D3 recruiting

There are a number of threads on the subject under this forum as well as the “college” forum. Do a search on a few variants of d3 recruiting, D3, DIII, etc, and you should find some more information.
To your questions, you will want to hear the same things from a D3 coach as you would from any coach. What is the roster situation at the position I am coming in for, where do I fit in the coaches plans, can he articulate this well, look over historical rosters, speak to other players or their families, do your due diligence like any other program. What is the history of the program and coach, etc, etc.
As far as early acceptance and financial aid, an admission councilor should be able to give you a pretty good idea where you stand as far as acceptance to the school, and the typical aid package available for your profile.

My son will be playing D3 baseball this year, so we have recently been through the process.

First, there is a difference between Early Decision and Early Action. "Early Decision" is the one where you are committing that you will attend that school and that you will withdraw all other applications. You better be pretty sure that this is the school you want to go to and that the coach wants you if you plan on playing baseball.

My son applied "Early Action" to several schools that he was interested in so we at least knew what his options were. This also opened up academic scholarship money which was one of the major parts of his final decision on which school to attend.

We had considered "Early Decision" at one school (his #1 choice at the time with a guaranteed roster spot) and filled out all of the financial paperwork to find out that he was not eligible for any money since it was all need based. The coach from that school had also requested a copy of his transcripts before talking to him in more detail because of the high admissions requirements. In that case, the coach did have admissions "pre-qualify" our son (not "pre-approve"). However, until you have an actual acceptance letter, there is no reason to think that you have been accepted (which is why the coach was pushing us towards "Early Decision").

From a baseball perspective, what you would like to hear from the coach is that you have a roster spot for the Spring season. While no coach can guarantee playing time, this at least gives a little more time to be seen and not be part of the group trying out in the Fall. My son specifically asked the coach from the school he will be going to if he had a spot because it had been inferred but never specifically stated. He received a text saying that he definitely had a spot.

Most important, remember that there is no written commitment on either side at the D3 level. You have to accept the coach at his word (as he accepts you at your word). Also, things can change and coaches can end up leaving at any level. Which leads to the one question that should be answered in the affirmative before committing to any school: "Would you still want to attend this school if you could not play baseball?" In my son's case, it was an enthusiastic "YES".

I hope this helps.

(Note: This post has been edited for corrections to "Early Decision" vs. "Early Action" - Thank you to "like2rake" for pointing out my error and to 3FingeredGlove for suggesting I edit the original reply and for the compliment on my post.)

Good info VaRHPmom, however I believe you have the Early Decision/Early Action terms reversed.

Early Decision is the binding application scenario.

Thanks for the correction. Must have been flashing back to my college days when they didn't have these multiple options (just "early acceptance"). I kept having to look up the meaning of both terms when we were going through the application process.

I blame old age.

VaRHPmom,
May I suggest that you go to your original post, click on the little eraser icon in the lower right of that post's box, and edit the text so that it gives the correct terminology? I would also include a little note that you have edited it in response to the post from like2rake.

That way, people can read your post as a self-contained thought, without the need to read a later post or to mentally substitute one term for another.

The information you've posted is too good to leave in a confusing (at least to me) state.

My son was told by the coach of his top school that he was one of the coach's top two guys and that he needed to apply Early Decision. If he did not apply ED then he would have to take his chances with admissions in the Regular Decision process. His 2nd choice who was heavily recruiting him told him to apply ED but expect to get deferred. My son applied to his 1st choice and was accepted early. He is a senior now playing football and baseball at one of the best acqdemic schools in the country and having a blast.