Choosing a school/another scenario

This hypothetical was very real for 4thGen at this time last year. The DI's that were recruiting him were not at the academic level he was looking for. The best baseball schools on his list could have ment he sat for a couple of years. For him the decsion to go to the DIII that was the best academic and baseball fit was easy.

Hard to say based on this information. IF he's likely to be a player at the D-1, and if the D-1 has an honors college and/or some challenging level of curriculum that he could opt for I would be inclined to say D1.

The thing about most schools is you can get as much out of them as you put in, even if they are not always thought of a great academic schools.

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
Nothing real here, just hypothetical. It could become real. I'm sure it's real for some.

The player isn't looking at baseball as a career choice. He's strong academically (unweighted 3.5 to 4.0 taking difficult courses). He would prefer to play D1. If this was your choice or advising your son, which option would you select?

** A top D3 program that's an A level academic school like Trinity, Hopkins, Emory, etc?

** A mid major D1 that's B level academically

Obviously the best choice would be an academically A level mid major. I'm curious what people think without getting into a debate of what an A level and B level academic school is. Please take the description for what it's worth.

I'm strongly in favor of choice number one--all pluses, no negatives.
Plus: somewhat greater probability of playing time
Plus: definitely greater probability to compete in NCAA tournament
Plus: much better balance of daily time devoted to academics vs. baseball
Plus: better education: type of school mentioned focuses on undergraduates and on teaching, not research
Plus: better education: fellow students (and teammates) will be considerably smarter and more motivated

The combination we favored was this:

1) Go where you will be academically challenged based on your level of high school achievement.

2) Go where you can get as many innings on the field as early as possible.

3) Go where they really want you and have made that very clear.

If he’s not looking for baseball as a career choice (which may or not be an option depending upon his performance/talent/projectability), it is probably easier to be more “studently” in an academic D III.

It is the rare D I program which will allow the player to attend a lab instead of a practice; it is the rare D I where a player has a science/engineering/math major making up more than a miniscule percentage of players (there are significant exceptions like the Ivies, Patriot Conference, Davidson, etc.).

Please don’t bombard me with stats that show that Rice and VTech, for example, are fine schools – they are – but look at the majors of the juniors and seniors on those teams (on the D III teams also). Those majors reflect what baseball players at D I scholarship programs major in – do not look at the majors of the freshman and sophs – those majors are wishes, dreams, and desires (which will evolve as reality sets in – the reality of 40 hours a week devoted to baseball). The player should ask himself: “Do I want one of these majors?” That answer may well dictate a path.

If you are truly a devoted student, go to where your peers are motivated students; if you are devoted to giving professional baseball a shot, go to where your peers are similarly motivated.

Not one size fits all; there are many ways to skin a cat. The more information you gather the more variables can be identified and quantified -- with no sure result on either path.

A major factor in the decision could be money. Private D3's vs. Public D1's where athletic money is available.

I told junior that he was 100% responsible for college financially, go make a wise choice. At that point, he started questioning the value of degrees from various institutions, weighing the costs of those, factoring in scholarships, etc.

I don't think you can preface your question with, all things being equal, because I'm not sure that's possible between your two categories.