Match my son -- business/econ major, 3.5 GPA, 1320 SAT, T&F recruit

Chance Me / Match Me
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MATCH MY 11th GRADE KID Really need some help with our last and final kid here. We want him to tour some schools over spring break but I don’t know where to start. He goofed off 9th and 10th grade and got a 3.4uw. Now in 11th he is completely turned it around and has a 3.9uw for mid-semester and says he can continue that trend through senior year and I believe he will.

Demographics

  • US domestic *
  • State/Location of residency: *Texas
  • Type of high school * rural Title 1
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity * white male
  • Other special factors * T&F recruit

Intended Major(s) business, economics, data science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.5, expect huge upward trend but getting 3.9s every semester will only result in a 3.6
  • Class Rank: probably 20-25 percent
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1320

Coursework
*highest level offered except took regular physics this year due to sports schedule

Awards
Just one district debate award

Extracurriculars
T&F (regional qualifier), swim team (state finalist), marching band (9th), debate (10th), head lifeguard during summer, community center employee during school year (pool cleaning, lesson instructor, customer service), will be EMT certified next year, has several other Red Cross certs

Cost Constraints / Budget
*no budget, college covered by relative who loves elite schools and is willing to pay for wherever kid wants to go

I’m at a loss with how to proceed. I am going to assume that most D3s that value athletes and need a sprinter will want him. We won’t know if he’s recruitable for fast D1 programs (nor am I sure I want him doing this, either) until the track season is over in early May.

I don’t think his GPA is reflective of his abilities because of his slow start. No real reason for it other than maturity. I hope AC’s will recognize the upward trend.

Can anyone offer advice on how to start this process or suggest any schools to look at? Only must-haves right now are a good climate for track season (no upper midwest) and a legit T&F program. He is open to just about anything and I really mean anything since we have the budget. He has only visited Trinity TX and liked it.

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No experience with T&F (but with 2 other sports) and if his times at the end of the season will determine where he is recruitable, I’d say not to even look at specific schools over spring break, but rather “types” of schools. Big school vs. small school, city vs. rural, private vs. state flagship.

Our first visits over 11th grade spring break were local (we live in the Northeast, so it was very easy to visit just about every type of school within a 2 hour drive) which made it a no-pressure situation and S23 could really concentrate on learning how to evaluate a school (what questions to ask, what all the possibilities are, what to ask to see, how to read between the lines) rather than trying to rank any specific school.

Once his season is complete, you can match up what he thinks he wants with schools that are showing interest or start targeting the types of schools he’s interested in with letters to coaches.

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Has he started to contact coaches of colleges he may be interested in, including Trinity? The advantage of T&F is that it is a timed sport so that coaches can make more data based assessments (vs a team sport).

The recruiting angle will allow him to take a shot at schools where he might not make the cut based on his academics and test scores. There are other posters on this site who are more knowledgeable on good academic T&F schools and can make more specific suggestions. Maybe @Mwfan1921 can help or tag other posters who are knowledgeable about T&F.

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Yes, he has reached out to D3 schools and some slower D1s and gotten interest. For other schools he has not, and I’m not sure why — can’t imagine his times are the problem. I have told him not to re-contact those coaches until he has his junior year times and a stronger transcript and we’ll see what happens. It may just be too early for them to be recruiting or maybe his grades are the problem, idk.

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OP, can you share some event times, and some target times for this upcoming season?

T&F recruiting does happen on the later side, so plenty of time. His upward grade trend will help too

@politeperson?

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Thank you for this advice. You are right, it may just be too early. I am worried about him needing to make a commitment in fall of next year and not having a clue. But hopefully we will figure it out.

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I have chatted with polite person off line. Was hoping to get some additional thoughts. And if polite person wants to chime in again I welcome their input.

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Curious what you(or your relative)means by “elite schools”? His grades may be a problem at elite schools.

