a group like that,' something like that.

 

[JAD]

I would imagine the response rate will vary depending on your DD's athletic and academic abilities. You also need to consider that a lot of D3 schools are not going to spend a lot of time and effort chasing players they think are going to go D1. They have limited budgets and time and cannot waste either chasing players they do not expect to sign or academically qualify. The academic side of the equation also means most D3 schools wait later than the D1s in the recruiting process. While D1 schools are verballing 2018 and 2019 players, most D3 schools are still working on 2017s.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I can certainly appreciate what you're saying but I'm wondering..... should we be writing to schools that she has no interest in attending? There are no schools within driving distance that DD is interested in attending. Closest school of interest is still a 2.5 hour flight away (3 states over). If we were to write to a nearby school and they respond with interested but DD has absolutely no interest in attending, that's sort of embarrassing, isn't it? So far, DD has only written to schools that she's serious about attending - Reach, Match and Guarantees. Her and I agreed that we don't want to waste anyone's time by writing to schools that she wasn't interested in.

Not trying to be argumentative. Just wondering if we're approaching it wrong?

I'm a dad of a happy D3 DD and think you're taking the right approach IMO as long as your contact letters don't leave a mass mailing feel. ACT (or SAT) results should help better clarify things - for both you and the school - to know what's realistic academically and where to focus future efforts. Without athletic scholarships in D3, the best a coach may be able to offer a prospective student-athlete is an edge with admissions via a supported Early Decision application for their top 1-4 recruits. Unlike D1 and D2 coaches who have committed money via athletic scholarships, D3 coaches are more receptive to adding unseen/unknown/un-recruited players and walk ons who are better than their recruited players. The best laid D3 coach's plans can get blown up because some student-athletes' final decisions' are delayed and can't be made until financial aid offers are made and evaluated in late spring of senior year.

Pennsbury academic camp should be a good bang for the buck. Another good return is the Tufts summer camp which is staffed by a number of NE D3 coaches.

 

[NoGolfTil2017]

My older two attended Pennsbury Academic Recruiting Camp - eldest after junior year and middle kid after sophomore and junior year. Middle kid took the SAT as a sophomore, so she had a score that the coaches saw. She did receive interest from a couple of coaches after sophomore year at Pennsbury, but had more interest after junior year (with an improved SAT score and an ACT score). Note that my kids are DIII types, not DI material.

The ACT score will help if it is "good". You had asked what is good, besides the obvious 34-36. This depends upon the school. Look up the 25th-75th percentile scores on College Board or a similar website. If your kid is somewhere in the middle of that range and is a good player, she should be fine. Good scores vary a bit, even at academically elite DIII schools. The influence of a DIII coach in admissions varies from school to school as well. At a NESCAC school camp middle kid attended, this particular college coach said that a top recruit with a 28 could get in, but scoring 32+ made her job easier.

Has she taken a practice ACT test? My older two took a timed practice test from the red ACT book the week before the ACT, and the practice test score was pretty accurate. If you can get your kid to study, even better (unless she is confident that she can score 99th percentile without practice). Once she has a score, fill out recruiting questionnaires. Good grades are required to gain admission to elite schools, and she already has that, but good SAT/ACT scores are needed too. I would call a 30+ a good score for a first try as a sophomore, but it really depends upon the schools you are considering.

 

[fastpitchaddict]

My DD is a 2017. Having an ACT score for the coach increased responses greatly. DD is also a D3 kind of player (if she is able to return to play following her recent foot surgery. She has had 2 D3 schools that email frequently since the beginning of her sophomore year. Now that she is halfway through junior year (and has test scores to report), she has a lot more emails.

 

[girliesmom]

My older two attended Pennsbury Academic Recruiting Camp - eldest after junior year and middle kid after sophomore and junior year. Middle kid took the SAT as a sophomore, so she had a score that the coaches saw. She did receive interest from a couple of coaches after sophomore year at Pennsbury, but had more interest after junior year (with an improved SAT score and an ACT score). Note that my kids are DIII types, not DI material.

The ACT score will help if it is "good". You had asked what is good, besides the obvious 34-36. This depends upon the school. Look up the 25th-75th percentile scores on College Board or a similar website. If your kid is somewhere in the middle of that range and is a good player, she should be fine. Good scores vary a bit, even at academically elite DIII schools. The influence of a DIII coach in admissions varies from school to school as well. At a NESCAC school camp middle kid attended, this particular college coach said that a top recruit with a 28 could get in, but scoring 32+ made her job easier.

Has she taken a practice ACT test? My older two took a timed practice test from the red ACT book the week before the ACT, and the practice test score was pretty accurate. If you can get your kid to study, even better (unless she is confident that she can score 99th percentile without practice). Once she has a score, fill out recruiting questionnaires. Good grades are required to gain admission to elite schools, and she already has that, but good SAT/ACT scores are needed too. I would call a 30+ a good score for a first try as a sophomore, but it really depends upon the schools you are considering.

Yes, dd has been doing practice tests. They started off well, then for some reason, took a bit of a nose dive, and this week, the scores have been substantially better. I really hope it carries through into the test itself on Saturday. Thanks for the tip!

 

[girliesmom]

Update: DD received an email yesterday from the coach at her dream school with a cell phone number at the bottom. So DD called the coach (despite being completely nervous and yet super excited at the same time. She was literally buzzing!). Got the Coach's voicemail so she left a message stating who she was and that she would follow up via email to find out when it would be best to call back. Coach emailed her a hour later thanking her for calling and asked that she call next week with a specific date and time. DD is over the moon. But we told her not count her chickens before they are hatched. This is a good sign, right? I'm sure there's been others who have been in our current situation. Any advise you can offer before she needs to make her call?

 

[Jquick823]

That's a good sign.

 

[BobInMadison]

That is a good sign. It means the coach is taking your DD seriously.

As others have stated, different coaches have different degrees of pull with the admissions office.

My DS' D3 rowing coach made it clear that he has NO pull with admissions, except in perhaps slightly borderline cases. That college sets minimum GPA and ACT, and accepts anyone who meets their cutoffs. The point of meeting with the coach was for him to sell the program to us.

OTOH, my mother attended a well-known D3 women's college outside of Boston. That particular school is very selective. It appears the coaches for that school have a great deal of pull with the admissions, since that college will reject the vast majority of girls who meet the minimum requirements for SAT and GPA. One time my mother was recruiting a girl who was a nationally ranked swimmer, in addition to having great SAT and GPA. The girl asked about the college's swim team. My mother contacted the swim coach, who snatched the girl up like a dog with a bone.