DI vs DIII

Skip, welcome to HSBBW. I see you're fairly new here, hopefully you've been lurking awhile and seen how great this site can be.

As to your question, think of the old saying "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Does it apply in your case? Does he want to attend the D3 that much more than the D1? Or, does he prefer to not attend the D1 but is getting an offer from them anyway? Unless you answer YES to either or both of these questions, I can't imagine this being that tough of a choice.

Fit is more important than anything, but it sounds like one of those schools is telling him they think he fits them pretty well. I'd think very hard before deciding to not sign that NLI. If the D3 hasn't courted him to the same degree, does he really want to go there that much more than to the D1 school?

Thank you so much for the reply. Yes, he would like to go to the DI school. However, the DIII school is closer and the academics are better. I get the impression from the DIII school that they just don't recruit in the same manner as the DI. They did call again last week and recommend he apply ED.

06catchersdad - offers very good advice.

Mine is simple. I saw posted on these threads sometime back where someone said make the smaller decisions with your mind and the bigger ones with your heart. That made a lot of sense to me. Go where the love is both from the program and likewise who your son loves the most. In that way, he'll have the necessary passion and environment to succeed.

Skip, Can't provide any answers but maybe some things to consider:
1. If he were selecting the school without baseball as a consideration, which would he prefer.
2. With baseball involved, what opportunities will he have to play as a freshman at the DI vs DIII?
3. Which coach and team felt best to him? Hopefully he has visited both schools, watched practice, stayed with the team and has a good feel for which he prefers.
4. If, for whatever reason, he does end up liking the choice he makes, it is much easier to transfer and play going from DI to DIII rather than DIII to DI. If you can believe it, the NCAA actually precludes a DIII player who transfers to a DI from receiving athletic financial aid in the first year after the transfer.
5. And perhaps most important...which has made it the clearest that they want him. A coach who says "I want you" and who tells you where you fit, and goes the extra mile to let you know those items is telling you something very important. It is a message I would listen very carefully to make sure it was sent and heard.
Good luck. Let us know the decision.
Also, remember, it is great to have a decision. There are lot of real nice players out there who don't have the option at this point.

Thank you infielddad, btbballfannumber1 (tried to send a pm back), ClevelandDad and 06catcherdad, (I hope I did not miss anyone), I appreciate all your advice. Your right it is nice for him to have a choice. I agree that many fine players do get overlooked. Funny thing the school that has pretty much made it the most clear that they want him is his last choice school. It is further away.

I will keep you posted and again thanks for your input!!!!

Can I ask, is the coach at the DIII helping the admission, or in this regard, is ED necessary to gain admission? Sometimes in good academic DIII, the ED is used, sort of, in the same as the NLI-the school uses this to get its committment (but if the academics are high enough anyway, then the ED become less crucial, however. As you probably know, ED is the more route). In other words, will he lose the DIII by not going ED? Difficult choice for you. Good Luck.

skip.....

Everyone that has given you information to your questions so far, should be considered!!

Son played varsity at one of the top high schools in Illinois for academics and baseball, Lyons Township. Played leftfield and is a very good hitter/fielder. Went to showcases in Texas, New York, and Iowa, and camps at Univ. Missouri and Notre Dame. O.K., wanted to play at Notre Dame or Missouri. He had great grades and test scores, along with four AP classes. Straight A's all through high school.

Accepted to Missouri, Tulane, but not for baseball. Accepted University of Chicago, Tufts, and University of Rochester (New York), but baseball is part of the equation, and will play. Didn't apply to Notre Dame! So, what happened??? He knows he could play at any of those schools, but for the simple fact that he is 5' 7" and 145lbs., he wouldn't have been given a chance at Missouri, Tulane, or even Notre Dame. The DIII schools and his academics, and the fact that he will probably play, even in his freshman year, he chose the DIII school, the University of Rochester, that GAVE HIM THE MOST ATTENTION. I empahsize that because he felt like he was wanted there more than by any of the other schools. The coaches were, and are really good when it comes to communication with our son.

So, to carry on my novel, he has to ask himself, 1. What is life like after baseball, IF, I play in college? 2. Does this school give me what I want for my education, and will it provide me with a foundation for whatever career I choose? 3. If I play baseball in college, will I play right away, as a freshman, a starter? Does that matter? 4. Am I good enough to play in college, DI, DII, or DIII? Where do I really fit in?

There is not a lot of money for DI baseball, or academics. There is NO money for baseball at the DIII level, but there is for academics. My son received a fairly generous amount of money for academics, and DIII schools with high academic ratings generally cost more anyway.

