Visit left us needing more information

[Binary]

DD went on her official visit to a D3 this past weekend. Watched team play, stayed with a player for a night, went to a class, met with admissions, visited with the coach. All went well. Things looked really good through the whole process. There was just one catch. She really didn't feel like she could verbal.

Here's just a little bit of the background. The school has been on the top of her list for quite some time. Since she's targeting D3 schools (she wants to double major) the deciding factor will probably be how much merit aid she receives. Not to brag, but top 2%, >30 ACT and 4.0/4.0.

We asked the coach if he could dig around and find out a ballpark figure for someone with her academics. The figure he came back with wasn't really in what we considered to be the ballpark. It didn't include any need based aid - I'm sure we'll qualify for some but I'm not entirely sure how much. That seems to be yet another black hole on this side of the recruiting process.

There are other schools that are interested but not to the same degree as this one. One was interested all the up to the day of the official visit when we find out they'd already had another pitcher verbal. Of the other schools she's interested in we are expecting them to be ready to talk after the fall showcase tourney season is over.

SO - how does one verbal at one of these private D3 schools without knowing in advance or at least having a good idea in advance what the package will look like. Did we get left at the altar of recruiting? Or is it a case of the D3 schools being "if you have to ask how much it is" then it's probably too much?

Sigh. All of you who have said that this part of the softball experience was stressful --- you were not exaggerating.

I sorta want her to just pick the schools she wants to go to, do early action at all of them and then go to the coaches and say - "What's your depth chart look like at my position. You wanna LHP?"

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I sorta want her to just pick the schools she wants to go to, do early action at all of them and then go to the coaches and say - "What's your depth chart look like at my position. You wanna LHP?"

Are you actively sending statistical emails to the colleges? I always include prior links to travel ball and high school stats, links to media articles, and acedemic grades.

I always put Alex ________ LHP class of 2013 in the email subject line. And every single inquire from a college has said, "the LHP caught our eye". If they are any good, it's a golden ticket to at least get the ball rolling.

Verbal part is my trouble spot too, we have 2 deadlines from other colleges coming up before November. My DD is driving me nuts.........

 

[Greenmonsters]

Who said the D3 process was easy? Even if the coach wants you, admissions might not, or if they do, the financial aid money might not be there. You (and the coach) may not know that for quite a while. I bet that there are a lot of D3 coaches that get almost as stressed as the HS kids do around the key admissions decisions dates because they may not know exactly who they'll be getting for next year until May 1! And, and unlike our DD's, they have to go through the process every year.

If there's a clear first choice, I would suggest applying Early Decision to that school and Early Action/Regular admissions at the other choices. If accepted ED, DO NOT withdraw your applications to the other schools UNTIL AFTER you are satisfied that the financial aid award meets your requirements (i.e., keep your other applications in play). You are allowed to void your ED commitment (for any reason) on the basis of insufficient financial aid.

You can complete a FAFSA to determine if you will qualify for financial aid and what your expected family contribution ((EFC) will be. The well endowed, strong academic schools should all be able to offset at least a large part of the difference between your EFC and the total college cost with a combination of merit and need money. The aid packages are not fixed in stone - some schools have more flexibility and money and can increase the award while others don't and can't, but you won't know unless you ask. Don't be afraid to share other school's offers with them in order to get the financial aid office to sweeten the pot i.e., Gosh, my DD really wants to go here to school A, but school B is another top choice and they're offering her ## more $ - are you sure you can't do better?

The SB coach may be able to assist you with this process - how involved they get usually depends on how interested they are in your DD, but ultimately they may have very limited influence regarding admissions/financial aid. Financial aid offers from different schools can vary significantly (we saw up to $20k differences for no apparent reason), so it is very important to apply to a good number of schools (DD did 10 or 11).

The good news is that your DD's academics will help her get in and receive merit money. And she's a pitcher. Do your homework, visit the schools, meet the coaches, keep the grades up, and you should have some good choices. Did I already say to keep your list big?

Good luck!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

And remember, just because another pitcher verballed, doesn't mean that she will actually enroll there.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

she's targeting D3 schools (she wants to double major)

I just caught this after reading GM's response. How come she is limiting choices to D3 for double majors?

 

[Binary]

Great advice. Appreciate being talked off the ledge. We also talked with the esteemed Ms. Aradi this eveing. Wow. What a resource and great person. Why D3 for double major --- DD is thinking about course work vs. D2/Naia game schedules. Most D3 seem to play less and to her credit she's quite serious about learning.

