My fellow track recruits and or college coaches, I need your help.

More importantly what do you want to major in and do for a career?

Do yourself a big favor and go to the best school you can get in to and one that you may not have gotten in if not for your gift of running. Also, make sure you want to be there even if you don’t run a step in college.

Signed,

DI girl’s dad.

I hope to major in marketing or communications. Both areas that hold great interest for me.

@TrackDaddy thank you. I was hoping the visits would help me get a feel for the actual school.

justasprinter wrote:

@TrackDaddy thank you. I was hoping the visits would help me get a feel for the actual school.

NP. To your question: unofficial visits are only characterized by one thing - the school can not pay for anything on your trip. They can only give you up to 3 tickets to a game (typically football). My daughter’s unofficial visits ran the gamut from a 1-2 hour meeting and campus tour, to a 2-day visit to meet the team where everything was paid for by us (travel, food, hotel, etc). It really is up to you, the coach, and your parents as to how long you will be there and what you do. We chose to take unofficial visits to schools close enough to drive to and official visits (paid for by the school) to the schools where she had a plane flight. That way we made the most of the 5 official visits allowed by the NCAA.

Good luck, enjoy this time. Remember, the balance of power changes after you sign so make sure you talk to the girls on the team about what the coach is really like and what is truly going to be expected of you.

I think Daddy's advice is a bit off. Had my daughter followed it, she would have ended up at an Ivy. Over her head academically and in debt. My advice is go to the best school where indeed running did help you get in but where you still fall into at least the 25 percent range of thier standards. Aim for top 5 but not top 2 on the team in your event. Inspect the roster to see the staying power of the runners. If not many Jr. or Sr. that actually started as freshmen, ask yourself why.

notreally wrote:

I think Daddy's advice is a bit off. Had my daughter followed it, she would have ended up at an Ivy. Over her head academically and in debt. My advice is go to the best school where indeed running did help you get in but where you still fall into at least the 25 percent range of thier standards. Aim for top 5 but not top 2 on the team in your event. Inspect the roster to see the staying power of the runners. If not many Jr. or Sr. that actually started as freshmen, ask yourself why.

I agree with both of these clarifications. Don’t get in over your head in academics or on a team. Looking at the roster is key to understanding a critical part of the team culture and what contributes to it or detracts from it. The good news is that college kids are typically very honest about what is going on with the team. If you ask enough questions, you will find out the true story.

When are student track athletes typically asked on official visits?

justasprinter wrote:

When are student track athletes typically asked on official visits?

You should start getting invites soon to set up visits in August through the November signing period. While you can’t invite yourself, you can be proactive with the schools you want to visit by contacting the coach and telling them how much you are interested in their school. Make sure you know your schedule ahead of time (this is much easier if you are not in XC) so you can respond quickly to a request.

Note: Coaches are currently trying to digest the new rules that allow them to offer official visits to rising juniors as of September 1.

Thanks! Also do you mean the new rules say that can't invite students until September 1st or the students are allowed on campus for official visits on September 1st?

WELCOME TO BATES

justasprinter wrote:

Thanks! Also do you mean the new rules say that can't invite students until September 1st or the students are allowed on campus for official visits on September 1st?

The coach can make the invitation at any time. By the new rules, official visits can take place as follows: rising seniors can be on campus as of 8/1; rising juniors as of 9/1.

I think this question depends a lot on your financial situation. The schools you listed are all over the country. My family could not have afforded for me to visit all of these schools, maybe only even one. Similarly the cost of these schools also is something that is not trivial.

That said, I think either way, you need to start with thinking about what you want to do after college or at least what you would be interested in majoring in. Then look at which schools fit best with that. Consider the locations. Are you ok with moving across the country and only being able to travel home a couple times during the school year?

Financial aid at d3 schools is going to be a mix of need-based and academic scholarships, the exact mix depends on the school. I have intimate knowledge of UChicago as it turns out. I can tell you there won't be any academic scholarships, but any family that makes under $125k per year pays no tuition. The total bill with no financial aid I think runs like $65k per year maybe. That said, it is an incredible academic institution.