O.K., now what? It's not an easy decision, and some intangibles may make the choice easier, or harder. Which ever school he chooses, he needs to be happy, afterall, it's four years, or maybe five, depending on his field of interest.

Best of luck. He will make the right decision.

quote:

boomeril,
very good post

Boomer - I second that. Very nice post and congrats to your son

Thank you all for the information and advice. It is very useful!
I gather from the conversation my son had with the DIII coach, that ED is very helpful in the admission process. It is a very good school academically and the DIII baseball is excellent.
I will keep you posted.

Much thanks.

If your son is a D1 calibur player he should be a top recruit for the D3 school. The D3 coach should be able to get a "read" from the admissions office on your son's appl. Most D3 schools will give the baseball coach a few "slots" for top recruits in the admissions process. If the coach tells you your son is his top recruit(and you believe him) and you get a positive read from the admisssions office.....you should assume your chances are very high of acceptance. No guarantees but yhe more feedback you get, the better. Good Luck

Thanks Sosa,

The coach has not told my son he is his top recruit at the DIII school he is interested in. At the other DIII yes. As far as the DI not sure where he stands other than they made him a generous offer and would really like him to be part of their team.

What we found out was as long as our son was academically qualified, the coaches at the D3's that he applied to made sure that he was accepted and that his application got a "good" look when they made acdemic scholarship decisions.

We generally knew by reviewing information from various sources (example: collegeboard.org)if he was academically qualified. In some instances he was in the lower 25% when viewing GPA's or test scores, but that is where having the baseball program as an advocate can really help.

If your son really wants to go to a particular D3 school, he should make and appointment with the admissions department for a personal interview. If he tells them of his sincere interest, it goes a long way in their decision making process.

As if there isn't enough to consider...here's another one...

How competetve does your son want his college team to be? When my brother was making his decision, one of the big factors was that he wanted to play for a team that had a shot at playing for a regional or national championship. The Div I offers he had were from Patriot League, America East, and an Ivy. They were al solid Northeast baseball programs but in the Division I landscape, they were tiny fish. The Div III schools he liked were all top 25 type schools. That combined with the fact that he was pretty sure he'd be in the rotation from day 1 was the bigest baseball related factors for him.

Skip, don't be shy about asking the coach exactly where your son stands...both with him and the admissions office....if he knows you have an offer on the table ,and if they want him... they will talk freely with you. If they dont....punt

Early decision round 1 deadline is 11/15/06, round 2 is 1/15/07. Is coach at DIII suggesting round 1, 2 or either? If he's willing to wait for round 2 then you still have time to make a decision, but not much. The coach of the DIII my son applied ED to (round 1) stated to him very honestly that he was very thin at his position (you can see that by checking out their roster). He said that he'd appreciate my son applying ED so that he could move on and concentrate on recruiting at other positions, knowing that he had filled that glaring need. He simply said that my son had a great chance of making an immediate impact as a freshman, but if he waited to file a regular application he wouldn't guarantee that 4 other freshman catchers wouldn't be joining him for workouts in the fall of 2007. Sounds like blackmail, I know, but coaches have their needs and hundreds of players to choose from. He was just stating the facts of life. If 4 other catchers show up next fall then I know we were duped but we're only committed for the freshman year under ED so if things don't look good he can transfer. This wasn't my son's only option, just his first choice. Plus applying ED gives him the best chance of getting accepted to this highly selective school. Just my two cents

Hey, when did I become a HSBBWeb Old Timer????

Poptime,
When my brother was being recruited by Tufts, the coach flat out told him he had no shot at getting in unless he applied ED or EDII. He ended up doing EDII. The coaches at Amherst and Johns Hopkins told him the same thing.

Yet another thing to consider...

We actually find our son in a similar situation. He has had some attention from DI schools, but will not be an early signer. At showcases, he has been rated at a 7/8. The DII schools that have been interested really have not been a good fit academically. He has had some strong interest from several DIII schools. These schools are very good academically and a some have said that they foresee him making an impact right away. They are considering him to be a two-way player OF/P. The school that he is most interested in is highly selective. My son is definitely in the ball park for admissions, his GPA is high, he attends a private college prep high school,but his SAT scores are 60 points below the 50% percentile range. The coach would like him to apply ED. Question-should he apply EDI by Dec. 1 or wait until EDII by Jan. 15? What is the benefit of EDI over EDII? He has taken the SAT already twice and he did come up the second time. At this point if he takes the SAT in December, he would not be able to have his scores for EDI. I guess we need to weigh the benefit of EDI vs. any benefit if his SAT scores would raise. To be honest, my son is a really hard-working student, 91% avg., but standardized test scores have never accurately reflected his grades.

