by fasterpitch92701 » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:38 pm
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.