I realize this doesn't address any of your questions regarding recruiting, but maybe some things to consider. I think an important thing on recruiting trips would be try to figure out how you fit into the team. How good is the team you're looking at, what the top times for your event, what does the conference look like, are they competitive within the conference, how many people are on the team, how many are sprinters, does the team do any trips to meets, training trips, etc. Even though you shouldn't be basing your college decision on the track team, it is important because it will be a significant portion of your time and friends most likely.

Being a sprinter and your choice of schools, pick the one that you like the best. None of them are good in sprints.

When you stated lower D1 that's your way of saying you are not being recruited significantly by D1 schools. Do you want to be a borderline JV athlete at a D1 school? As far as academic reputation, University of Chicago is a very impressive school. Those who know, know that University of Chicago was one of the original ten universities in Big Ten Conference. University of Chicago as I assume you know is D3 now.

I sprinted for Bowdoin. The D3 recruiting process seems similar for most schools, where you submit your academic materials (transcript, small resume, etc.) and get a "pre-read" done by admissions. They give feedback on your chances of being admitted, and at Bowdoin this early feedback seems consistent with later admission or lack thereof. They will still look for a challenging course load and strong grades/SAT scores regardless of how good you are. You can get by if you have challenging courses and a good SAT score even if your grades aren't up to par. Bowdoin is test-optional so if you took challenging courses and got good grades, but didn't do well on the SATs, that could well for you as well. If you're academically qualified and would be a major contributor to the team, your chances of admission are pretty good. Way better than the 10.6% chance everyone else has of getting in who applies. You won't get any money from the team, or from financial aid just because you're on the team. It's possible you could still get good financial aid if you really need it.

That said, you shouldn't let an acceptance rate or prestige determine where you go to school. Brunswick is cold, wet, and snowy most of the year. Campus only has around 1750 kids on it at any given time. I've settled in, but I might've made a different choice if I had known I wanted a warmer environment with more young people around. It's hard to know exactly what you want when many high schools indoctrinate their students with the idea that they need to try for the Ivy League, and then at least for schools close to that tier. Just think about where you'll be the happiest and most successful and most at ease with the other students and opportunities around you.

What do you want to do for a career? What is your plan B? I would prioritize cost and school prestige for job placement over anything.

Also, what city sounds the most appealing to live in for 4+ years?

I attend a school very similar to several of the schools you have listed (D3). From my experience, my overnight visits is visiting the campus for 24 hours. So, arrive in the early afternoon, go to a class with a member of the team, watch the team practice, go to dinner with the team at the dining hall, then maybe go to an on campus event (think lecture or fun crafty event, not-alcohol related) or to the library to study and then head back to your host's dorm room (you sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag or inflatable mattress, get breakfast at the dining hall, attend another class, lunch at the dining hall and a final talk with the coach before leaving campus. So, you're responsible for travel to and from campus, but the athletic department gives passes to athletics for recruits to eat in the dining hall for meals on campus from my experience.

It sounds like for your August unofficial visit, you'll talk to the coach, they might give you a tour of campus, and if anyone on the team happens to be on campus you might talk to them. It all depends if their pre-season or classes have started yet.

My school (D3) is known for its good financial aid, so anyone, regardless if they are a student-athlete or not, can receive need- based financial aid, no merit aid is offered. With your list of D3 schools being on the expensive side, financial aid will surely be helpful so college can be affordable for you and your family. It's just submitting your FAFSA and the other necessary documents. If you visit the campuses of the D3 schools, make sure to talk to the financial aid office, and if your parent brings you to the campus, it will be valuable for them to talk to the financial aid office as well. You could also give them a call or send an email. While the coach cannot influence how much financial aid you receive, they most likely have experience with the financial aid office.

Before you make your final decision, make sure to visit campus when the team members are there, then you can get a real feel for what being a student-athlete at that school is like and understand what the coach is really like and what they expect of you. And make sure you get along with the team members! You will be spending a lot of time with them, and you want to make sure they are people you want to be around!