Agreed, and in particular standardized test scores are not always required for NESCAC pre-reads for all athletes, but GPA, rigor, and strong athletics always will be regardless of NESCAC school or athlete, so best to focus your main efforts on getting that GPA up and distances up.
Standardized test score of course can help, and may be necessary (I can’t predict whether the coaches you’ll eventually talk to will insist on knowing a score or not), and if you can study for the SAT or ACT or both during summer down times when you don’t have classes that can be a good time to prepare, and it will help if you get a good score, for sure.
As I said, standardized tests may be necessary with some schools/coaches/athletes, but we’re doing multiple NESCAC pre-reads right now at upper tier, middle tier and lower tier of NESCAC academic school rankings and test score hasn’t been needed so far (different sport than OP).
I wouldn’t count on not needing a test score and wouldn’t want to speculate on who does or doesn’t, but you definitely need to have solid GPA and athletic prowess, so like others have said control what you can and don’t stress too much, enjoy life as a kid. If you do your best you’ll end up at a good fit if it’s meant to be. Good luck
Need based financial aid doesn’t take cost of living into consideration. An income of $150,000 a year goes a lot farther in Mississippi than Massachusetts, but the formula is tbd same. That income is pretty much middle class where we live, when that was our household income we didn’t get a dime in FA.
Don’t do that.
Recovery is the Mother’s Milk of improvement.
Technique Day, Power (Weights/Plyos/Medicine Bal) Day, Active Recovery Day (Pool,Bike, etc.); Rinse. Repeat.
Other approach risks injury. Technique is so critical in Shot and Disc that it requires its own focused day. Especially for youth. You’ll make more gains in the circle than the weight room (not the weight room should be ignored). That carries over in college. You want that to be locked and instinctual when you add to the load.
As mentioned above, developmentally appropriate training with adequate recovery is the key. More is not better.
What I was trying to get at when mentioning physical development is that an 11th grade body is stronger and more powerful than a 9th grade body most of the time, and in most cases that (significant) difference leads to significant performance gains.
You can’t really rush that but if you do the appropriate technical and physical training work, when your growth accelerates rapidly you’ll be in a good position to maximize those performance gains.
There’s a reason district and state meet podiums for boys are dominated by juniors and seniors. Do the work but be patient with your body.
I don’t think a pre sophomore score unprepared is particularly indicative of anything. Has OP even completed algebra 2 at this point? The recommended timeline for athletes is prep during the summer after sophomore year and take the early fall tests. That will give them a realistic score with plenty of time to retake if necessary.
Nope…OP said they are taking algebra 2 this upcoming year (soph year) around post #18. I agree with you they should wait to test, and would not recommend they take the ACT or SAT until late spring/summer 2026.
I’m not sure about this, but would it be better to take standard/college prep courses rather than honors courses to boost the UW GPA even if it comes at the cost of a lower W GPA?
For highly academic schools, rigor is as important, if not more, as GPA. At the end of the day you have to do both. OP will have to find the right balance for themselves.
Help me understand rigor.
For example, Exeter doesn’t have AP courses, arguing that their curriculum more than covers what would be offered in “regular” AP classes.
A kid who starts in 9th grade math there and takes the traditional path through Senior year would presumably be in Honors equivalent or above courses. Andover would argue essentially all of their Junior and Senior year courses are Honors.
Is that rigorous? If so. It implies the school matters, which is usually poo-pooed on this site.
Not saying rigor is unimportant, but OP goes to an ISL, which I would assume are all rigorous, AP bells and whistles notwithstanding. I would think NESCAC schools, who are familiar with these institutions have a comfort level with who can do the work and who can’t. A kid who comes in taking all freshman courses and successfully navigates their requirements with good grades will still get consideration. Especially if he can throw a 50’ shot.
I would say AP doesnt really matter at my school for recruits as most dont even take them untill junior year as my school has a ton of elective classes for Juniors and Seniors that are very specific and let these students hone in on what is important to them which is what LACS like. but this is not to say that most people graduating are not taking APS. Most take about 4-6 APs total by the time they graduate.
I was suggesting the OP consider taking it during sophomore year, which they’re going into. My D took her first ACT during her sophomore year, based on our research and it ended up working out extremely well for her to do that. If she had younger siblings I would 100% do the same thing, even if they weren’t athletes.
IF a student has the time, taking it sophomore year can allow them to identify early areas for improvement and determine which test (ACT/SAT) is better, and also reduce stress later. I’m saying this is what worked extremely well for my D- it’s our opinion, but I’ll add that this was recommended based on our research and after talking with multiple families we know going through the recruiting process at high academic schools. My D began receiving calls from high academic coaches in Spring of her sophomore year and they were THRILLED she already had a test score starting point. My D had not finished algebra 2 when she took it. Again, this is what worked for us, not necessarily everybody.
I have a response for OP based on our experience so far. First, I am learning that track and cross country have a different actual timetable for recruiting and committing compared to other sports at all levels. While a lot of sports tend to have fairly serious conversations with student-athletes after the June 15 date between sophomore and junior year and it is common for D1 athletes in that sport to commit prior to starting their junior year, track and xc coaches generally want to see Junior year marks/times and grades- even D1. If you have competitive marks for their conference at the end of sophomore year, some of the coaches for more competitive teams will start talking to you during the fall of your junior year. My athlete has been talking to schools for several conferences in both D1 and D3 since Oct of junior year. Only the very high academic places asked for academic information at that point. NESCAC schools did not ask for it until the spring. As everyone says, rigor is important- like taking high level academic classes and getting good grades. Having a good test score by March of junior year helps for sure. We found that some NESCAC schools start to narrow down their recruit list during spring of junior year while others seem to start the whole process closer to the July 1 preread date. My athlete was contacted the last week of June for pre read material by 4 schools we had not heard from previously. While some offers came in on July 1, other schools say they don’t have admissions feedback yet. The offers we currently have are either open-ended or have an August 1 date. My point is that there still seems to be plenty of time going into summer of senior year- even for nescacs- which seem to be on the earlier side of track/xc recruiting so you can get good summer marks in June meets if you need them. Coaches from many schools- all divisions were at NBNO and NON watching and talking to athletes- not as many D3 but certainly some, including some NESCAC. General guidelines for grades for nescacs according to our college counselor are 3.8 unweighted with rigor and 34/35 act/1500 sat. Also, nescacs and other high academic D3 want a rigorous senior year courseload. There isn’t a ton of flexibility with track/xc because apparently a lot of kids have those grades and scores. The math content on the sat and act includes a lot of what you will learn this coming year in math class. That doesn’t mean you can’t start prepping for those tests, but it does mean that you will be a lot more capable on the math sections later this year. Also, the ACT is planning some changes so look into that because you don’t want to prepare for a test that is changing too much.
Yeah, there’s a bit more pressure on grades and scores because, as my friend and great track coach once said to me, “Smart kids run track.”
I would caution that although those guidelines will work for all, some are a bit more flexible than others.
And yes you’re spot on that some NESCAC coaches go to NIN, NON, NBNI, NBNO, AAU or USATF Nationals, but not many. Those would be good opportunities to try and engage and get a sense of what the grade and test hurdles are. Problem is, those are hard to qualify for after Freshman (tough standards for Championship in New Balance and even Emerging Elite at Nike).
This my point about OP making all-Conference Sophomore year and posting good distances in the summer as an entree to coach outreach either that summer or fall Junior year.
They can’t recruit you but I’ve observed them giving guidance on target test scores indirectly. The earlier you know, the better; not that OP needs any additional incentive
