Help with getting on College teams radar

[Crankymom]

SAT scores will help for showcases and recruiting camps, but I'd be cautious about taking the SAT as a freshman. Does your high school have freshman take the PSAT? I'd have her take the PSAT first so you have an idea of the potential SAT score range. Colleges never see the PSAT, so it is okay if you bomb it.

Be aware that some elite colleges require you to send in every SAT, SAT II and ACT score (taken from 9th grade on). A low freshman SAT score, as well as taking the SAT more than three or four times, can hurt your chances (not if you are a stud athlete, but a lesser athlete or just regular applicant).

This past year, my 10th grader decided to take the SAT. At first she said she would study, then it turned into just taking it to see how she would do. She came out of the test saying she would have done better if she had prepped...so she is taking it again this fall. However, given her PSAT scores, I wasn't concerned with her bombing it - she managed slightly over 2100. It gave her a score to list for showcases.

[Safebyahare]

Crankymom, What you wrote has validity, and in my experience (only one kid) it worked out well.
Mine did not take till fall of sophomore year. That is the test if I could have her do over would have been at the end of her freshman year.
Why? The material is fresh to preform the test, and once signed up the extra information that is offered is awesome.
It was a great tracker of where she needed to be. You don't want to be at the gate of college and blow this one.
Time slots are limited. Math for example, she got her best math score at end of sophomore year,,why?
There is more algebra on test than calculus. Plus only scores in each category go up, nothing goes down.
My kid was not a genius or brainiac, she was a solid 3.0, so every step counted.
Every kid is different, and goals very, it was just my .02cents on how to get on map and be ahead of curve.

PS For a third post Crankymom,,,,great logic and reasoning and advise. You are on the game.

[exD1dad]

Sorry crankymom but you're wrong about SAT scores, doesn't matter how many times you take them, what matters is getting the required number. If your DD gets it that's all coaches care about, & in regards to "elite" schools same with GPA, ya gotta have the number & different sports teams have different qualifying numbers & those differ between schools. Yale for instance wont budge on anything GPA or SAT score. Other Ivy's will, and as expected football & basketball have lower requirements than other sports. Penn has a very high standards for softball players as well.

Now should a kid be on the bubble the fact that they improved academically through their HS career means alot in both SAT & GPA to admissions.

There's a player now in the Ivy league who only wanted to go to only that league, but she couldn't get the SAT scores(had the GPA because most of LA county public schools suck), she tried & tried & every school dropped her..but 1. That coach said "I will wait & hold a spot for you" So the mom goes to a doctor & gets the kid diagnosed with ADD they submit it to the College Board (the SAT people) & the girl gets an extra 2 1/2 hours to take the test. She makes the necessary 1800 to fit in the 265 point Academic Index that the Ivy's use & there you go. Now like the stealing sign argument "part of the game"..."bush league" depending on your personal opinion, what this women did (for her child to achieve her dreams) is viewed by many as cheating & she's seen as an opportunist by others...but that's another thread

[as the world turns]

There's a player now in the Ivy league who only wanted to go to only that league, but she couldn't get the SAT scores(had the GPA because most of LA county public schools suck), she tried & tried & every school dropped her..but 1. That coach said "I will wait & hold a spot for you" So the mom goes to a doctor & gets the kid diagnosed with ADD they submit it to the College Board (the SAT people) & the girl gets an extra 2 1/2 hours to take the test. She makes the necessary 1800 to fit in the 265 point Academic Index that the Ivy's use & there you go. Now like the stealing sign argument "part of the game"..."bush league" depending on your personal opinion, what this women did (for her child to achieve her dreams) is viewed by many as cheating & she's seen as an opportunist by others...but that's another thread

It is no secret that the Ivy League Schools are not of the same quality as they were 20-30 years ago. They have watered down their admission standards in order to comply to the political special interest groups. This past year there has been articles about increased crime, mass cheating, and revolting indoctrination, for example, Harvard allowing the Satanic Black Mass to happen, public outcry caused the group holding it to cancel it. I would never send my kid there. My neighbor's boy graduated from Harvard this past spring and guess what - living at home with no job and a ton of debt. It use to be that a person with an 1800 SAT would struggle terribly at these institutions, maybe not anymore.

[exD1dad]

As the world turns you sound like my older brother (whose kids went to West Point & UNC)

Patriot League wont look at you unless you have 1800 or higher either, Bucknell is 1 of those teams that if you don't go to their camp they wont spit your way.

One way to approach taking the SAT multiple times is that you are practicing just like you practice in fielding & hitting. My oldest DD is like me, bombs exams, the '15 like my father (U Penn) brother & niece & nephew.

Hare makes an outstanding point concerning the mix & match potential of getting the highest total score & what he said about the math version is dead on

[as the world turns]

Personally, I think the Patriot League offers a better product than the Ivy's

[as the world turns]

This past year, my 10th grader decided to take the SAT. At first she said she would study, then it turned into just taking it to see how she would do. She came out of the test saying she would have done better if she had prepped...so she is taking it again this fall. However, given her PSAT scores, I wasn't concerned with her bombing it - she managed slightly over 2100. It gave her a score to list for showcases.

So cranky, how did your DD score a 2100 on the PSAT? Or did she score a 2100 on the SAT as a sophomore?

[Crankymom]

DD scored a 2100+ on the SAT as a sophomore. Equivalent PSAT scores freshman and sophomore year (PSAT score x 10 = SAT score) were less than her SAT score, but fairly close.

I think it depends what the OP's kid wants to do. If she is clearly DI material, then maybe take the SAT as a freshman (I'd still wait until I saw PSAT results). If she might go the DIII route and expects to go to a great academic DIII and play softball, then I would be cautious about taking the SAT early and often.

When my eldest was a freshman, she wanted to play softball in college (DIII). She did have a few places she could have played (coaches were very interested), and the schools were very good academically (not so much in softball). For various reasons, she did not want to attend these schools. Say your kid goes that route, then decides she wants to apply to a few Ivy League schools. Having a 1500/2400 on the SAT score report and taking the SAT six times is not going to help in admissions.

My eldest has friends that were recruited DI athletes, and yes, 1800 seems to be about the minimum for most academically elite DI schools. Middle kid - the one who took the SAT this past year - was taking the SAT in the same room as another sophomore who was taking the SAT for recruitment purposes. The kid has two older sisters who play DI in their sport at academically elite schools. The sister who scored around 1800 is doing fine academically, but the one who scored around 1650 is struggling (you can see their scores in Naviance, which is a great way to see if you are in the academic ballpark for admission at a school).

I agree with the poster who said that the kid should email coaches a lot. The kids with the best recruitment results seem to be really on top of keeping in contact with the coaches. And once the OP's kid has PSAT or SAT scores, maybe she can attend Pennsbury Academic Recruiting Camp. I know some of the coaches there didn't even watch my eldest, but the SAT and ACT scores got her interest from some DIIIs.

[jonriv]

A warning about Naviance is that it shows students from just your school district that applied/attended those schools over the past few years. I recommend using College Prowler- their results reflect a much larger group.

[Crankymom]

Yes, Naviance isn't perfect. College Prowler is another resource, and read the results threads on College Confidential.

One thing we assume the OP knows - his 2018 will have to take the new SAT starting spring of sophomore year. I'm pretty sure colleges would still accept the 2400 format score, but something to consider.

Try the ACT as well (or PLAN - the PSAT equivakent, though they don't seem to offer it around here).