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I Think the Nescac has such a slotting system. I know some of the NCAC schools when they are asked why they cannot compete ins one sports like the NESCAC schools. It differs for each conference.
Edit: I found this on NESCAC'S site:
http://www.nescac.com/admissions/admissions
Other conferences or schools may be different as per Birdman below.
A "slotting system" varies among schools. Certain once have the ability to get certain exceptions in, but they usually need to be within certain close standards to the regular admitted students. In other words, some coaches have some influence where others may have very little. It all depends on the school and their admissions department policies.
I know some of the NESCACs have slots for baseball from kids I know playing or played there. The same is true for Hopkins and Haverford.
I get confused on slots and tips. The OP described slots that are for "players who wouldn't otherwise get admitted". I know it varies by school, but for NESCACS, Hopkins and Haverford... a coaches recommendation isn't going to get a guy admitted who doesn't have at least the bare minimum academic credentials, right?
At top academic colleges, regardless of division the standards are different for slotted athletes. A regular student might need a 4.0 and 1500+ on the Math and English SATs. The slotted athlete may only need a 3.5 and 1300. The college will likely check on the level of the classes taken (honors, gifted, AP) to be sure the athlete can compete in the classroom.
In addition to what has been offered, I think among slots you will find a banding system in NESCACs and other D1s as well as Ivy & Patriot. Ivys refine their banded slots using their AI calculation For D3 NESCAC example purposes:
Band A - SAT scores 700+ avg above 680, SAT 2 720, GPA top 5%
Band B - SAT scores 650+, avg above 610, SAT 640, GPA top 15%
Band C - SAT scores 630+, avg above 580, SAT2 600, GPA top 20%
Band D - SAT scores 600+, avg above 530, SAT2 560, GPA top 25-35%
These bands will vary by school, and the number of slots per band will vary. You need to ask the coach how many slots and what are the band breakdowns. Amherst's "B slot" will be different from Hamilton's "B slot" for example. Schools have a different number of slots per year, but the band distribution may stay the same. From what I've been told the AD determines the distribution of slots per sport. Football and basketball may get a vastly different number of C and D bands than baseball for example. There are a number of advantages for the recruit who doesn't need Admission help, and various strategies a coach may need to use to get the recruits he really wants. It is best to ask a lot of questions.
So, this is a complex question as every school does it a bit differently, but the basic method at Swarthmore/Haverford/Hopkins works as A/B/C. Kids are rated as to athletic talent. An "A" player is a kid who can change the nature of the teams competitiveness; someone who is a potential All-America or fills a difficult to fill hole (think lacrosse goalie or left handed 90mph pitcher, or stud catcher being stolen from D1) The coach gets maybe one or two of those per year and that kid can be at the very bottom of the NCAA D3 academic rules for mean academic eligibility. That kid better perform in the classroom AND on the field because the coaches horsepower and credibility with admissions is riding on that kid.
"B" kids are the core of the recruiting class. They fit the academic profile of the school but they jump to the head of the line because of the academic "tip". That is what the "tip" is. The coach gets to make the recruiting scale tip in the "B" kids favor.
The "C" kids are in a tough spot. They think they are the "B" kids. The coach is hoping to get them but he knows its 50/50. Not a tip. Not a slot. A hope. My experience is that most of these kids get in as long as the go ED. They almost never get in as RD. Some become stars, some ride the bench.
After the pre-read, if you are smart enough to ask, and then listen to the answer carefully, the coach will tell you exactly where you stand. Over the years, I have seen so many parents misunderstand the communication! We all hear what we want to hear. We love our kids- we think they are geniuses. Wait until freshman year. (as an aside I remember my son calling me freshman year and saying "I thought I was a special little snowflake and now I'm in a pile of snow")
The best coaches have the most horsepower with admissions. Success on the field yields increasing horesepower. Failure in the classroom reflects very poorly on the coach. At the small schools - Swarthmore, Haverford, Amherst, Williams- you are working with roughly 6 slots. The big schools - Hopkins, Tufts - are working with something like 10 slots. Remember, big school/small school, the field has only 9 spaces. Hope that helps.
.............We love our kids- we think they are geniuses. Wait until freshman year. (as an aside I remember my son calling me freshman year and saying "I thought I was a special little snowflake and now I'm in a pile of snow")
Priceless comment at any level of college baseball.
So, this is a complex question as every school does it a bit differently, but the basic method at Swarthmore/Haverford/Hopkins works as A/B/C. Kids are rated as to athletic talent. An "A" player is a kid who can change the nature of the teams competitiveness; someone who is a potential All-America or fills a difficult to fill hole (think lacrosse goalie or left handed 90mph pitcher, or stud catcher being stolen from D1) The coach gets maybe one or two of those per year and that kid can be at the very bottom of the NCAA D3 academic rules for mean academic eligibility. That kid better perform in the classroom AND on the field because the coaches horsepower and credibility with admissions is riding on that kid.
"B" kids are the core of the recruiting class. They fit the academic profile of the school but they jump to the head of the line because of the academic "tip". That is what the "tip" is. The coach gets to make the recruiting scale tip in the "B" kids favor.
The "C" kids are in a tough spot. They think they are the "B" kids. The coach is hoping to get them but he knows its 50/50. Not a tip. Not a slot. A hope. My experience is that most of these kids get in as long as the go ED. They almost never get in as RD. Some become stars, some ride the bench.
