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NESCAC information

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by jonriv » Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:23 am

Sorry I took so long to jump in. As mentioned my DD did not play in the NESCAC, but at Babson College in the NEWMAC. She did play several NESCAC teams while at Babson(they played at least 2 games vs Tufts every year) She was also recruited by some NESCAC schools and attended 2(excellent) softball camps at Tufts hosted by coach Cheryl Milligan. One of her friends and High School teammates played at Bowdoin College and loved it. Bowdoin has some of the best rated college dining food including frequent lobster nights(it is in Maine!)

Congrats on being considered for a NESCAC school. These are some of the most academically challenging schools in the country. They are often referred to as the "little ivies" and have very loyal and wealthy alumni. With the exception of Tufts and Trinity, they are all located in very rural and beautiful locations. Hamilton and Amherst have some of the most beautiful campuses you will ever see,

The softball teams are all very competitive and Tufts has one a few National Championships recently. They are broken into two divisions(east & west) and do not have any fall games

As far as recruiting- Grades, Grades and Grades!!! Coaches have little to no wiggle room when it comes to getting athletes in. Frankly if your daughter does not have the academic chops it would not be good to go to one of these schools since the academics could be overwhelming. Where athletics gives an advantage is that it gives the athlete a leg up on similar applicants without athletics. The coaches also have the ability to tag applications of academically qualified athletes they have recruited.

Good luck-New England is a beautiful place.
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by hit4power » Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:00 pm

TRBear,

My DD played for a NESCAC school (Williams) and graduated in '16. She had a fantastic experience overall, but it is demanding.
You asked about recruiting...
1) These schools have variable recruiting (travel) budgets with Williams, Amherst, and Tufts probably the three schools that do the most national recruiting. Therefore, it's important to try to attend their camps if you can, especially if you are looking at one of the other schools that have historically done less recruiting outside of the NE. One good thing is that since these are small schools, it's not too hard to make contact with the coaches and make your interest known and since the camps are generally small your DD will get a good lookover by the coach.
2) As far as grades/test scores it depends on the school to some extent. Someone may stone me for this, but the academic threshold at WIlliams and perhaps Amherst is higher than at the other schools, though none of them are slouches. My DD had 2100 SAT but the kids on the team ranged from around 1800 to a perfect 2400. Grades are harder to comment on since so much depends on the HS. To be honest, when my DD was there, the kids that attended public HS (even with straight A's and a lot AP) generally struggled more to make grades than the kids who attended private HS. Jonriv nailed it when he said that if your DD doesn't have the ability to hang academically, then don't go. Graduating with a 2.3GPA even from one of these schools is not helpful to your job prospects.
3) And finally, just my $0.02, but consider these points as well: Play for a winning program if you can - losing sucks and college softball at all levels is really hard work. Play for a team that has a track record of getting to post season (conf championship and/or NCAA) - those games are the best. Play for a school that has rivals - rivalry games are what get you out of bed at 5am to go lift weights. And finally, play for a school where you'll be happy even if softball comes to an end. It doesn't get talked about very much out here, but a large number of girls see their softball careers end long before graduation. Good Luck!
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by fasterpitch92701 » Tue Jan 09, 2018 7:30 pm

Comscott, congratulations on Amherst. My daughter graduated from Amherst two years back, playing volleyball for two years and softball for four years, catcher and third, slapping lead-off, MVP. Playing two sports lasted only the first two years as the time involved and the required course/class time makes two sports a "challenge" and softball was the priority. All of the NESCAC schools are extremely good. Personally, a bit over the edge for me as they tend to be very liberal/PC, but that's only my opinion (and my opinion doesn't count). Regardless, it is also a good networking school for "what are you going to do after...".

As others have noted, college is a temporary transition time. You don't go to a NESCAC school to play softball. You go to get an education and have a great time playing very competitive softball while you are there. You go there because you would want to be there with or without softball. Daughter has NO regrets going to Amherst or playing softball and talks and meets with former players often, going back for homecoming weekends, talking with the coaches..... nothing but positive. Good rivalries are essential and schools like Tufts and The Evil Empire, aka, Williams, enjoy it as well. Regardless, daughter is now at Stanford Med School and Amherst played an important role in getting her there.

And, yes, the 3 most important things that allow you to be able to pick a schools you want, stand a very reasonable chance of getting noticed and getting accepted are..... grades..... grades...... grades. There are several dads on this forum who understand just how important that is and it is reflected in their daughters getting into quality schools, doing well while they were there and then graduating with good prospects for the future. Those fathers should be proud. And are.

Again, congratulations !

Enjoy,
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by comscott » Wed Jan 10, 2018 7:19 pm

Kurt,
Thanks for the kind words. It seems like only yesterday we were welcomed into the Amherst family down in Florida. And now we will be making our last trip with DD #1 for her final season of softball. There has been a lot of great memories for us parents carrying on the tradition of shared housing for the trip and great friendships have been made for us and our daughters. I think that is one of the big things that the D1 parents are not privy too, as far as being able to interact with our daughters on trips. I'm glad to hear that Kelsey is doing well ( which I already knew since the girls seem to all stay in touch). Roll Mammoths!!

Scott (Gina's dad)
P.S.
We really enjoyed all the photos you take back then!
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by fasterpitch92701 » Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:59 pm

Scott... the photos were fun. I especially liked the candid, non-posed ones that I managed to sneak in. And it seems most of the parents and players liked them as well. And, yes, the family and player dinners are/were great. Everyone seemed to have a very good time. The effort by the organizers was significant but absolutely worth it. So, your mission is to enjoy Gina on the mound burning the plate for one last season. It should be a great year !!! Go Mammoths !!

Enjoy,
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by TRbear » Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:50 am

Thanks to everyone who responded and gave great color on NESCAC softball. My daughter definitely is looking for the high academics as well as competitive softball. The way the season is scheduled and the limits imposed on practice/game time/workouts by the conference would give her the opportunity to take part in other aspects of college (internships, study abroad, etc.) that are also important to her. She will thrive in that ype of environment. She will be visiting several of the NESCAC schools in February and she'll be attending several camps (the first being this weekend) where NESCAC coaches will are attending or hosting. She is looking forward to the experience.
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