Would 31/32 get you into a WashU / UChicago as an athlete?
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I can’t speak to the two schools you’ve listed. But I know several cases of my son’s friends who were accepted to HA D3s they would not have been accepted without baseball. It depends how competitive are the programs. Many HA D3s are allowed X number of passes through admissions that are below the normal student acceptance requirements. The required numbers typically still involve a 3.5 GPA in high level courses and 1300+ on SATs. If schools don’t require SAT scores being 1300+ is an advantage.
Inversely proportional to pitching velocity. (or other appropriate skills metric)
Just based on what I’ve read here over the years, I’m going to say “yes” for those specific schools (assuming grades and such are in line with that score). Tagging @TerribleBPthrower for an informed opinion.
32 yes as long as the GPA is good and the player is a top recruit for their class. 31 is highly unlikely at both schools. Maybe if the player is their top recruit. WashU is usually around a 1450 minimum SAT and UChicago is usually 1480 or so. A 33+ would be ideal for Chicago.
Thanks everyone appreciate the info. Trying to figure out D3 route.
3.9+ gpa, two-way player 3B/1B/RHP.
6'2 208, 7.4 60yd, 82 across infield, sits 82-84 (touched 87), top EV was 94/95 I believe (don't have that number handy).
Not sure those schools are where he wants to end up but want him to expand his search and consider leveraging baseball to possibly get a degree from a higher "prestige" school.
Pretty sure both of those schools would be a stretch.
It's GO time for WashU right now. They've "committed" (at least) 3 in like the last 3 weeks. One of the recruits has a posted 1490 SAT. I would think going to one of their camps or (past) Showball might/ would've been helpful. They still have a college camp for this October. WashU probability is likely higher academics-wise and UChicago baseball-wise, but my understanding from the many sage folks here, there is no help for athletes through admissions at Chicago. Chicago, MIT, Caltech, and Hopkins are amongst the most difficult to get into academics wise. Echoing BOF's sentiment, I think a 31/32 might be good enough for WashU depending on the baseball-side. I also think there IS an HAD3 fit at more than a few places with those academic & athletic metrics! Good luck!
Yeah I don't see him putting up a 34/1490 or throwing 90+, so maybe we're already on the correct path.
Chicago can 100% give support through admissions…. If you are within their admissions stats (likely a 1480+).
They usually vary slightly from year to year. For 2023 JHU was 1510, Chicago 1490, MIT 1520. The coaches will usually tell you what their minimum is when they begin recruiting you. Typically one of the first two or three questions they ask.
There are a lot of really prestigious schools he can get into with baseball and a 31/32. Good luck!
@GratefulNTXlurker posted:It's GO time for WashU right now. They've "committed" (at least) 3 in like the last 3 weeks. One of the recruits has a posted 1490 SAT. I would think going to one of their camps or (past) Showball might/ would've been helpful. They still have a college camp for this October. WashU probability is likely higher academics-wise and UChicago baseball-wise, but my understanding from the many sage folks here, there is no help for athletes through admissions at Chicago. Chicago, MIT, Caltech, and Hopkins are amongst the most difficult to get into academics wise. Echoing BOF's sentiment, I think a 31/32 might be good enough for WashU depending on the baseball-side. I also think there IS an HAD3 fit at more than a few places with those academic & athletic metrics! Good luck!
Chicago has a major push on to improve their sports teams.
So the Chicago coach can def help with admissions ... with a 31/32 you can get in but have to be #1 on their list, basically a player that would otherwise be out of reach. Otherwise you'll need 1480+ or 33+ to even be considered.
Even CalTech is starting to relax their admissions a bit. Alumni love winning sports teams!
@SpeedDemon posted:Even CalTech is starting to relax their admissions a bit. Alumni love winning sports teams!
Or just getting tired of being pummeled in conference maybe.
I recall the CalTech recruiter speaking to parents at a Headfirst event, he started off with saying he had no sway on admissions.
@dverespey posted:Or just getting tired of being pummeled in conference maybe.
I recall the CalTech recruiter speaking to parents at a Headfirst event, he started off with saying he had no sway on admissions.
Cal Tech is starting to relax their admissions standards for athletes.
alumni = donors
@SpeedDemon posted:Cal Tech is starting to relax their admissions standards for athletes.
alumni = donors
I wouldn’t say they are relaxing standards, but definitely letting the coach have some impact on early admission…. If they are in line with the rest of the rest of the admissions class. A big difference between them and the other super HA schools is the heavy emphasis on having STEM research experience while in HS. Even though they are test blind, be prepared to show a 1530+ for a pre-read, all 5’s on STEM AP exams and nothing less than a 4 overall, no B’s in STEM classes and no more than 2 B’s overall (and be ready to write an essay explaining why you got B’s).
Caltech is much more competitive than a few years ago. They are probably just a player or two away from being able to win consistently.
