Top academic programs in south

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
Duke
Univ. of Richmond
William & Mary
Emory

come immediately to mind to fit your criteria ...

You can't get into any of those with a 3.3 and those SAT scores. Can't happen.

There are so many great undergrad schools all over the US and Canada.
You tend to pump up the ones you are familiar with and the big name schools like Harvard and Yale get their reputation from graduate schools. I have friends at Harvard and Noter D as well as other brand name schools and they all say that the environment is great but they learn the same stuff as you would in other schools. They tend to have very high requirements to get in and attract some of the brighter students but there are hundreds of great schools that you can get a quality education from if you put the effort in.

I know a guy that had a 2.79 GPA (out of 4) in college and got hired at THE top rated law firm in America. He was a baseball player as well and they took that into account because he would spend countless hours in the weight room and baseball workout facility. He told one of the majority partners that he spent probably too much time preparing for a game and not enough preparing for a test. The partner appreciated that and hired him on the spot. He told my friend that college baseball more so than ANY other sport has produced more quality lawyers at his law firm. Said they were all extremely hard workers and in his mind this is because there are so many baseball players out there and to make a D1 college team they had to out work and out play a tremendous amount of other athletes to get where they are. Pretty interesting stuff.

quote:

He told my friend that college baseball more so than ANY other sport has produced more quality lawyers at his law firm. Said they were all extremely hard workers and in his mind this is because there are so many baseball players out there and to make a D1 college team they had to out work and out play a tremendous amount of other athletes to get where they are. Pretty interesting stuff.

I have said this many times. To be a succesful BB player you have to be a team player and very competetive.
Today perspective emplyers want to see your charcter and often give tests before they hire an emplyee. Some of the largest employers give aptitude tests to all employees before hiring them.
Before I went to law school we were given a speech about the fact that they look for a well rounded individual as opposed to the top mark guys.
I think success in BB at a 4 year program is a great plus no matter where you go.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimi Hendrix:
You sound so smart, you tried to milk a bull.

This, from a guy who calls a balk in the bullpen?

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimi Hendrix:
You sound so smart, you tried to milk a bull.

This, from a guy who calls a balk in the bullpen?

And you tried to milk a bull in the bull pen.

Nice try there, StarDad

So lame. I guess I'm going to have to put you on "ignore". You do have the distinction of being the only poster I have placed on "ignore".

You'll get the last word, since none of your posts will appear any longer when I view the site. Enjoy.

switchhitter, not so.

Those SAT's are right in line with "average" at Duke and W&M, and above average at Emory and UR. (Bear in mind he said 1350 on the 1600 scale, so I assumed we weren't counting the much debated third element of today's SAT, the writing test, which most schools are not yet using anyway.)

As for the grades, if they were at an elite private school, and especially if they are unweighted (i.e., extra credit for AP courses or such), they might well be enough even without baseball.

WITH baseball, if the coach spends one of his chits with the admissions department, you can get in.

I know of a 2008 player with a WEIGHTED 3.3 GPA who is getting into one of the nation's most elite universities next fall because the baseball coach wanted him. I don't think his boards were above 1300, either.

This is something to think about because so often we limit ourselves in our thinking to the money the player gets to help him pay the college bills. But so often, it's not just the money, but also the chance to go to a school that otherwise might have been out of his reach. There's more than one way to capitalize on your baseball talent.

The 3.3 is weighted(A.P. History and A.P. Physics). As Midlo Dad suggested with the elite private school, I go to one and we have a very good history with William and Mary, as well as with Richmond. Duke and Emory is a stretch, but the worst they can do is say no. However, Duke has not shown interest, nor has Emory so they are probably out of the question.

Davidson and Rice and Winthrop....

All not "too big".

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
So lame. I guess I'm going to have to put you on "ignore". You do have the distinction of being the only poster I have placed on "ignore".

You'll get the last word, since none of your posts will appear any longer when I view the site. Enjoy.

StarDad/Texan,

Let's see if you keep your promise.

If you think Emory is a stretch, then you can scratch W&M off your list, because it is more selective than Emory, esp. for out of state applicants.

But again, if the baseball coach is willing to go to bat for you, you can get your chance to start academically with the same record as every other freshman, just like on the baseball field.

quote:

Originally posted by switchitter:
I know a guy that had a 2.79 GPA (out of 4) in college and got hired at THE top rated law firm in America. He was a baseball player as well and they took that into account because he would spend countless hours in the weight room and baseball workout facility. He told one of the majority partners that he spent probably too much time preparing for a game and not enough preparing for a test. The partner appreciated that and hired him on the spot. He told my friend that college baseball more so than ANY other sport has produced more quality lawyers at his law firm. Said they were all extremely hard workers and in his mind this is because there are so many baseball players out there and to make a D1 college team they had to out work and out play a tremendous amount of other athletes to get where they are. Pretty interesting stuff.

