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My son is also making an official visit to an Ivy on Tues. Another Ivy coach called him yesterday and is forwarding something in the mail. I'd be very interested in what to expect on this visit. What do these schools do differently from other D1 schools, especially in regard to making an offer? Since they don't offer athletic scholarships how do they "compete" for athletes?
If what you want for your son is a degree that will result in prospective employers or graduate school admissions departments stepping all over themselves to get you into their programs, go to an Ivy. I have one daughter who graduated from Columbia in 2006 who was admitted to top graduate programs in her field all over the country with full tuition, salary, and perks. I currently have second daughter there, as well. If your son can get by the extremely competitive admission requirements...mid 50% ACT's in the 30's, he would be making a mistake if he went elsewhere just because of baseball. Basically, if you can get in, you go to the IVY...no question about it as far as his future is concerned.
Son attends Dartmouth. Our recruiting visit was in Fall 2003. Dartmouth official visits will begin in a few weeks as class still has not started on the date I write this.

After initial meeting with the coach, Dartmouth employs a divide & conquer strategy. A brief campus tour is provided with parents & student together. You'll tour athletic facilities with a member of the coaching staff.

The player recruit will be paired with a new freshman player and attend class, eat meals, and live in dorm room with the host player. You will be left to your own devices. (Dartmouth baseball will suggest tourist visits into VT.) The recruit will meet the entire team in some type of social setting for general evaluation. Team has a 'silver bullet' if the recruit simply does not fit in. You will probably watch a team practice, you may attend a football game.

I had dinner with the recruiting coach on the evening we stayed overnight. This is your opportunity to ask all of the questions you have. Question everything. Take advantage of this - there will not be another similar opportunity after your son is enrolled.

The last hour of the visit is spent with the head coach. More conversation about the program, measuring your interest versus his interest. There may be a little pressure to make a commitment to school during this meeting. Looking back, we certainly saw some serious salesmanship displayed during this meeting. I should have been more aware.

I spent my time apart from son during the 'divide & conquer' period visiting with different departments on campus including financial aid, and the different departments my son was expressing interest in majoring. (changed his major - lot of good that did Smile ) I spoke with 3 or 4 different profs. They were very friendly and quite open. I also walked through the library & student union visiting with current students. Asked them several questions about student life and why they chose to attend Dartmouth.

Enjoy the visit. Never stop asking questions. There are several posts with lists of questions, as well as an article on this site. Some questions (like scholarship $) do not apply, of course.

Final thought. Do not attend ANY of the Ivy League schools to play baseball. The teams are good, but the elite talent is scarce. Athletics properly rounds out the liberal arts educational experience at these schools. Athletics is not the dominant theme for the existence of the school - like BCS football or NCAA D1 basketball. Attend an Ivy school to get a degree from an elite institution while also participating as a Division 1 NCAA athlete.

If anyone has specific Dartmouth questions I'll be happy to answer them. Good luck.

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