After the pre-read, if you are smart enough to ask, and then listen to the answer carefully, the coach will tell you exactly where you stand. Over the years, I have seen so many parents misunderstand the communication! We all hear what we want to hear. We love our kids- we think they are geniuses. Wait until freshman year. (as an aside I remember my son calling me freshman year and saying "I thought I was a special little snowflake and now I'm in a pile of snow")
The best coaches have the most horsepower with admissions. Success on the field yields increasing horesepower. Failure in the classroom reflects very poorly on the coach. At the small schools - Swarthmore, Haverford, Amherst, Williams- you are working with roughly 6 slots. The big schools - Hopkins, Tufts - are working with something like 10 slots. Remember, big school/small school, the field has only 9 spaces. Hope that helps.
Great post! ED & RD are short for?
Early Decision, Regular Decision.
The coach gets maybe one or two of those per year and that kid can be at the very bottom of the NCAA D3 academic rules for mean academic eligibility.
Thanks to all for this detailed info on bands. I wanted to clarify one point; is there a formula or average of some sort that is used across all of D3... in other words, a division-wide rule that dictates the lowest acceptable level? Or, is the lowest acceptable entrance level going to differ from school to school, based on some standard deviation tied to each school's entrance requirements/averages? I'm guessing it's different school by school, but don't want to assume anything. Many thanks.
Each school conference has their own standards. The D3 Conference is a very large tent. THey have everything from the NESCAC schools academically, to some state schools, such as those in Wisconsin.
Each school and conference servers a different populations of young men and women. There is some overlap. But each school or conference has different admissions standards, from some of the elite schools hardly anyone can get into down to If you have a diploma form a school in your state you gain addmitance. This is a good thing. all populations should be servered and given an opportunity.
But with the degree of diversity in D3, a minimum across the board would not be possible.
BLD, as usual, you provide a broader perspective of D3 which is so valuable. What happens in the NESCAC might be different than the much larger SUNY schools and those in Wisconsin. What happens at a school like UT Tyler(pretty large) might be very different than what happens at Harden-Simmons(smaller and private) even though they are in the same conference.
Based on our experience over a pretty long time, there can also be variations based on the University president and who is in charge of admissions. The vision of each D3 President and Admissions officer about college athletics makes a major difference on the admissions considerations discussed so well in this thread. A change in President or Admissions officer can send the pendulum swinging a very different way.
But with the degree of diversity in D3, a minimum across the board would not be possible.
BLD - Thanks for the reply. I should have worded my question better. What I was wondering based on an earlier post was if there is some uniform D3 formula for ariving at the bands. Such that Band A = 1.5 standard deviations from the schools mean average of all admissions, Bnad B = 1 deviation, etc... or something along those lines. I think it's still the same answer, no.
A better way to ask would be: Are the minimums for each Band set entirely independently by each school (probably) or maybe some conferences set conference-wide ranges that each member school must use for admissions?
Edit -- I just saw the NESCAC admissions link that you added above... Many thanks.
.............We love our kids- we think they are geniuses. Wait until freshman year. (as an aside I remember my son calling me freshman year and saying "I thought I was a special little snowflake and now I'm in a pile of snow")
Priceless comment at any level of college baseball.
It's a priceless comment for any kid leaving home and facing the realities of life.
But with the degree of diversity in D3, a minimum across the board would not be possible.
BLD - Thanks for the reply. I should have worded my question better. What I was wondering based on an earlier post was if there is some uniform D3 formula for ariving at the bands. Such that Band A = 1.5 standard deviations from the schools mean average of all admissions, Bnad B = 1 deviation, etc... or something along those lines. I think it's still the same answer, no.
A better way to ask would be: Are the minimums for each Band set entirely independently by each school (probably) or maybe some conferences set conference-wide ranges that each member school must use for admissions?
Edit -- I just saw the NESCAC admissions link that you added above... Many thanks.
And be aware not all D3 schools have these bands, and if they do they do not publish them. I am unaware if any of the schools that recruited my son did. All the coaches recruitied him for his talent but were certainly happy to see his grades and standard scores.
And even with the bands, you still have to have good academics. the bands help but will probably not get a c student into the D3 schools that use tips and bands. Unless they are a complete stud, and possible D1 talent, and the admissions office is willing.
kevkev29,I'll give you a real life example of this that played out last month.My son's friend and teammate was recruited by a NESCAC school in Maine.His ACT score and cumulative GPA are much lower than the mean for this particular school,but his high school's profile is very strong.
The head coach ranked him as his number one recruit and told the boy and his dad that with this designation, and from his experiences dealing with admissions, he would be admitted as long as he applied early decision.The coach went on to explain how he ranks his recruits 1-6.
My son's friend was admitted to the Class of 2018 on Dec.20th 
In my son's case,his ACT score,cumulative GPA,and high school profile are equal to the mean.Amherst,like all of the NESCAC schools is a tough nut to crack.There were more than 8000 applications this year for 450 spots.Would he have been admitted without baseball ? Maybe.Maybe not ! No way to predict since ALL of the 8000 applicants are strong candidates for admission.
There are off the chart kids who get denied by NESCAC/Swarthmore/Haverford/Hopkins schools every year. Being a recruited athlete at any of these institutions definitely has it's advantages as far as being admitted.