Don't forget that many excellent schools that are slightly less selective than the ones already mentioned give generous academic scholarships to academically qualified applicants. And they also have baseball teams.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:definitely letting the coach have some impact on early admission…. If they are in line with the rest of the rest of the admissions class.
Yes, exactly. Which is a significant change from the past from what I understand, when the coach had no ability to influence admissions.
My sense is that the D3 liberal arts colleges are more open to taking athletes on a test optional basis than the D3 national universities like WashU and the University of Chicago. Both of my kids are athletes at a HA D3 liberal arts college and they both successfully applied (with coach support) without submitting test scores.
@NotABaseballGuy posted:My sense is that the D3 liberal arts colleges are more open to taking athletes on a test optional basis than the D3 national universities like WashU and the University of Chicago. Both of my kids are athletes at a HA D3 liberal arts college and they both successfully applied (with coach support) without submitting test scores.
That's a good perspective. I never thought to break down D3 to "national" schools vs true LAC. But don't you think a very high end LAC like Williams, Amherst, Pomona will still ask for test scores? Im thinking CMS, Washington Lee, half of NESCACs, a few others also. Not to pick on schools but the Denisons, Whitmans, Occidentals, etc (all great HA schools) probably have more flexibility.
I don't have experience with the specific schools that you mentioned. I suspect that blanket rules are hard to apply in any conversation around "test optional". But I do sense that the small LACs are more flexible than the bigger HA D3s. For what it's worth, the school that my kids attend is regularly ranked in the top 10 among US News list of LACs. So, I don't think you need to take a big hit academically to go the test optional route. For additional context, my kids also attended an independent college prep school that was well known to the college. Can't say how much that factored in to things.
For the moderators, ever think of making a separate high academic topic category? While this sort of stuff interests me, I'd say I'm in a small minority of people.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I wouldn’t say they are relaxing standards, but definitely letting the coach have some impact on early admission…. If they are in line with the rest of the rest of the admissions class. A big difference between them and the other super HA schools is the heavy emphasis on having STEM research experience while in HS. Even though they are test blind, be prepared to show a 1530+ for a pre-read, all 5’s on STEM AP exams and nothing less than a 4 overall, no B’s in STEM classes and no more than 2 B’s overall (and be ready to write an essay explaining why you got B’s).
Caltech is much more competitive than a few years ago. They are probably just a player or two away from being able to win consistently.
@SpeedDemon posted:Yes, exactly. Which is a significant change from the past from what I understand, when the coach had no ability to influence admissions.
Anecdotal support... Kiddo recently showed me email(s) from Caltech coaches expressing interest. We thought because of the platform they were sent through, which is typically >95% money grab marketing ultimately identifiable with the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of correspondence, they were marketing emails. To be clear, he does NOT have the metrics TerribleBP mentions. Closer examination reveals no unsubscribe link but rather a recruit questionnaire link. These recent posts have us reevaluating the emails but in hindsight, it begs another question (that's prob been asked before)...
With the volatility (ie. pending chaos) surrounding the landscape of recruiting and all of its trickle down effects, moving forward, why wouldn't some of these HAD3 schools NOT "wait their turn" and start these emails a little sooner/ earlier in the process to try and poach better players? I mean, who knows? With SoCal weather, SCIAC competition, and niche SCIAC (C(Mudd)S, Pomona, Caltech etc) academics, IMHO those schools have A LOT to offer. One is already dealing with a small niche recruit population/subset but why not throw some love out in March/ April? And to those who have (or would) argue that it's too much time or a waste of time, with the search engines available (on said platform) it takes (maybe) 5 min on their end to ID candidates and get said interest emails out.
We'd already self-disqualified ourselves from Caltech (and Chicago and Hopkins) long ago largely based on past/ established info here. Despite relaxed standards, kiddo would likely still NOT have survived early admissions and ended up in the tragic and scrambling close but no cigar (RD) camp, but hope our experience (& posts above) informs and helps others down the road.
The SCIAC was arguably the most competitive D3 conference last year with 4 teams making the tournament and Pomona-Pitzer advancing to the CWS. The weather is certainly better than most D3 regions. Academics at Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Cal Tech are all top notch. If you have a kid open to going to school in CA, I would highly recommend any of the Claremont colleges. The STEM academics at Mudd are close to Cal Tech and MIT with very similar outcomes. Pomona is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the US and CMC is also a highly respected school for economics.
Another nice thing with the SCIAC, they play mostly Friday and Saturday and most conference games are less than an hour away. So if you are a HA player, the juggling of school and baseball is minimized.
Hope @StanfordCommit Sees this ^^^^
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Another nice thing with the SCIAC, ... most conference games are less than an hour away. So if you are a HA player, the juggling of school and baseball is minimized.
The same is true of the MIAC and this is definitely a plus.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:If you have a kid open to going to school in CA, ...
This made me laugh!