The big question is, can you afford some of the D3s?

My kid can run at a lower ranked d1 or almost all the d3s. He is targeting higher ranked schools though, which in state for Virginia are about 35-40k a year.

Out of state and for better academic d3s, those are more expensive, but some line up better with his running times.

Example, Wesleyan, he can run those times and runcruit says he’s a recruit. But it’s 70-80k, and we’re not getting need or merit aid. Plus he’d have to eat in.

The big questions are, what schools fit:

Academically, financially, running times, and personality

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does a 4.0 unweighted student not have MIT grades? I don't think you have to take "tons" of APs and if he has a 4.0 with some APs isn't that enough?

OP here. He is just a sophomore now. He won't have MIT grades because he will likely only graduate with 9 APs. Most kids have more. Also he will end at AP BC and ive been told MIT kids need multivariable calculus.

These threads kill me. 9 AP’s aren’t enough? What is?

Not enough for MIT. Based on people who have been admitted it seems to be around 12 or more + multivariable calculus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does a 4.0 unweighted student not have MIT grades? I don't think you have to take "tons" of APs and if he has a 4.0 with some APs isn't that enough?

OP here. He is just a sophomore now. He won't have MIT grades because he will likely only graduate with 9 APs. Most kids have more. Also he will end at AP BC and ive been told MIT kids need multivariable calculus.

These threads kill me. 9 AP’s aren’t enough? What is?

Anonymous wrote:How does a 4.0 unweighted student not have MIT grades? I don't think you have to take "tons" of APs and if he has a 4.0 with some APs isn't that enough?

OP here. He is just a sophomore now. He won't have MIT grades because he will likely only graduate with 9 APs. Most kids have more. Also he will end at AP BC and ive been told MIT kids need multivariable calculus.

How does a 4.0 unweighted student not have MIT grades? I don't think you have to take "tons" of APs and if he has a 4.0 with some APs isn't that enough?

Your child has more than enough time to improve! Make sure he's training with weights and taking care of little injuries so they don't become big ones.

That said, ITA that he should not rule out any D2 or D3 schools. Also, a lot of runners don't finalize their deals until well into senior year.

As a former high school and college coach I would say this... 99% of athletes do not hit their D1 time in 9th, I had a kid who ran 52 as a freshman and by the time he was a junior he was running 48 lows. Which put him on the college list, unlike your DS, none of the kids I coach had the grades except 1. He got a scholarship to SEC school, burned out on the track after his first year, and quit. That brings me to the next thing... It is not D1 and done, D2, D3, and NAIA. I prefer D3 because I think their package is better than some D1 programs if you are not the regular DCUM parents who want to send your kid to the top 50 programs. I think NAIA schools are a great look and have some great programs.

DC hit the times in junior year. Good enough for some D1 schools, but not ivies. Plenty good for D3. Be aware that selective D3 schools require strong grades/scores. Most track coaches don’t have that much pull. And times have to be a the top of the range, not the middle.

My mid distance kid hit his times Spring of junior year - but that was with an intense training schedule from the summer before junior year onward. His sprint times actually improved his senior year but his distance times plateaued. Recruiters started coming out of the woodwork summer between jr and sr year. If your son has D2 times, Colorado School of Mines and Embry Riddle have both good engineering and track programs.

I don't have a track athlete, but I doubt many kids hit D1 recruiting times as a HS freshman. I guess the question is how far off are they? Not sure how much kids progress in track. I know in swimming it's not unheard of to hit recruiting times until junior year. Good luck!

There are other D3 schools with fine engineering programs. How about Tufts?

All those schools require the same amount or rigor.
Poster said he had good grades but not APs. Seems the kid is an honors kid not an AP kid.

Ideas:

CMU
Cal Tech (if he doesn’t have MIT grades, nevermind)
Case Western
Clarkson (I know a lot of athlete engineers who went there!)
NYU
WPI
Rochester

There are plenty of D3 engineering schools. I have a kid who wants to be recruited and study engineering in a different sport. I think D1 plus engineering is very hard and maybe not realistic.

I don't know the answer about times.

Ds is a rising sophomore. He qualified for Regionals but did not qualify for states. Looking at Runrecruit, his times are not D1 recruit times. Do most runners hit those times from the beginning/freshman year? Should he be concerned? Is he just not D1 material or is it possible kids don't start to hit those times until they get older/spend more time in the sport? One can only shave off so much time. Can it really be done in 2 years? At what point should we hang up the D1 idea if he is not hitting recruit times? End of sophomore year? End of junior? When?

Should he just accept he isn't D1 material and focus on D3. He meets D3 recruit times. The only issue is he wants to study engineering and other than MIT there are not a lot of D3 schools we're aware of that are good for engineering. Most seem to be liberal arts colleges. DS does not have MIT grades. He has a 4.0 unweighted but he isn't a kid who will take tons of APs, which MIT would require.

When did your D1 track star start hitting college recruiting times?