So, Where DO you apply?

[futurestar]

The recent discussion in the Division I recruit thread brings up another question in my mind. Rather than take that thread further off course, I thought I'd start another.

Let's say you are a talented hockey player but with "less than Ivy League SAT's and GPA". To what schools do you apply? Do you try for Harvard (or Cornell as the D I thread suggests) and hope for a tip from the coach and a basket weaving major will get you through? Do you give up hope and look at some of the D IIIs?

Where DO you apply?

Please, no actual SAT scores or GPAs...

[Black Bear]

The recent discussion in the Division I recruit thread brings up another question in my mind. Rather than take that thread further off course, I thought I'd start another.

Let's say you are a talented hockey player but with "less than Ivy League SAT's and GPA". To what schools do you apply? Do you try for Harvard (or Cornell as the D I thread suggests) and hope for a tip from the coach and a basket weaving major will get you through? Do you give up hope and look at some of the D IIIs?

Where DO you apply?

Please, no actual SAT scores or GPAs...

First option is to bust butt and get both the GPA and SAT up. Just like trying to improve athletically, put some EXTRA effort into those areas. There is just too much competition out there for coaches to gamble on someone who may wash out. At least at schools where scholarships are available.

[rpi_fan03]

Hmm, futurestar, well I'm sure (read: I hope) you didn't mean it in this way, but there are just as many D3 school you cannot get into as there are D1 schools if your academics are not up to par. I would almost venture to guess that, with the exception of the Ivy's, D3 schools might be tougher to get into based solely on athletic prowess because many of these schools pride themselves much more on their academic rankings than their athletic accomplishments...but I digress.
As Black Bear states, the best option is to work harder at academics. If you can bust your butt for your final year or two at high school and show marked improvement in your grades from previous years, coaches and schools are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt that you can, in fact, be a good student-athlete at their school and you are willing to work hard enough to ensure that. If, however, you don't have the luxury of this kind of time, then your best bet is to check out the data online or in books like US Weekly's annual college review. They show mean and/or median SAT scores for the most recent freshman class for each school and rank the schools on this and other data. You can take a look at all the schools you'd like to play for and compare your scores to those listed and get a very good idea of which schools you have a good chance of getting into. You also should try to find data on what grades schools/teams require for a player to remain eligible...the NCAA has a base (which I don't know off the top of my head) but many schools/teams have higher standards than that base...this will give you a good idea of how hard you will have to continue to work once being accepted.
Again, I think the big thing that we all need to keep reminding ourselves of is that for the majority of women's hockey players, college is it for your career (with the exception of pickup leagues and the like after school)....so while going to an Ivy and playing hockey would be awesome, graduating with a degree in basketweaving (even from an Ivy) would not necessarily put you in the best position, so consider a school at which you can be successful in both hockey and the academic area of your choice

[nut_case]

Just wondering: which Ivy league schools offer basketweaving as a major for prospective athletes? It would be appreciated if responses could be informed if at all possible. In other words, don't start with Cornell without having some understanding of how other Ivies, such as Princeton and Harvard, have handled these issues over the years.

[futurestar]

Hmm, futurestar, well I'm sure (read: I hope) you didn't mean it in this way, but there are just as many D3 school you cannot get into as there are D1 schools if your academics are not up to par. I would almost venture to guess that, with the exception of the Ivy's, D3 schools might be tougher to get into based solely on athletic prowess because many of these schools pride themselves much more on their academic rankings than their athletic accomplishments...but I digress.

Yes, please don't take offense, you are right, there are a number of D III schools whose admission requirements are as stringent or actually tougher than the Ivies.

[THE Icemom]

Please don't forget extracurricular activities...some of the D3 schools look at the total package, grades, athletics and what kind of person you are. My daughter had acceptable grades, is a fairly good hockey player but was involved with the school as a peer counselor, a student hostess, things like that. She got into an academically great D3 school and will be playing hockey for them this fall. Working hard and showing improvement are very important. My girl earned her academic letter Freshman year, didn't do so well sophomore year, improved her junior year, and earned another academic letter her senior year. Yeah, that rough year hurt her cumulative GPA but she worked hard and improved. Stick with it and you go girl !!!!

