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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.

Last edited by RJM

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?

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?

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.  

Last edited by JABMK

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.

Sounds like a challenging situation @smokeminside...sorry bout that. Some possible solutions if you might be looking for them are:

1. Often during the pandemic, at least here in MN, people had to book tests up to 5 hours away. After booking one in South Dakota (3.5 hour drive away) my spouse continued to look locally and ended up booking a test within an hour of here. Sometimes kids sign up for a couple of tests and then cancel when they hit a score that they need. Something might open up...

2. i know a Cali kid who traveled 5+ hours to get his SAT done. Maybe if there are a couple of HA schools son is interested in New England or somewhere else you could schedule a test in that area and then visit a handful of schools that same weekend.

3. I think a great way to jazz up the app might be volunteering to teach reading or math to underserved communities close to you. Kid could say that he could not test but "recognized that there were kids in his community that had some academic challenges and wanted to help them so they were in a better place once they could test" or some other out of the box giving back. A lemonade out of lemons situation.

Good luck to anyone on this. We knew from my now freshman in college's experience to test early (once you get a decent score you can be done or continue to test to get a higher score) and we were fortunately prepared when some testing became available between Soph-Junior school year for my 2022.

@SoCal OG posted:

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.  

The devil is in the details and the situation.   Let me guess, the 3 Ivys did not include H, Y, or P.

10 years ago, my son went through the same drill thing with Johns Hopkins, Amherst and Williams.   He was told he was good to go with Cornell, and Tufts which we were fine with as he was an engineering major and they both had outstanding engineering programs.  Cornell and Tufts were recruiting him hard.   Harvard was offering but they really wanted him to retake the SAT too improve his score and the team AI.  He retook the test as a way to expand his choices because at that time he wasn't sure.   A funny thing happened after that.  A couple days later after he retook the test,  he had made his college decision based on the engineering programs rather than the school and their required SAT scores.   He did improve his 2nd score 150 points exactly, but it didn't matter.  He made up his mind.

Bottom line is you can expect some of these schools to come back to you wanting more points to help the recruit and team AI.  It also helps the coaches position with the Admissions Committee if he presents a candidate that has gone out of his way to improve his position.   He can best help you if you've helped yourself.

Just my experience....

@fenwaysouth posted:

The devil is in the details and the situation.   Let me guess, the 3 Ivys did not include H, Y, or P.

10 years ago, my son went through the same drill thing with Johns Hopkins, Amherst and Williams.   He was told he was good to go with Cornell, and Tufts which we were fine with as he was an engineering major and they both had outstanding engineering programs.  Cornell and Tufts were recruiting him hard.   Harvard was offering but they really wanted him to retake the SAT too improve his score and the team AI.  He retook the test as a way to expand his choices because at that time he wasn't sure.   A funny thing happened after that.  A couple days later after he retook the test,  he had made his college decision based on the engineering programs rather than the school and their required SAT scores.   He did improve his 2nd score 150 points exactly, but it didn't matter.  He made up his mind.

Bottom line is you can expect some of these schools to come back to you wanting more points to help the recruit and team AI.  It also helps the coaches position with the Admissions Committee if he presents a candidate that has gone out of his way to improve his position.   He can best help you if you've helped yourself.

Just my experience....

His reads were Yale, Dartmouth & Brown.  Harvard spoke with him but never asked for scores.  

@SoCal OG posted:

His reads were Yale, Dartmouth & Brown.  Harvard spoke with him but never asked for scores.  

SoCal OG - Your situation is interesting as it includes Yale.  Back in time when my son was being recruited, Yale seemed to be aloof and unapproachable even for genuine Ivy and D1 recruits    I know that has changed as I know a half dozen  recruits that have gone there, and they've certainly become more aggressive ion their recruiting over that period of time.   If they are not telling your son he doesn't have to improve his score, but Johns Hopkins is then I think something isn't quite right.   

Your earlier statement about "wiggle room" (margin) is true.  The Ivys have more margin, but they are also looking for a higher level baseball player...a recruit who is being courted by many D1 schools.   An Ivy Coach will push for an impact D1 player that meets Ivy minimums...seen it many times.   Based on what you've shared, I think your son needs to further qualify his "positioning" (what he brings to the table) with both Yale and Johns Hopkins, because this doesn't add up.   If Yale is telling him they will go to the mat for him in Admissions (because he is an impact player) then I think you have your answer.   But with all things being equal between Yale and Johns Hopkins, they should both be asking for the same 150 point improvement.

Just my experience.   Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss off line.

Last edited by fenwaysouth
@fenwaysouth posted:

SoCal OG - Your situation is interesting as it includes Yale.  Back in time when my son was being recruited, Yale seemed to be aloof and unapproachable even for genuine Ivy and D1 recruits    I know that has changed as I know a half dozen  recruits that have gone there, and they've certainly become more aggressive ion their recruiting over that period of time.   If they are not telling your son he doesn't have to improve his score, but Johns Hopkins is then I think something isn't quite right.   

Your earlier statement about "wiggle room" (margin) is true.  The Ivys have more margin, but they are also looking for a higher level baseball player...a recruit who is being courted by many D1 schools.   An Ivy Coach will push for an impact D1 player that meets Ivy minimums...seen it many times.   Based on what you've shared, I think your son needs to further qualify his "positioning" (what he brings to the table) with both Yale and Johns Hopkins, because this doesn't add up.   If Yale is telling him they will go to the mat for him in Admissions (because he is an impact player) then I think you have your answer.   But with all things being equal between Yale and Johns Hopkins, they should both be asking for the same 150 point improvement.

Just my experience.   Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss off line.

This was a couple of years ago.  He was very excited about Yale but a blown labrum killed all of his D1prospects.  He was definitely on the lower scale of academics for the Ivy's but they were willing to try and push him through.  JH on the other hand had zero flexibility.  

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