A point to the specific question of athleticism. Plenty of players are recruited at D1 schools because they have some combination of stick skills, field presence, academic prowess, speed, dodginess, size, etc. depending on what each specific coach is looking for in any given year. But if you were to go back and assess overall performance, I think the dominant denominator as to who actually sees the field and is a player at top 25 D1 level are the true athletes. So it is a great thing to use a sport to get into a better school than you would be able to attain without it, but make sure it is a place where you would be happy potentially riding the bench as that is the reality for so many players (35-40 players on the roster, 15-20 see actually time, sometimes less for the majority of the season.)

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for sharing. my DD is at a top all girls school and understand gpas are very different vs private. We are also aiming for NESCAC, so you perspective is very helpful. Debating if she shrouds drop honors to ensure an a vs a b+ or a- in honors.

I have a DC at a NESCAC. During pre-reads they will assess if your student is taking the most rigorous courseload available at their school. They will see through the ploy to drop honors in order to boost gpa.

Anonymous wrote:Stanford has extremely high academic standards for athletes. They sent my daughter a guide on meeting the academic threshold when she was a rising junior. She ultimately chose a school closer to home and ranked higher in lacrosse, but we got a clear view of just how high the academic threshold is. You need to have above a 4.0 gpa and top tier test scores.

This is not true for every player however. Recent Stanford admits have not had rigorous classes (no honors or AP) and no test scores. A strong gpa yes but easily attainable without hard courses.

Thank you for sharing. my DD is at a top all girls school and understand gpas are very different vs private. We are also aiming for NESCAC, so you perspective is very helpful. Debating if she shrouds drop honors to ensure an a vs a b+ or a- in honors.

Anonymous wrote:What was her gpa if you don’t mind sharing

It's a bit irrelevant, because, again, she's at one of the very rigorous area privates, but, I believe it was a 3.4 at the time of the pre-read (she struggled the second half of freshman year and got a C and she had straight As her entire senior year, including multiple advanced classes). Again, no judgement here, please, that's a very good GPA for her school. Especially for the top athletic recruit. Had she had that GPA with more advanced classes, it would have been a done deal.

What was her gpa if you don’t mind sharing

Anonymous wrote:My DD was advised by counselors experienced w recruiting to take regular math instead of honors if she couldn’t for sure get an A in honors. They said GPA matters more than level of course. If you can get an A in honors then great you are that much better off, but be sure. So she is taking regular to get an A and have a great GPA by end of 10th and then take more APs and honors 11th and 12th grade. Her private doesn’t allow you to take that many anyways. And it has good recruiting.

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This is not true if you're looking that the NESCAC schools (other than Trinity and Conn College). My DD was told she was the #1 top recruit by two high academic NESCAC programs. She did not pass the pre-read at either, both saying her academic rigor was not high enough. She was at a local very rigorous private, but taking the regular level courses, as she has severe ADHD. She's a great, hard-working student who would crush it at those schools, but their academic index, even for the most desired athletes (outside of football, that is), has zero flexibility. She's going to a top-25 D1 instead, just as an example of how different the NESCAC is when it comes to athletic recruiting. They require both rigor and high gpa.

My DD was advised by counselors experienced w recruiting to take regular math instead of honors if she couldn’t for sure get an A in honors. They said GPA matters more than level of course. If you can get an A in honors then great you are that much better off, but be sure. So she is taking regular to get an A and have a great GPA by end of 10th and then take more APs and honors 11th and 12th grade. Her private doesn’t allow you to take that many anyways. And it has good recruiting.

Anonymous wrote:4 honors classes (math, science, English, history) is the minimum for schools of that caliber. This isn't football where a recruiter can make $millions for the school.

There has to be a little give here? My DD attends a private that doesn’t allow girls to take 4 honors courses at once. Certainly that will be taken into account?

Stanford has extremely high academic standards for athletes. They sent my daughter a guide on meeting the academic threshold when she was a rising junior. She ultimately chose a school closer to home and ranked higher in lacrosse, but we got a clear view of just how high the academic threshold is. You need to have above a 4.0 gpa and top tier test scores.

Bowdoin is a great choice for a high academic D3. The girls lacrosse coach is great.