Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 22:56     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This happens quite often with high academic student athletes choosing a Top 10 or Top 20 option over D2 and/or D3 offer(s)


Forgot to add: if your child is interested in a difficult major (think, pre-med or engineering) and/or studying abroad, the possibility of playing a major D1 team sport is really unusual. If both (rigorous major AND study abroad), I’m not sure any D1 program would allow them to do that - in my experience, they wouldn’t be a viable recruit in most, if not all team sports. There’s just too little time to accomplish all of those goals.

You can leave the sport after getting recruited.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 22:49     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:My kid and many of her friends at UVA made the same decision. Is the grind really worth it, if they end up a lower academic universities just to play their sport?

Plenty of top academic D3 and D1 schools.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 22:49     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:Yes. My daughter was recruitable at several top LACs but decided to ED to another school based on her broader interests. She was top 10 percent in her graduating class, high rigor, 1590 SAT, NMSF, strong ECs (besides sport). No regrets: got accepted and will play club.
Why didn't she recruit to her ED school? Was it D1?
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 22:48     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:Learning a lot about recruiting and college process. Did anyone's child decide not to play based on where they were recruited? My kid is extremely bright and not sure the stars will align, especially having to commit before all acceptances come through.
If your kids is bright and recruit material, they should just find an Ivy or academic d3 they like and target it.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 21:31     Subject: Re:Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes. DD was a 4-year Varsity athlete. She was even a section-leader her senior year, which is important to demonstrate leadership.

She earned admission to a public Ivy, but won’t be pursuing her sport in college.

Academics come first.


What is a public ivy?



It’s a term that’s been in common usage for nearly fifty years.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:48     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It goes both ways. Over this weekend at my DS's well regarded private school, the best senior on the boys soccer team, who is strong academically, committed to a regional D3 public university to keep playing. My mind was blown.


That’s really common in boy’s soccer. Most of the commits you see in the area aren’t top schools. Those schools are near impossible for a 17-18 year old American kid. Some rosters are all international, transfer portal players.


+1 Went to see Dartmouth mens soccer play Cornell last year and when they introduced the starting lineup there was only one American starting for Dartmouth -- rest of lineup was international. And that is a no-scholarship school in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:43     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It goes both ways. Over this weekend at my DS's well regarded private school, the best senior on the boys soccer team, who is strong academically, committed to a regional D3 public university to keep playing. My mind was blown.


That’s really common in boy’s soccer. Most of the commits you see in the area aren’t top schools. Those schools are near impossible for a 17-18 year old American kid. Some rosters are all international, transfer portal players.


It’s very very different on the girl’s side.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:42     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:It goes both ways. Over this weekend at my DS's well regarded private school, the best senior on the boys soccer team, who is strong academically, committed to a regional D3 public university to keep playing. My mind was blown.


That’s really common in boy’s soccer. Most of the commits you see in the area aren’t top schools. Those schools are near impossible for a 17-18 year old American kid. Some rosters are all international, transfer portal players.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:32     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:It goes both ways. Over this weekend at my DS's well regarded private school, the best senior on the boys soccer team, who is strong academically, committed to a regional D3 public university to keep playing. My mind was blown.


I think this seems more typical of a strong athlete who loves the sport (sport over academics) unless the kid is very top in academics.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:29     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
It goes both ways. Over this weekend at my DS's well regarded private school, the best senior on the boys soccer team, who is strong academically, committed to a regional D3 public university to keep playing. My mind was blown.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 20:12     Subject: Re:Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes. DD was a 4-year Varsity athlete. She was even a section-leader her senior year, which is important to demonstrate leadership.

She earned admission to a public Ivy, but won’t be pursuing her sport in college.

Academics come first.


What is a public ivy?


It’s a made up term that sounds ridiculous to others when someone employs it. They mean UVA, Michigan, maybe Berkeley. [/quote

This sounds ridiculous. I just googled it and see it was a phrase from the 1980s! Just say "state flagship" because it sounds so try-hard to say "public ivy" let alone say "she earned admission to a public ivy." The only reason to say that is to try and portray more prestige than otherwise exists for that school. Not dissing these schools at all but it just sounds ridiculous to use this term. (It's like saying "my kid is a doctor-lite" when the kid is a physician's assistant. Nothing wrong at all with being a PA, but to make it sound more than it is sounds insufferable)!!
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 18:50     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Anonymous wrote:My student had offers from D3s and tiny D1s as an athlete. Academically, she was accepted to multiple T30 “sweatshirt” schools. Ultimately, she decided on one of those and has no regrets. Her school’s club and intermural teams are full of kids who were in the same situation. She received merit aid from her school and is playing sports for fun while majoring in engineering.


What is a sweatshirt school?
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 18:39     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
Yes, most of the kids we know in D1 were “undecided” or sociology. The few who went in as STEM majors switched by second semester.

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This happens quite often with high academic student athletes choosing a Top 10 or Top 20 option over D2 and/or D3 offer(s)


Forgot to add: if your child is interested in a difficult major (think, pre-med or engineering) and/or studying abroad, the possibility of playing a major D1 team sport is really unusual. If both (rigorous major AND study abroad), I’m not sure any D1 program would allow them to do that - in my experience, they wouldn’t be a viable recruit in most, if not all team sports. There’s just too little time to accomplish all of those goals.
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 18:34     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
This.

Anonymous wrote:I think there is definitely kids who could play at a D3 or lower tier D1 who choose to go to a "better" school (could be better fit, better academics, better major, whatever) and not do the sport.

In my DD's friend group- there is only one athlete who has an opportunity to go to a top school for athletics and academics. The rest is kind of a mix of being able to play club at Virginia Tech vs playing at College of Wooster (nothing against Wooster but the kid would prefer VT)
Anonymous
Post 02/08/2026 18:32     Subject: Anyone's athlete not pursue being recruited
My student had offers from D3s and tiny D1s as an athlete. Academically, she was accepted to multiple T30 “sweatshirt” schools. Ultimately, she decided on one of those and has no regrets. Her school’s club and intermural teams are full of kids who were in the same situation. She received merit aid from her school and is playing sports for fun while majoring in engineering.