Recruiting at D3 liberal arts colleges?

One school I would really recommend is Washington and Lee in Va. It sits in the Shenandoah valley..Excellent academics and has a decent DIII team..

Also if its not too late ..Check out the following..

Dickenson College

Allegehany University

Bridgewater College

Farewell Petey wrote:

Why anyone would spend four years of his or her life in Williamstown is unfathomable. Sure, it's a great school with an amazing distance program, but you have to deal with winter 24/7 and get to eat at the one restaurant in town.

Williams is overrated. Go to Amherst, Bowdoin, or Midd.

The point about Williamstown is valid. It doesn't have much of a main street, at least compared to Amherst. However, there's still plenty of stuff to do, at least if you're 'outdoorsy'. The hills and trails are great for training/hiking/biking/x-country skiing, etc.

Also, every NESCAC school faces pretty much the same cold winters. If anything, Bowdoin has the coldest winters out of the four colleges mentioned. I wouldn't single out any NESCAC school because of the weather.

The Midwest or East are the most stacked areas for D3 running. I have bias towards the Midwest as I go to a D3 school there, now. What makes my decision interesting in coming here is that I was recruited at low-key D1 programs and did my high school running in North Carolina. So I left the east to go to the midwest.

If you want the best college education while still running at the best program in the country, I would look at Carleton College in Minnesota. I don't go there, but I wish I would have! Their women's team boasts some of the best runners I've ever seen, and their staple mark is taking in new runners and making them in to all-americans. They also boast some of the most prestigious academics in all of the country, amongst all divisions. Highly recommend it. Just don't be shocked by the sticker price of their tuition, they provide ample financial aid.

@PhilEsten, thx for input as Carleton is high on her list. She was worried about it being too far from home so we'll see after we take a trip out there this summer. In the meantime, she'll be reaching out to the coach to learn more as the student athlete experience there looks amazing.

Have you considered any New York schools? Vassar and Hamilton have strong academics, while St. Lawrence is a perennial powerhouse

D3forreal, Absolutely, my daughter has toured both Vassar and Hamilton - she liked both of them and both would be great choices. In addition, she has communicated with the coaches from both schools so both are definitely on her list.

Proud of her that she's done the hard work in the class room and now with x-country and track to be able to be considered a potential student athlete by such great schools - running with her HS teammates meanes a lot to her and she can't wait to be able to continue the journey at the collegiate level.

Carleton is great, but keep in mind the aid is all need based and not merit based.

OP, read the DIII girls drinking thread here on Letsrun. That's a prerequisite.

V1 V2 Gunde wrote:

OP, read the DIII girls drinking thread here on Letsrun. That's a prerequisite.

Someone posted a link to it on page one- after hearing about it so much- I didn't think it was good at all. Maybe there was another thread about D3 women that was funny-

On another note, among the perennial D3 women's xc top teams, it seems many have coaches that must be near retirement. Will the coaches usually be open to questions about future leadership, how long they will continue, succession planning, etc.?

She won't be running after college. Go to Amherst or Williams. It's that simple.

No Washington & Lee

No Carleton

No Hamilton

If she doesn't get into Amherst or Williams, fine, then consider the other options. But as far as liberal arts schools go, those are the obvious choices.

Christopher Newport University in Newport News. VA

Coach Matthew Barreau knows what he is doing.

I'm sure she has Instagram. Their account: @cnuxc gives good insight into the culture of the program.

Very easy school to get into academically. Perhaps she could get a scholarship based on her test scores.

@Think this through, yes, she loved Williams the moment she stepped on campus and would be honored to be admitted as a student in Fall 2017 and be able to run for the team.

[quote]Think this through wrote:

She won't be running after college. Go to Amherst or Williams. It's that simple.

No Washington & Lee

No Carleton

No Hamilton

If she doesn't get into Amherst or Williams, fine, then consider the other options. But as far as liberal arts schools go, those are the obvious choices.[/quote

Well- each student needs to make the best choice- and no matter how good those colleges are, they aren't the best choice for all. So it isn't really that simple.

@Not all the same, agree, there are many great LAC's out there and quite a few are being considered as fits for her as everyone needs a mix of reach, target and safety schools that they would be happy to attend and excel at.

Lots of expensive options listed here.

If you want something cheaper, consider SUNY Geneseo. It's NYS' public honors college, and certainly qualifies as a liberal arts college. The program is very strong - men were 3rd, women were 2nd at D3 XC Nats in 2015.

go to haverford.

@Oh no, yes, we toured Haverford two weeks ago - it's definitely high on her list as the academics and athletics are what she is looking for. Do you have experience with any of the teams there?

Why not look in to NIRCA clubs? Most of them compete at varsity meets and are much less of a time commitment. I have a few friends who have gone from d3 at a liberal arts college to NIRCA and say they like club just as much if not better.

Three of my four high school coaches were Haverford alums and spoke fairly highly of the school. They were all pretty good runners in their prime and were also teachers in three different subjects in addition to being coaches.

I've also liked all of the current members of their team that I've met, although that's a pretty small sample size (three guys and one girl).

Overall seems like a pretty good place.