We are going to open the list back up for a number of schools again. Phone calls, emails, letters and invitations to fall showcases. Gotta get moving.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Great advice. Appreciate being talked off the ledge. We also talked with the esteemed Ms. Aradi this eveing. Wow. What a resource and great person. Why D3 for double major --- DD is thinking about course work vs. D2/Naia game schedules. Most D3 seem to play less and to her credit she's quite serious about learning.

We are going to open the list back up for a number of schools again. Phone calls, emails, letters and invitations to fall showcases. Gotta get moving.

Not trying to get in your business, but I'd thought I'd share what little info I have.

One of my girls is a freshman this year at NAIA. She was a majority pitcher but got recruited to play 3b for the college. I'm still scratching my head on that one as she might have played 10 innings a season as an infielder. A/B student, with more B's...... 25 Act.

Tuition / boarding: $24,000
Athletic + state Hope scholarship + 15% discount for parent being a HS resource officer
Cost after all added for her....... $2500

48 games played last season. 19-29 record. Not a very rigorous schedule, doesn't travel very far, conditioning/practice is average to low average for college sports.


A high school player from 2 years ago is in D3. Mid-infielder. A/B student 28 ACT

Tuition / boarding: $47,000
State Hope scholarship + a few smaller acedemic
Cost after all added for her $30,000 ( this is from the uncle of the girl )

35 games played last year. 17-17-1 record. Travel more than the NAIA in distance. Conditioning/practice average for college.


One of my other players is going D1 ( 2013 ) as a full time student only, no more softball for her. She is also doing double major in some aspect of medical. About like your daughter. Top 2% 4.00 and an impressive 34 ACT.

Tuition / boarding : $21,000
Full acedemic ride
Cost to her $1500 for various fees.


My point is I do not know your financial situation. But if you'll google around there are lots of female and male Athelets who double major in NAIA and above. ( tons of articles ) There is not really that much of a difference in sports schedule if you'll ask around and cruise the Internet. But it sure will save you a bundle of cash ( or your DD ) to look into a school who can offer athletic $$$$ to go along with her acedemic $$$$.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Great advice. Appreciate being talked off the ledge. We also talked with the esteemed Ms. Aradi this eveing. Wow. What a resource and great person. Why D3 for double major --- DD is thinking about course work vs. D2/Naia game schedules. Most D3 seem to play less and to her credit she's quite serious about learning.

We are going to open the list back up for a number of schools again. Phone calls, emails, letters and invitations to fall showcases. Gotta get moving.

LOL - you probably won't be needing much more advice from us! Good luck

 

[Binary]

@Greenmonsters - no, really, I think everyone's comments are great. But you are right, Cathi is wonderful. I can't say enough good things about her. She has so much experience to share. And shoot, she gives us a ton of collegiate advice in addition to softball recruiting advice.

It really boils down to one aspect of the process that I think we missed out on. Her team didn't go to the right tournaments. So, her chance to play in front of coaches was limited. We recognized that in February when the schedule came out. That just meant that we were mostly on our own for exposure. That was really tough to do and didn't produce immediate results.

Our area is *really* lacking in '94 quality. Good '95, great '96. This coming year will be the best team for her by a wide margin. They are mostly '96 so the team's focus is exposure. Unfortunately, it's about 6 months too late to get in front of a ton of coaches. However, it will put her in front of the right kind of batters to prepare for wherever she plays in college. So - if any y'all are wondering if the travel ball team matters? If they don't go to showcases, then YES, it matters.

Our's is a fall softball state, so HS screws with you. Fortunately, the new team is going to 2 great showcases this month.

@Deep - you're right. Doubling can be done with sports at anything except the serious D1/D2. Of course, those schools are out of her ability league anyway. D3's seem to have the best academic reputation though. Thanks for the specifics on the $'s. The D3 situation sounds like what we got offered this past weekend. That won't work for us. I think I'm part of that middle class that got buried.

Common sense seems to be saying that if the average ACT score is 28 for your school and you have a 31 then you'll get just a little bit better than average aid. Cathi's advice to us was that if $ was a major determining factor then perhaps the target school's average ACT score should be a 25. Then a 31 will look great to the admissions office.

And yes, combining academic and a little bit of athletic would probably fit the bill. Plus, her new #1 only accepted 42% last year, if the coach will endorse her I'm hoping it will help.