Grades

[jonriv]

My DD was cleaning out her e-mail folders and came across this from a NESAC (div III school)-one of the "little ivies"

Thank you for sending your transcript. After reviewing it, I feel that it will be very difficult for you to gain admission to ________, as our admissions office is seeking students with a minimum GPA of 90 and in the top 10% of their class, with the the following test scores: 700/700/700 median SAT critical reading/math/writing and a 31 median ACT composite score.

Grades are the "secret weapon" in recruiting. They provide more choices to the recruit and make them far more marketable for a school. Softball can give a very good student the edge they need over their peer applicants to get into some very prestigious colleges and universities.

As a coach told us on an interview- "I need players that will make grades- you are no use to me if you are academically inelegible and can't travel with us"

[Heyall]

What is a GPA of 90?

Clearly, this was a fairly prestigious school!

[jonriv]

3.8 - 4.0


The grades from that school are about the same for all of the schools in the NESAC (Bowdoin, Bates, Tufts, Hamilton etc.......) Some are harder to get into than the Ivies because of their small size 1500-3000 undergrads

[brewtusplease]

We heard the same thing when our first was heading into high school. She pushed herself and we stayed on top of the grades her freshman/sophomore years to make sure that the GPA and top 10% were there. It made an enormous difference on the number and quality of schools that were interested. Several universities saw her in the field and the first question that was asked to our 'recruiter' was 'What kind of student is she?' One asked 'Do you have a hs transcript?' Absofreakinglutely we do...

And with that, we directly saw the inverse with a very good softball player that did not pay attention the first two years of HS and ended up with few options.

She pushed herself hard through all 4 years of highschool. I mention the first 2 in its importance since being recruited as a Junior, the 1st 2 years are all that will be available to the college to get an idea of who she is academically. (besides SAT/ACT) I guess I state the obvious...but oh well.

[fasterpitch92701]

The comments on what it takes, grade wise, at a NESCAC are spot on. It depends on what you want and what is your priority. If you are enamored with the concept of saying "My daughter plays D1 softball" and that's your criteria and main focus...... and you realize that many schools don't have NESCAC-type entry requirements, you can get a good education, play D1... and that's great!!! However, looking beyond softball…

NESCAC takes the concept of student athlete very seriously. DD visited several. At one... I won't mentiion the schools name but it's in WILLIAMStown, MA... the coach (very good, by the way) noted that my DD's SAT's at 2170 were acceptable but the coach would prefer she retake and aim at 2250 or higher. At the school my DD will be attending (same SAT criteria) the sb team is flooded with pre-med, chem, bio and math students. During DD's acceptance period the coach wanted constant updates on classes and grades. Williams and DD's school both expect students to take several AP courses through their senior year because they want a HEAVY work load to prepare them for attending classes with an even heavier work load. Why? Because NESCAC schools are feeder schools to Harvard, Stanford and Yale medical schools (among others) as well as a host of high end graduate schools.

The point: 3 prime considerations for getting the best recruiting options, IMHO, are grades, grades and grades.

DD was at a tournament 2 years ago and Harvard stopped by looking at the team bio sheet. Our asst coach handed the sheet and said the Harvard coach looked down the list and only checked GPA’s, stopping at DD’s 4.31. She asked “who’s that, where is she”? The H coach said “we have a team GPA of 4.0 and will not sacrifice that, period”. It’s is as simple, clinical and as cutthroat as that. Harvard wasn’t on DD’s preference short list but the point is… grades, grades, grades. With great grades you can go almost anywhere. Without great grades the opportunities typically become contracted.

All IMHO. I have seen some phenomenal softball athletes with low GPA’s. They may get into “a college” but even if they do their chances of graduating are small. Not intended as a “snobby” comment, rather, looking out 20-25 years from now… typically…the better the education the better the ticket on life. DD has no regrets for foregoing some of her social life and other opportunities. I think softball really helped her get into her “first choice” school but without grades “first choice” would mean nothing.

[jonriv]

well said
fasterpitch92701

Many athletes seem to lose sight of this(parents as well) The more complete package the recruit is- the more options-

softball ability- grades- attitude are all important

[90066DAD]

My DD was cleaning out her e-mail folders and came across this from a NESAC (div III school)-one of the "little ivies"

Thank you for sending your transcript. After reviewing it, I feel that it will be very difficult for you to gain admission to ________, as our admissions office is seeking students with a minimum GPA of 90 and in the top 10% of their class, with the the following test scores: 700/700/700 median SAT critical reading/math/writing and a 31 median ACT composite score.

Grades are the "secret weapon" in recruiting. They provide more choices to the recruit and make them far more marketable for a school. Softball can give a very good student the edge they need over their peer applicants to get into some very prestigious colleges and universities.

As a coach told us on an interview- "I need players that will make grades- you are no use to me if you are academically inelegible and can't travel with us"

I agree that a student-athlete’s GPA is critical in the recruiting process. For the vast majority of softball players, a solid GPA will get you in the door if the softball coach wants you.

But when you start looking at the elite academic schools in the NESCAC, or the likes of Swarthmore, M.I.T., Pomona College, etc., the standardized test score becomes the deciding factor. As noted above, those schools expect their recruited athletes to score 2100+ on the SAT or 31+ on the ACT. Those are 96th percentile type scores, which I believe are far less common than the 4.0+ GPAs.

[anonlooker]

And for everyone else there is always Arizona, or Ohio State.

[Blind Squirrel]

And with that, we directly saw the inverse with a very good softball player that did not pay attention the first two years of HS and ended up with few options.

I suspect that a lot of folks won't like this but there are more than a few reputable D1 colleges that will take kids with a sub-3.0 GPA and matching level of SAT scores. In fact, what I saw was the number of schools that were scared away by sub-3.0 were significantly out numbered by those that were quite enthusiastic/aggressive in their recruiting.

I'm not arguing that grades/scores don't matter. And there are certainly some fantastic schools that won't take kids without stellar grades/scores. I just think the recruiting picture being painted in here should be as complete and accurate as possible.

Socrates Squirrel

[jonriv]

In fact, what I saw was the number of schools that were scared away by sub-3.0 were significantly out numbered by those that were quite enthusiastic/aggressive in their recruiting.

If an eduction is the real goal- I think I might be scared away by those schools!!!

As Groucho Marx said, " I would not join a club that would have me as a member"