D3 is still demanding in terms of hours and depending on conference can be quite a bit of travel.
It can also be difficult to be premed and/or a lab science major (not sure her intended major?) when one is an athlete. Once recruiting gets going your D will need to ask coaches if they allow lab science majors and /or have ever had a successful pre-med athlete.
I would encourage her to look at the softball schedules of some potential schools and see in particular if they travel and/or play home double headers during the week…that will mean missed classes.
I’m trying to understand their scale as I believe it’s based on a 4.5 but UW, she’s a 4.0. It is a little early but if you consider sports, it’s really not too early because she needs to be attending camps and communicating with coaches. We were going to go to one at Tufts but when we started researching, we found they give almost zero merit and that won’t work. I will have 3 in college at the same time for 2 years so merit is a must. Our ‘net’ is definitely wide right now.
Agreed about the timing (re recruiting). But my 2 cents is you shouldn’t be focused on schools like Tufts, which is a reach school for just about everyone. Instead, focus on the “safety” type schools, e.g. Hobart, St. Lawrence, Denison etc. (Just threw out names, no idea if they have softball)
Yes, you don’t apply to reach or high match schools when chasing merit. To get the top awards, your student needs to be a top applicant. ETA I’ve had 5 in college with several years of 2/3 in at the same time. Right now I have 2 in undergrad, 1 in grad school, we’ve never received financial aid.
I used College Navigator and selected women’s varsity softball as a requirement along with a psychology degree and an undergrad population between 2-10k and were located in the eastern half of the U.S… Here’s the link: College Navigator - Search Results
There were some D2 schools that appeared like good possibilities, but as you had specified D3, I excluded them. This is how I developed the list in post #8 (though at a certain point I eliminated the public schools because none of them were coming out as D3). There may be other schools on the list that I didn’t mention that might be attractive to your family.
Also, I would look at the conference of play for each school. Some conferences are geographically close while others are much further apart. That sounds like it’s an important factor in your family’s calculus.
Tufts was just an example but yes, we have a much larger list that includes the reach, target, safety schools and we are not basing it on sports since she may not pursue playing in college or may join the school’s club team. I have another child who is a senior, high stats, no sports but they wanted a different school feel than my daughter so are sort of starting over (by my third I may know every college out there lol)! This is just us looking for a school that checks these particular boxes - D3, merit, major (which may change), size. She is top of her class with no grades lower than 97.
First you need a budget. Merit, in and of itself, means little - because some names without merit or less merit can be less than others with big merit.
With a 4.0, take a look at US News - say start at 50 for LACs and most schools below will have big merit.
Then it’s a question of who meets geographically the need (which seems open), has 2-10K and would be discounted (merit). All these below do. What I don’t know is if they are D3 and/or have women’s softball.
Someone mentioned Denison
Dickinson
Gettysburg
Gustavus Adolphus
Lewis & Clark (may be too close to city but I think it’s a residential area)
Oberlin
Rollins
St. Lawrence
St Olaf
Stonehill (religious)
Susquehana
Wheaton IL (religious)
Then some regional top colleges - figure which are D3 with softball
Cal States
Christopher Newport
Flagler
Ga College and State U
SUNY Brockport, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo, New Paltz, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Purchase
TCNJ
Truman State
Tufts, of course, just mentioned, has no merit, costs a fortune, and they LOVE full pay families.
My son got accepted at St Johns University, Seton Hall, Duquesne University, Earlham College, University of La Verne all with good merit. But the cheapest of them all is the University of the Cumberlands with one price promise.
Our D21 was also a “premed” on a merit hunt. Her strategy included a mix of in-state (free tuition in our state), auto-merit, tuition discount and competitive merit schools. She was onboard with saving on undergrad so we could help with med school and was aware of the slim chance of competitive merit but willing to try (lots of additional essays and interviews). We did not have the additional factor of athletic recruiting.
