The Ivy vs other Div I college experience is wildly different. Make sure your kid will fit in. Many/most athletes transfer for various reasons.
150 years ago, the Dartmouth baseball coach tried to recruit me after my freshmen year at Tufts..now I have to wonder about his motives .........There is no doubt there is always at least one of the Ivies actively recruiting players that will never see the field for the purpose of gaming the academic requirements.
There seems to be a sort of cycle on which Ivies are currently caring about a particular sport or sports in general. Often associated with a new AD or a new head coach.
The rules are the same as any other D1 school in terms of contact plus they have a conference requirement where the incoming class has to average out to the same standard score as the general admission average on standardized testing. As a simplified example, if the average for the school for admission is a 30 ACT score, and you have 4 incoming freshmen, that means their ACT scores need to add up to 120 (120/4)...
So they can take a pitcher with a 28 ACT as long as it is offset by an outfield with a 32. And they often do - if you want to go to an Ivy and are an outfielder you better be well above the average for ACT/SAT. The idea of this rule is that it gives the Ivies a chance to recruit against other D1 schools for the high-demand athlete positions (pitcher, catcher, QB, goalie, etc, etc...)
One small clarification so as not to scare off potential IVY recruits. It is my understanding the average for recruited student athletes does not have to match the average of the school at large but rather some agreed upon number that is lower than the average. Because they keep the process purposely opaque nobody seems to know exactly what this discount is. I have seen different guesses of 3%, 5%, and 1 standard deviation below the mean posited by different people.
I point this out because if an enterprising DFP parent were to research average ACT/SAT scores for the IVY league schools they would generally fall between 34-35/1500-1550 depending on the school. I can assure you this is not the average for recruited athletes.
My DD was being recruited by Dartmouth at one point. It was a fun thought, but all I can say is gooooooood luck. All the same rules apply.
We got a good distance into the process, then it just stalled out. They flew all over the country more than any other school that looked at her just to watch my DD play. Its EXTREMELY competitive and that's not for admissions, that's just for a spot on the team. You REALLY have to want to go there because they test you over and over again until you just give up. I imagine others are the same. If you make it, its a true accomplishment.
Oh, I understand about the 'not being D1' caliber. That's not really what I meant by it's a true accomplishment athletically.Had the exact opposite experience. Know 2 existing players on Dartmouth team who were barely vetted by the coaching staff. And I mean, like, saw them play once and made an offer. Before closely looking at their academic profile and before test scores were available. Straight up - they are not D1 players. Such a head scratcher in both cases that it makes me wonder about the HC's abilities.
Oh, I understand about the 'not being D1' caliber. That's not really what I meant by it's a true accomplishment athletically.
It was just so mentally draining because you thought you were in, then out, then you'd say something and things would change instantly like 'what did I say'? It was like a code we didn't understand. DD was interested in the thought of it. She is definitely higher than their average talent athletically, but in the end, I guess she just wasn't as excited to go there as they wanted her to be. I surely wasn't interested in paying that tuition bill either.
You really had to want to go there. If you were thinking you'd feel each other out and see where it went, that wasn't good enough. To just stay in the process long enough was a huge monumental and expensive task.