Princeton-football
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Anonymous
| Thanks. We will look at Trinity. |
Anonymous
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It is interesting that a coach in this part of the country referred to him as "D2 level". D2 is just more prevalent in the midwest than the mid-atlantic. Typically you would think that all of D1 is better than all of D2 which is better than all of D3 but it really doesn't work out that way athletically. D2 has dramatic swings in athletic level and if given the opportunity would likely win some games against the lower FCS D1 teams. This is because of the differential in admission standards between athletic D2 teams and academic D1. See Lenoir-Rhyne victory over Davidson in 2014, not to mention the 2014 victory by D3 Birmingham Southern over D1 Stetson. So in that "gray area" there is some athletic overlap.
Based upon what you have said the first place I would look is Georgetown. Understand this would be an athletic stretch based upon what you have said. Georgetown plays in the Patriot League and is a non-scholarship school in a scholarship league. They play non-conference games against Ivy and Pioneer League teams. I would at least spend a moment to see if there could be an athletic fit here. Seems to meet all of the academic requirements, although possibly difficult to get in. Would at least have a discussion with them after Junior season to see if they have any interest in your player. Other D1 programs I would at least speak to would be Davidson and Dayton. Very good academic schools, play in non-scholarship Pioneer League which is basically a league of D1 basketball heavy schools. You're in the lower echelon of D1 athletic talent here but excellent education. If you get through those and reality is that the athletic fit isn't there I would look next to D3 football. The person that recommended Trinity is spot on. The other NESCAC school that would be interesting is Tufts. The remaining NESCAC schools are in more small town environment, although I would at least visit some of these as well. The campuses are very nice due to some really substantial endowments. Advantage of that conference is that every school is very strong academics. You play against similar competition making interesting match ups. The biggest disadvantage is that they don't participate in the NCAA D3 championship which is really exciting and a chance to travel to some great places (and then get killed by Mount Union or Wisconsin-Whitewater). WashU in St Louis, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland would also be on my list. Again very strong academics. All of these schools provide excellent academic support for the players. Can't go wrong with any of them. Rhodes College in Memphis is another interesting D3 program. Campus environment but lots going on around. Very good program with a new head coach from WashU. Final suggestion would be right in DC at Catholic U. Everything you're asking for in a slightly less competitive academic environment. ODAC football which has interesting teams most of which are within 3 hour drive. Lots of local Catholic school kids on the roster. Probably less expensive than most on the list. What you don't have on the list are state schools. Christopher Newport in VA plays D3, as well as Frostburg in MD. There are more but if academics are a priority I would examine the privates extensively. If you can afford the tuition the experience is exceptional. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for all information. We will look into these schools. Some seem like they would be academic reaches. Do they drop their standRds a lot for athletes.?The only concern we have about D3 liberal arts schools is that except for the very top ones they seem to have so few black students who aren't athletes. I would like DC to some minority peers with interests Other than sports. |
Anonymous
| Ps. You were right coach didn't say d2. That was my interpretation. He Did day something like a second level program. I can't remember exact words. It wAs a quick discussion nothing official |
Anonymous
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You are absolutely correct that these are academic reaches without coach support for football. Each school adjusts admission standards a little differently for athletes. That's really why this is early to be discussing with them. After junior season and tape, junior grades and an additional ACT score you can have a discussion with a number of schools. Also if the grades stay the same a number of them are likely to tell you that is just not high enough. It may happen. That's the variable nature of this. The flip side of that issue is the admission offices of almost every one of these schools has "diversity" as a stated goal. In your case the discussion is ethnicity. In their eyes the ethnicity is bringing diversity to the admitted class and they are motivated to do that. The coach is motivated to get the fastest, strongest, best tackling players he can who are likely to get good enough grades to stay in school and who will behave in a manner supporting the team. The shared motivation between the admission office and football coach coincides with a number of these players and you are correct in noting that quite a few are black athletes.
I would say don't be afraid of the academic reach nature of the schools. The top schools provide beyond excellent academic support for their players and they achieve graduation rates in line with the general student body. People don't realize how exceptional that is. The other point in favor of the top schools in the discussion of "diversity" is that they have the means to add socioeconomic diversity to the mix and most elect to do so. You don't have to have the ability to be full pay at many of these schools where over half are receiving financial aid. In the circumstance you have described a full-pay black football player with good grades and scores I would begin with the institutions that have the most means to attract the motivated students of all ethnicities. Almost all of the listed schools have strong endowments. Understand the stated grades and scores might be below average but that you are nowhere near the first. Maybe he is not a D1 player. Maybe he is not admissible to some of these D3 schools. But with the quality education that is offered at so many of these schools, the support that is given (actually mandated by the typical academic institution coach), you ought to at least have the discussion if the coaching staff has an interest in the player. If you look at sports granting a player an opportunity he likely would not have elsewhere you may be in that exact situation. |
Anonymous
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For a football player, your son has the academic numbers play at the top level NESCAC schools. As mentioned above, successful recruitment starts with athletic ability. That is if a school wants him athletically, his numbers are close enough (good to get the ACT above 30) to get him in for football (different for other sports.)
The NESCAC school that is the most diverse (by far), has the top football team, and is top tier academically is Amherst. Amherst also over 25,000 college students within a few miles, giving the students a bevy of social options. Trinity, an excellent school, is not particularly diverse. |
Anonymous
| A school like Princeton needs to get more tennis and crew recruits with top grades and scores to offset the depressive impact of doofus football recruits on their NCAA numbers. |
Anonymous
| ^~ I doubt Princeton admits such students to play football. |
Anonymous
It's all relative. |
Anonymous
Not true at all if you are a top football recruit. |
Anonymous
Just a FYI... I don't think Johns Hopkins has a football program. |
Anonymous
OP, while D3 does not offer scholarships for athletics, they have the discretion to award aid for merit or leadership or any other reason they choose. While they don't traditionally 'recruit' even the most competitive D3's will allow coaches to have a bit of input into the admissions process for recruits. My DS attends a top SLAC (almost constantly mentioned on here) and he was admitted with a bit lower ACT and GPA than the published average. Not dramatically lower, but they were lower. He plays a hard to recruit football position. We qualified for zero need based aid, estimate calculators said we could pay his tuition x3 so we didn't bother to even fill out the forms for FA. DS got a scholarship for 25K per year plus an on-campus job working 10 hours per week signing students in and out of the workout rooms at the athletic center and that covers most of his spending money. One thing to note, most D3 coaches won't 'spend' one of their slots unless your child on is willing to apply ED. They seem to have precious few chits with admissions and they try to spend them on kids that are a sure yield. |
Anonymous
Yes they do. D3, along with all other sports except for men and women's lacrosse teams which are D1. Men's lacrosse team part of Big 10 as of 2015 |
Anonymous
| PP. hIs coach is going to recommend some recruiting camps this summer so he can get used to the atmosphere and then after his junior year he will go back to camps and his coach will get college coaches to take a look at him. My concern is that he is recruited by a school with a good academic program. I also don't want the only black kids on campus to be athletes. But I am not sure how much influence we will have once this process gets momentum. Would like to hear from other parents who have gone through this. Our older child was an academic type so this is all new to us. |