Never heard of a Likely Letter w D3
My 2019 had pre-reads at 2 NESCAC schools and was not pressured by either coach. He decided by September of senior year.
Goosegg is spot on! Let face it just like the commercial says " most athletes will become professional is something other than their sport".
My son's goal was to leverage his baseball skills into an education that he may not have qualified with just his academic merit. Yes test scores and GPA are the most important but don't underestimate the BA or ERA! When Son went through recruiting he had opportunities at "state U", D1 and D3 HA. He chose D1 academic and all four years he witnessed the players graduating in four years with jobs. Not only do you form lasting relationships with the teammates but you also have a vast network of alumni who are very supportive.
I honestly believe that if having the opportunity to play at a HA is offered.....then take it. There are many HA players that get an opportunity to play at the professional level. Hell if you don't play maybe a scout, exec or perhaps a GM career can come calling!
My older son college 2019 went HA D3. He was an OF player started looking summer/fall of Sr year. The D3's and NAIA are getting into their serious recruiting of Sr's shortly . He had multiple requests for pre reads from multple HA schools across the country but did not go ED for the simple fact we needed to know how much $ we were going to have to pay above and beyond our college fund before he commited to any school and that info comes out later. We dont qualify for need based aid but live in a high cost state so not rich by any means and he was not the only one going to be going to college. Did it cost him some schools and coaches support at his then top schools? Yes it did but he still got into a top 20 HA school with a useful degree and had a succussful baseball run. Just food for thought if it helps.
This line amused me when a friend’s baseball playing son got into a NESCAC and didn’t get as much money as projected ...
“I told them I’m a musician. They must have thought I said magician.”
I didn’t ask details. But they managed it. They had a daughter getting her Masters at a private university at the same time.
All I can saw is "wow!" Never anticipated such a response. So many knowledgeable posters on this board I'm just amazed. Thanks so much.
FourKids posted:My 2019 had pre-reads at 2 NESCAC schools and was not pressured by either coach. He decided by September of senior year.
Honestly had to google NESCAC. For those who didn't bother - New England Small College Athletic Conference
NESCAC aka Small Ivy.
Hijacking/rebooting this 2-year-old post because it seems to me that most of its test score discussions focus on ACTs. My 2022 will have taken 2 SATs for this summer, but we are not signing him up to take the ACT at all. This decision is based on his own academic strengths and weaknesses. Bad move? Even in a post-Covid-test-optional year like next one, are ACTs somehow considered superior at HA schools?
Many schools are no moving away from both tests. My experience is that ACT is better if you are good at English/Punctuation, Vocal etc and SAT is better for Math /Science guys.
Also learned that a over 90 FB will get you a lot of points off both tests!
@Good Knight posted:Also learned that a over 90 FB will get you a lot of points off both tests!
Not wondering about which is better for what sorts of students, though, just wondering which one HA admissions offices favor.
Either is perfectly fine as far as HA (or any) colleges are concerned.
My math/science kid did better on the ACT, the other did fine on the SAT and didn't take the ACT. I think it's an individual thing; if you're concerned about the score, do both. If you're not concerned, don't waste the time and money.
@anotherparent posted:Either is perfectly fine as far as HA (or any) colleges are concerned.
My math/science kid did better on the ACT, the other did fine on the SAT and didn't take the ACT. I think it's an individual thing; if you're concerned about the score, do both. If you're not concerned, don't waste the time and money.
I think "don't waste the time and money" is a useful comment, though I know some here would disagree with it. My '22 slogs through these tests. Utterly hates them. He's smart but he's not quick. We're not submitting anything, especially now that he can't even get into an ACT test until fall.
This mystery remains, however: two kids, identical record (for the sake of argument), applying to the same HA school, whose GPA and rigor put them both at the 50th percentile as far as the admissions office is concerned. Johnny Smartypants has a superlative SAT/ACT score, while my son doesn't submit a score at all. Does the admissions nod go to Johnny? Admissions offices are saying if it does go to Johnny, it won't be because my kid doesn't submit a score.
Caveat emptor, I say.
But I'm gonna be royally beside myself if that ends up being why Johnny gets in and my kid doesn't. Since I will never know, if my son isn't admitted, I'm going to assume the worst. Practicing my sulky, angry face already.
I'd guess that if you submit a high score, it will be like winning an academic award, or any other piece of the package. And if you don't submit a score at all, you'd better have other great things on your application.
I think what many on here would like to know is this: will athletics admissions at HA expect these scores, even if the school does not require them?
Because in schools that have slots or some other way the coach gets his preferred players admitted, you need to know if they will want scores for a pre-read.
Has anyone heard anything directly from any coaches?
And, for that matter, at schools of all levels, presumably they aren't requiring test scores this coming year? We knew kids who had a hard time getting the minimum to be admitted to state schools - presumably that won't happen this year. Or will it?
Instead of discussing actual scores, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to discuss percentiles?
A 99 percentile is a 99 percentile no matter what test you take.
I'm guessing that if an athlete has a 4.0 unweighted with some AP's, a coach won't need to show anything else to admissions. But if it's 3.0, a 32+ ACT would be good to have.
Couple of quick thoughts:
Better to have taken the test and then react on submitting in my opinion. Use/submit it if you want and do not if you dont. Many factors to consider by coaches, admissions, and in some cases the family when applying to a school. I think that schools look at several things in the admissions process. I agree with @JCG but some coaches/admissions could look at a 32 & 3.0 as a negative while others may look at things differently.
I believe that it is good for kids (whether they like it or not) to take at least one of the tests one time so they can have that experience (good, bad or ugly) to grow from. They might be taking another test like it (but harder) to get into grad/law/medical school. If your kid wants HA but is not willing to take a test at least 1x I might question why he wants HA and what his chances of a successful academic experience might be.
Lastly, the less questions a coach or admissions dept might have about your kid's academic chops the better imo. Coaches dont want to deal with a student who might be a challenge to keep eligible or who has low academic motivation and admissions does not want to deal with a baseball coach who brings in kids that might struggle academically.
All true, UTL.
Unfortunately, Son’s first scores are not going to help him. We thought we had time, as we did with his brothers, for a tutor and a test this month or next. However, there are no test centers available to us within 2500 miles until September.
Not sure how he’s supposed to jazz up his app at this point.
I just skimmed through the posts but I'll add one thing I dont think I saw. When it comes to HA the differences between D1 & D3 are huge. D1 has a lot more wiggle room when it comes to what they can accept. Just as an example...my son had pre-reads done by 3 Ivy's and was told you're good to go. Johns Hopkins told him we'd love to have you but you need another 150 points on your SAT.
My 2015 is always asked by current parents what his "scores" were when he was being recruited for D1 HA. He said "You mean my BA and how many 2B and HR I had in High school" lol. The truth is D1 HA/Ivy can have some wiggle room depending on the school. For instance the Ivy's have an AI to be considered and if they have a strong core of current academic players/recruits they may have the ability to take a great player with great baseball numbers and a little less of academic numbers. Other HA schools will also be a little more forgiving for a left hitting player or a lefty pitcher that throws 90.