[hockeysb11]

Where do you apply? The advise I give to girls coming out of the girls youth organization i am President of is this. Apply to the best schools you can the ones that will give you something after you graduate. Decide what you want to study in school. Unless you are a strong D-1 player and hockey is your goal only, it is best to get into the best school you can and if that school offers hockey that is a plus in your favor.

Ask yourself these 2 questions, what do I want to be doing when i graduate and my hockey days are over? would I be happy at the school I choose if I had to stop playing because of injury or if I was cut from the team?

Once you deal with those questions your list will be cut down to a reasonable number of schools. Remember only the top players will play D-1, there is nothing wrong with D-3.

[rpi_fan03]

futurestar - No offense taken :)

Icemom - congrats to your daughter and goodluck!

[a1durfulife]

Try for State Schools that offer everything - D1 hockey, tutors for athletes, and any profession you can think of.

[notfromaroundhere]

Well, I'm glad futurestar is concerned about finding a proper academic fit, unlike many big name atheletes in other (revenue producing) sports who have never had to worry (at least in their minds) about academic eligibility.

With the extra time committment that is necessary for Division 1 hockey, I'd say target your SAT scores and GPA to where you are no lower than say the 40th percentile of accepted students. If you cannot find a Division 1 school that you match up with, then I'd suggest looking for a Division 3 school (a bit less time committment) school where your statistics meet at least the 25th percentile of accepted students.

You should be able to get a clue as to how you match up through your guidance counselor who should be able to get that info from admissions at most schools.

And of course, make sure the school you want to attend has the type of academic program you are interested in studying. I'm still looking for that basketweaving program....

What your hockey skills gets you is an admit and for Division 1 (non Ivy)scholarship opportunity. Admittance isn't a guarantee when you are in the lower quartiles of applicants.

No miracles here.

[kwhrs]

The recent discussion in the Division I recruit thread brings up another question in my mind. Rather than take that thread further off course, I thought I'd start another.

Let's say you are a talented hockey player but with "less than Ivy League SAT's and GPA". To what schools do you apply? Do you try for Harvard (or Cornell as the D I thread suggests) and hope for a tip from the coach and a basket weaving major will get you through? Do you give up hope and look at some of the D IIIs?

Where DO you apply?

Please, no actual SAT scores or GPAs...

Let's be honest, Ivy SAT's and GPA's together are few and far between. The first question to ask is, How do I stand talent wise as a D1 recruit? Do I have a shot at getting quality Ice time at school XYZ? Would I be happy on a very high quality Frozen Four team riding the pine? If you (your daughter/whatever) are a D1 (or DIII before I get flamed) caliber player, Hockey has been your life and most likely an extreme passion. You most likely want to play at the highest level you can sometime in your hockey career. For women that is 99 and 44/100 percent of the time the collegiate level. Olympic players are just different, get used to it. lol. If you have the talent and any exposure the D1 and DIII coaches will come after you and give "some" guidance as to suitability to the academic side.

That was one piece of a puzzle with a lot of pieces. It has some weight that only you can determian.

Since it appears your daughter has already taken her SAT's you appear to be a little late in the game but I'm guessing. If I were guiding a daughter with average grades (i.e. not Ivy level) I'd suggest to her they she get the list of every DI or DIII school in the geographic area she'd consider and start calling the coaches and asking questions. It might help to call the Athletic Dept. and find out who the recruiting coach is and call them. If it is before July 1st after your Jr. year they can not call you back so do take it as a lack of interest if you leave a voice mail and you do not get a return call. Call the AD and ask when is a good time to catch the person you are trying to reach. Don't be afraid to say I'm new to this and I'm just figuring this out if you feel "silly" or unprepared. Coaches are used to talking to "kids". Call a bunch of schools. Maybe not the one you want to go to the most, first. ;o)

Then do the same kind of research everyother kid has to do that is not so lucky to be stupidly talented at hockey and hve the opportunity you have. :o)
Go visit the school's admmission department and get a non-athletically minded tour.

Remember this is College. It's supposed to be four of the coolest years of your life.