Personally it would be great to hear more from people that have gone through to DII, NAIA, DIII and JC routes
While I tend to agree with fasterpitch that this board is more D1 focused than "D-other" I'll bite on the request. I've posted some of this earlier in various threads but FWIW some thoughts. BTW, my kid is a junior at a NESCAC school.
1) As was pointed out above, any answer, even "no" is better than no answer. Don't fear the "no". Just move on.
2) The recruiting process is far from perfect. If you pull your hair out at the draft selections of your favorite NFL team, just imagine how nuts you would be if they had to pick 9th and 10th graders. That's what many D1 college coaches face - I don't envy them, and there's no way they can get it right consistently. D-other coaches struggle just as much as they often have limited budgets and travel options.
3) Be realistic about where your DD slots in the talent competition. That means asking and listening to those who know. The sooner you can understand where she fits, the sooner you can get started on the right recruiting process.
4) Academics matter. They matter a lot at some schools and less at others, but there are no programs where coaches are not concerned with grades and the ability of the prospective athlete to make academic progress.
5) Carefully consider the "D" decision. The experience your DD will have is different at the different "D" levels. Even if your kid has the stuff to play at high level D1, that experience is not for everyone. There are kids playing D-other who were recruited to play D1 but opted for a different experience. Different strokes for different folks...
6) How did my kid get recruited? My kid is where she is b/c first, she smoked the SAT (never saw it coming) which caused us to have to regroup on target schools, and second: coach A talked to coach B at dinner one night in Colorado and mentioned my kid. We did all the stuff that you're supposed to do: emails, phone calls, videos, played for a top TB team, etc etc etc. All that work generated one small D-1 offer (walk-on w/ academic $), one IVY offer, and three DIII offers. But at the end, it came down to a dinner in Colorado.