You’re getting lots of good suggestions here, but most seem to be tuition-discount schools. If she continues with those stats, your D may want to consider some of the competitive full tuition/full ride merit options as well, if they align with her recruiting targets.
Additionally, they are in a small town, but only about 45 minutes from Minneapolis, which would satisfy not in a city, but also would be close enough if she wanted.
Came here to say St Olaf sounded exactly like what she wanted but it’s already been named a couple times so I’ll just third
What about Wheaton MA, Muhlenberg, Clark, St Lawrence
For safeties, Susquehanna, Luther, Concordia-Moorhead, Marist, SUNYGeneseo?
Just clarifying, Denison acceptance rate was around 17% last year, as I recall – not a safety. For a strong student who is a recruited athlete applying ED as part of athletic recruiting, it could be a “sure thing,” but for regular admissions it is not.
I’ve taught a few successful pre-med D1 athletes (i.e., they got into med school). But boy, is it hard for them. The ones who do well are typically the real superstar academic types who are unusually bright and disciplined. And yes, missing labs is annoying for everyone involved. I’d support it but I’m relieved my kids won’t be pursuing college athletics.
As for the other divisions, spouse has taught D1 and D2 athletes, and played as a D3 athlete. Even the D3 schedule was grueling, especially as a chem major. It was not great, and my spouse agonized over quitting the sport in junior year (and was happier after quitting). One of the hardest things was playing sports during the breaks, so no real time off. Spouse’s sibling was a star player on her D1 team and her mental health was very poor in college but she didn’t quit since she was on athletic scholarship.
Anecdotally, the ones I’ve seen struggle the most are the high-achieving students who get concussions. We’ve each taught a couple of them and their lives get upended for 1 or 2 semesters. They made it through but it’s like they spent a whole year with poor physical, academic, and mental health and were benched anyway . It’s brutal when it happens but it’s fortunately not very common.
The annoyance will vary by division, sport, and travel region. I do know successful premed athletes at all divisions but they are a unique breed and my own professor spouse found even D3 too much to personally handle in undergrad. YMMV, obviously. It can be done, but it’s best when the student has options to change their involvement and doesn’t feel trapped in a particular situation.
Great insight! We’ve had recent D1 grads say they would not go that route again, one was a bio major who had to spend an extra year in school because they couldn’t finish in time with the load (luckily they had money for an extra covid year). Some come out of college and hate the sport. Some (very few) loved their experience. I played two sports at a D2 and loved it but that was a much MUCH different time / commitment level and I was very different student (aka not academically focused lol).
D3, without athletic scholarships, can be a good approach for students who want to continue competing in their sport but don’t want to be financially tied to their sport to get through school. LACs which often, but not always, are D3, can also be a good academic setting for pre-med as it can be more common to have classes, including labs, end by a certain time of day so that students can engage in sports and other extra-curriculars. Look also at the athletic conference to get a sense of travel – the UAA has great schools like Univ of Chicago, Emory, Brandeis, but also has significant travel. Other conferences, like Centennial in PA area, NCAC in Ohio (with a sprinkle in Indiana) are much more manageable. My D3 athlete figured he spent 25-30 hours per week in season on his sport – including travel, training, meetings etc. – and about 10-15 hours per week out of season. Competitive athletes often say that their sport keeps them focused and organized – so pre-med is do-able but very much depends on the student-athlete, the sport, and the school.
My son’s school did a study, and found that athletes’ GPAs were higher in season (when they were busiest). The ODAC is another conference all in one state (Virginia) so conference travel isn’t bad. (And some of their schools might be worth looking at in terms of merit too).
Grinnell could be a good option. I would also take a look at William and Mart. Not a lot of merit but the COA is lower, and maybe athletic money. I don’t know anything about softball but D1 sports come in many forms.
Generally speaking, we found mid-west LACs to be generous with merit. I also get the impression that many coaches have their thumb on the merit scale.
. It’s brutal when it happens but it’s fortunately not very common.