The partner could be a jock snif, but all that matters is the guys productivity. Baseball DOES eat in to test prep time and DOES help prepare students for life after school.

bayoukid,
Our son played at and graduated from Trinity U.
Based on his experiences, I could provide some guidance on several schools in addition to Trinity, including Millsaps, Southwestern, Hendrix, Rhodes, Sewanee, Centre, Emory and some of the ASC schools that have been mentioned. Another poster, Double2thegap played and graduated from Hendrix and he could be a resource for you, also.
One DIII not mentioned so far is Birmingham Southern.
When you combine excellent academics and DIII athletics/baseball, the schools in the SCAC are second to none.
Here is a link for the SCAC baseball. Good luck and feel free to PM if there are specific questions you would like to discuss.
http://www.scac-online.org/

I'll put in a plug for my alma mater, Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. While it's not on the level of a W&M or Duke or the like, it's a good liberal arts school with a reputation for quality academics. It's growing a bit I believe, but still around 4000-4500 students I think.

They have a pretty strong baseball program as well in the D3 South Region. You will find them on some of the over recruiting topics on the HSBBW, but from what I've read that's true of many D3 schools. I know there is a dad of a player on these boards, as well as a former player I believe, so you can find more info if you're interested.

quote]or are they both branch campus of UTA??[/quote]All right Aunt Bee...now your trashing my alma mater. Don't you know you're not supposed to MESS WITH TEXAS! What's the matter...all your exes live in Texas?

quote:

Originally posted by infielddad:
bayoukid,
Our son played at and graduated from Trinity U.
Based on his experiences, I could provide some guidance on several schools in addition to Trinity, including Millsaps, Southwestern, Hendrix, Rhodes, Sewanee, Centre, Emory and some of the ASC schools that have been mentioned. Another poster, Double2thegap played and graduated from Hendrix and he could be a resource for you, also.
One DIII not mentioned so far is Birmingham Southern.
When you combine excellent academics and DIII athletics/baseball, the schools in the SCAC are second to none.
Here is a link for the SCAC baseball. Good luck and feel free to PM if there are specific questions you would like to discuss.
http://www.scac-online.org/

I'll second the recommendation for Birmingham-Southern (www.bsc.edu). My son is a freshman there and is very excited about the baseball program. To say he is being "challenged" in the classroom is an understatement. Beautiful campus within a city that offers quite a bit in the way of food and entertainment.

Emanski, that's a good call. UMW catches a lot of folks by surprise. Its incoming freshman classes have the third highest average SAT scores of any college in VA, behind only UVA and W&M. Some grads of other, larger and perhaps better known VA schools are often surprised to find that out.

I don't know if UMW has the national rep of some other schools -- YET -- but that will come.

Their baseball facility is surprisingly good and they have been nationally ranked among D-III's at times in recent years.

Have you looked at Birmingham Southern. It is DIII. It was DI and has beautiful facilities. My son really liked it. It is very strong academically. I read an article about it recently in a book called "Thirty schools that change people's lives" or something like that. BSU is in there. They have a new, very reputable coach. This will be his first year. We liked the coaches and the facilities and the school is very pretty.

Hendrix College in ARkansas is also a great school and plays DIII baseball.

I have looked into Birmingham Southern, and personally I am not a big fan of Birmingham (the city). I realize that as a student you may not go there all too often, but it is only three miles away. Any thoughts from red bear on this? Hendrix is also a wonderful school, but my college counselor said it wouldn't be a good fit. I have found that her information is usually very reliable. By the way she has sent people to Hendrix so this may have something to do with me or my personality.

quote:

Originally posted by bayoukid:
I have looked into Birmingham Southern, and personally I am not a big fan of Birmingham (the city). I realize that as a student you may not go there all too often, but it is only three miles away. Any thoughts from red bear on this? Hendrix is also a wonderful school, but my college counselor said it wouldn't be a good fit. I have found that her information is usually very reliable. By the way she has sent people to Hendrix so this may have something to do with me or my personality.

As far as Birmingham is, I've only been there 3 times. I personally like the city - what I've seen so far. Traffic can be kind of tough sometimes.

As far as my son is concerned, the city is OK. He hasn't had much opportunity to explore with fall baseball, pledging a fraternity, and not having a car. Trips to Tuscaloosa, Talledega, Atlanta, and Auburn are all very doable from Birmingham.

Birmingham has changed a lot in the last 10 years. It used to be more industrial. It is now the leading financial center in the South after Atlanta and is becoming much more "urban". Prettier, better places to eat, safer etc.

Update on my applications:
I have applied to Furman, Sewanee, Trinity, and Millsaps. I have also applied to a few safeties, but they are bigger schools that I don't plan on attending (LSU, etc.). Thanks for the input from everyone, you all have been very helpful in the process.

Bayoukid, thanks for the update. Let us know when you make a decision!

BK, I hope you realized how blessed you are to be able to look at such a high caliber group of colleges. Part hard work from you (your parents were right on that work ethic thing after all...) and part God given abilities.

May you find the school to which you are led.

Bayoukid,
What a nice selection of schools. Good luck in the application process.
I am sure you know there is quite a difference in the level of baseball played in those programs. Millsaps, Trinity and Furman would be pretty competitive overall even with the first two being DIII.
I would encourage you to contact Coach Page at Millsaps and Coach Scannell at Trinity.
Both are terrific people, very talented coaches, demand the best from their players, but are not afraid to let the game be fun and to have friendships that last long after graduation.

I do realize how blessed I am to have this choice of schools. I am aware of the difference in level of play, but I am more concerned with academics. I will be sure to let you all know when I do make the decision.