My son is a junior looking to play college baseball. D3.
currently has a 4.0 weighted gpa.
he’s looking at Denison, Dickinson, and F & M but would like some safeties.
will most likely not be submitting test scores.
he likes the sporty vibe of Denison. also, likes the town of Granville and that its not too rural like Allegheny (which he also visited). plans to major in business. and if the school has it, he would like to minor in exercise science.
Suny Cortland would likely be a safety, well-known for exercise science, as would Slippery rock (public university in PA). Check out Susquehanna ¶, Ithaca (NYS), Daemen (?), Washington College, Loyola MD.
thank you. Going to check out Hobart. we’re trying to stay within 5-6 hour drive or 1 short flight from Pittsburgh.
St. Lawrence looks like a great fit. just looked at the baseball roster. look like a lot of NY and NE kids. I assume they must drive. closest airport must be Syracuse?
Might want to check out Gettysburg as well. Not a safety per se, in similar class as Denison and Dickinson, but meets the sporty criteria and has a great Health Sciences program. Historic town with a beautiful campus and good athletic facilities. Some other possible options with higher admit rates, Susquehanna, Muhlenburg, + Ursinus.
Yes, ST. Lawrence looks like it’d be about 7.5 hours from Pittsburgh. (Marginally less is you’re in Sewickley, Cranberry, etc.) They list a bunch of smaller airports near them and they have a shuttle service to all at breaks (per their website). Definitely a consideration for an athlete’s travel schedule. Syracuse is closest bigger airport. (Well, Ottawa, but then you need to spend time crossing the border.)
Every kid I know who has gone there has been very happy.
Another in Syracuse is Le Moyne. Definitely an easier admit than others suggested here. A friend’s kid is there studying business – majors seem more pre-professional than intellectual – and very happy. I think they are D1, so that may be a factor.
Just to be clear, for the safeties it would be without baseball correct? Even at schools where he academically would be accepted, that doesn’t mean he could necessarily be on the baseball team.
There are no safeties when you add in recruiting. For example, Wheaton Mass may be a safety/highly likely for many higher stats students, but the baseball team is high level and very competitive to be recruited for.
All your S can do is identify schools that appeal to him, cast a wide net, and contact coaches.
Have any coaches done a pre-read yet, or given your son feedback on his transcript/likelihood of admission? Does he have a test score?
yes, exactly. trying to pick the schools first, have enough he likes, because who knows what will happen with baseball. we went through the same thing with our oldest. She picked Denison even though they promised the least “playing time wise”. but she loved the school.
I’m not sure about all of the vibes at these schools, but these are some schools that your son may want to investigate:
Baldwin Wallace (OH): About 2700 undergrads
Canisius (NY): About 1800 undergrads
Capital (OH): About 1900 undergrads
John Carroll (OH): About 2400 undergrads
McDaniel (MD): About 1800 undergrads
Muskingum (OH): About 1500 undergrads
Ohio Wesleyan: About 1400 undergrads
Otterbein (OH): About 2200 undergrads
Roanoke (VA): About 1800 undergrads
U. of Lynchburg (VA): About 1600 undergrads
U. of Scranton (PA ): About 3600 undergrads
Wittenberg (OH): About 1300 undergrads
Seconding Gettysburg and Washington & Jefferson in particular, of the other schools that have been mentioned so far (among many excellent suggestions).
I’ve read so much positive and negative about Gettysburg. My son wants to avoid “party schools” and has told me he would like to go a school with a “tame” Greek presence. academically Gettysburg seems like a great match, but sure if its worth visiting with everything i keep hearing about the “greek presence”.
Based on your son’s concerns, then Gettysburg (and W&J) may not be the ideal campuses, but I definitely defer to others who have more experience with those schools.
Is having a spot on a baseball team a must-have for your son? I know your D chose a school with less playing time because she loved the school, but she had a spot on the team. From my understanding of athletic recruiting, if playing on a team is crucial, then casting that really wide net is important. But if your son wouldn’t be happy at a school (no matter which one), then you wouldn’t want to include that in the net to begin with. But if it’s questionable, you can always include it and then eliminate it down the line if he figures out it’s not the right fit for him.
If playing time is crucial, then I would plan visits based on where there is recruiting interest, even if they aren’t “official visits.”