Both my husband and I think that he will definitly find his fit, probably with a DIII school. We couldn't be happier for him. He has worked so hard in school and on the field. He has enjoyed the process so far and is truly excited about his prospects. Thanks to HSBBW we have been able to gain some great insight from all of the generous posters here and have been able to enjoy the ride as well!!

Md21

You can pay extra and have the scores sent almost immediately. In some cases they are sent electronically and can be sent out the same day that they are received. Of course, there is an additional fee to do this............Good Luck.

PopTime,

"Hey, when did I become a HSBBWeb Old Timer????"

It is based on the number of posts, Gramp... err, I mean, PopTime. Really you aren't Old at all. You just passed the 500 post mark!


Julie

Md21 Statistics say that the SAT scores will not go up the third time you take them....talk to the coach about ED1 vs. ED2...what has his sucess been in the past? what are other recruits doing? He should be an advocate for your son in the process.......if he is not, be careful.

quote:

Originally posted by MD21:
The school that he is most interested in is highly selective. My son is definitely in the ball park for admissions, his GPA is high, he attends a private college prep high school,but his SAT scores are 60 points below the 50% percentile range.

My son's (hopefully) future coach told him that his SAT's were also below what admissions likes to see, but his GPA is very good. Coach doesn't seem to think he'll have a problem getting in as long as his GPA remains consistant. Without the coach advocating for him with admissions though I don't think he'd get in. I was surprised that an athletic coach has such pull with admissions at such a selective school but he says it's pretty much the same everywhere..doesn't matter if it's JUCO or Harvard, they'll listen to the coach as long as the kid is "in the ballpark" grades-wise.
Here's something kind of funny. My son's grandfather has been harping on the fact that baseball has to be part of the college equation for my son to be happy. He doesn't think it ought to be a factor, that my son should get the highest quality education he can and if he makes the baseball team fine, if he doesn't, too bad. He hasn't been very happy with some of the schools that have shown interest in my son because he doesn't think he'll get a good education at any of them. Of course he'd love to see my son go to Syracuse, his alma mater, but guess what, no baseball! Anyway, when this wonderful DIII coach I've been yammering on about began "courting" my son, his granddad was almost astonished, like "Wow, you'd get a great education there!". I'm holding back until we get word (again, hopefully) that he's been accepted, but I'll only have one thing to say to granddad: "He wouldn't have gotten in with out baseball!" Sorry for the long-winded post.

"Early decision round 1 deadline is 11/15/06, round 2 is 1/15/07." Is this for D1 and or DIII? Are there different dates for different divisions? Thanks for the help!

quote:

his granddad was almost astonished, like "Wow, you'd get a great education there!". I'm holding back until we get word (again, hopefully) that he's been accepted, but I'll only have one thing to say to granddad: "He wouldn't have gotten in with out baseball!"

Poptime - awesome post

NRPMom.......This is a school issue, not a uniform issue as in D1 vs D3...

I'm sorry, yes, sosa is right. The ED dates I stated were for the school my son applied to. My apologies.

Thanks for the clarification. I don't understand all the rules and figured I messed up the signing dates!

Thanks for all the input. We will check with the coach to see which ED he would like him to apply. We got the impression that the coach will definitly pull for him in the admissions process, but of course he could not guarantee admission. Except for the slightly lower SAT scores, he is a strong candidate, but the baseball coach's input will absolutely help!! We will also talk to his college counselor at school for his advice.

Thank you all again. We are waiting to hear from the DIII school. The deadline for the DI NLI is fast approaching!!

After much thought and discussion, son has decided to apply EDI to the DIII school. He really felt that this school is the right "fit" for him. There is so much upside to this school academically and it is unique in it affordability- yeah mom and dad!! Coach called and said that they will personally advocate for him in the admissions process;we will keep our fingers crossed. He is going to take the SAT's one last time just in case he gets deferred back to the regular pool of applicants. I hope that making the decision to apply EDI does not hurt his chances of getting merit scholarships or financial aid.

A big thank you to PopTime, theEH, ClevelandDad, etc. for sharing your insights on this topic. I think at times we get caught up in the hype of DI. Don't get me wrong he was completely flattered to be considered for DI, but your perspective gave us the chance to be really happy and excited to go to a great DIII school. He WILL be following his childhood dream-the opportunity to play college baseball and getting a great education!!