Yes, T&F does recruit later but your son really should start reaching out to coaches now. They will expect him to get faster in the spring so don’t get too hung up on his times right now.

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Just a couple quick thoughts:

How firm are you on the “good track weather”? That rules out large sections of the country (which is fine- if he wants it hot in March that narrows things down at least).

Keep in mind there’s an indoor season in the winter. It’s not like sprinters in New England are training outside much until March or April. They are training and competing indoors.

Once outdoor season hits, most programs will send sprinters, jumpers, throwers to warm weather meets in Florida, Texas, CA. But conference meets up north can get pretty chilly.

You might consider a visit north in January or February to see if he even wants to consider a colder climate.

Also maybe he can get into some HS indoor meets, which would give him a taste of what that’s like and also get some updated (though indoor) marks.

As far as whether you should shy away from D1 if he has the marks, I think there are very good programs that are also athlete-centered and where student athletes can have a great experience. In fact I think it’s most track programs.

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Thank you for your thoughts on this. New England — maybe. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, upstate NY — no. Pleased to hear that D1 track can be manageable for most athletes. Kid has come so far with his academics, I would hate to see him get derailed again. As far as indoor track meets go — he is also a competitive swimmer and is in the middle of swim season right now. He trains with a private track coach during swim season (plyos, mobility, strength and occasional starts) so he will be ready to roll when swimming is over in mid-February. High school track meets will have begun at that point so we’ll start to see what he can do!

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Some of the elite schools he has mentioned are CMC, USC, Duke.

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Would money be an issue if he doesn’t go to one of these elite schools? Is relative paying for wherever he goes, or only to one of the “elites”?

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They will pay for any school. My other two kids go to CTCL-type colleges.

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His academic profile is below the published averages for these schools so I would consider them to be high reaches, even with coach support through admissions. Do athletes get admitted with below average stats? Yes, but they would need to be very good athletes that can score points in conference and ideally qualify for nationals. USC is one of the sprint powerhouses, with several alums on the Olympic roster. We don’t know if your son is at or near this level.

One of the critical early steps in athletic recruiting is to cast a wide net. Identify 25-35 schools that could be a fit both academically and athletically. Spend some time over break developing this list with your son. Good luck!

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After getting y’all’s input I really think that developing a good list will be a better use of our time than visiting schools over spring break. I am just concerned that it will be a mad rush come fall but we will manage somehow. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

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I’d have him prep and take SAT again, and also ACT.

I’m in Texas. We have many friends who have been recruited for volleyball, baseball, swimming, soccer and football; can’t think of anyone recruited for Track & Field. I could be wrong, but a rural regional qualifier going into Senior year, who hasn’t been ‘scouted’ yet…I wouldn’t put all your eggs in that basket. Has he set school records for sprinting? Has he attended any college track meets, to see what they’re like?

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He is a junior this year. He has already made recruiting cuts for D3 so we know he can do that, no problem. The limiting factor for D3 will be academics not athletic ability. We are just waiting to see how he performs this spring to see if that opens up any other options. If not, that’s fine.

Yes to the SAT. I know he can do better but getting him to study for it will be a challenge. I will see if he’d be willing to try the ACT.

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Good to hear! Like I said, we don’t know anyone who has gone on to play college T & F… sounds like it is a very different recruiting process.

Absolutely work on getting test scores higher.
Does he volunteer, have community service hours? If not, I’d try to add that. If you’re rural, that may be hard to do, but could even be visiting a nursing home once a week for 1.5 hours, set up weekly bingo for residents. Colleges like to see dedicated & meaningful community service.

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There is huge development that occurs in male sprinters between sophomore and senior year. He is right on track but lord knows anything can happen with these kids lol.

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Just to clarify, I meant he should work on this list NOW during winter break. Start reaching out to programs and see if you get any responses. You can still visit some closer schools during spring break to get a feel for campus size, etc. But I wouldn’t plan any long trips to see schools farther away without any meaningful contact with coaches.

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