I wrote DII. I meant DIII. She is NOT a D2 player.

then it doesnt matter- go to the best school that fits her best- gburg is the best soccer but Colby is the best one academically

D3 rosters can get very big at some schools and Colby is one of them. If she’s good as you say then Definitely Gettysburg would be my choice.
The only problem I have with D3 schools is that the majority of them don’t take soccer seriously after the season is done. If she’s at Conn College maybe she can do Oak 18/19 DA Academy for the Spring, I believe the DA is allowing college girls of that age group to play but It all depends on what level your Daughter is at and like you say Academically they are all good.

And just to add, do a Colby a visit it’s definitely not for everyone, and keep in mind it can get very cold and if you’re the kind of parent that every now and then you’d like to watch your D play,then schedule that when they play one of the CT schools.

Look at the league tables for the last few years in the Centennial and Nescac (and UAA, for that matter). If the team is consistently at the top of their table (Williams, Tufts, Conn Coll) then your daughter needs to be at one of the more elite clubs to get noticed by those coaches. By contrast, teams near the bottom of the tables are less serious about their soccer programs and more accessible to players without the elite club pedigree.

By that measure, she will be more welcomed (vis a vis soccer) at Gettysburg than at ConnColl.

D3 schools have an peculiar spectrum of Recruiting behaviors. Those schools with a world-wide reputation for their academics (Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Williams & most of the Nescac) can let their academic brand weed out the "unicorns" for them. Their Recruiting is looking at those already interested in their school and then selecting the best soccer resumes out of that group to "sponsor" with admissions and be on the roster.

On the other end of the spectrum you have those that either actively recruit, or just take all comers.

The best gauge is to go look at the roster bios of the teams shes interested in - paying close attention to geography and club. If there is a great deal of geographic diversity, that school is pulling in quality players from everywhere and is probably both well-known academic school AND a perennial contender. Then look to see how many list ECNL clubs on their bios. That should give you a good snapshot of whether your player might fit.

Has she been to any ID events or talked to coaches yet? There are several options and having her do one would let you see where she fits. Small schools often attend those because they don't have big recruiting budgets and tend to draw more locally.

I'm assuming this is the type of school she really wants? Mine looked at two of those and decided they were too small and isolated for her. If she hasn't even narrowed her academic choices that is always the first step, then overlay the soccer on top of that.

Focus on academics, career, major, etc. None of these schools are Harvard or Stanford, so her career options will be limited already. Therefore, don't let soccer drive a decision that will make the rest of her life even more challenging. Find the school that she will enjoy and will set her up for her chosen career. If she plays for the team great. If she plays intramural or club... so be it.

If you were saying your daughter was debating between MIT, Caltech, and Carnegie Mellon... then it would be a different DIII question. However, the schools you mention are very different and the choice cannot be informed by sports.

You are an idiot. I have a daughter playing at a school that isn’t Harvard or Stanford. Her career options are not limited because she isn’t at those schools. She happens to go to a highly selective New England school. Not my definition, but a commonly accepted one. Great alumni network with high starting and median salaries for grads. Pretty sure she will do fine.

More correlation has been found to sat score than college attended when looking at post graduate success. Said another way for less educated guys like you. If you have a 1600 sat score, whether you go to Harvard or umass doesn’t effect your likeliness of success.


https://www.economist.com/blogs/grap...lue-university Take a look at 1270 of 1275 on this list! Shocking!

My honest opinion would to be to just let academics drive the decision. Pick a school based on the school. If she plays on the team that's it bonus if not just have her join the club team.

Most college bound players by Sophomore year are on the HS field for every minute of every match regardless of the soccer IQ of the coach. Just try to be realistic.

If she's a lock academically for NESCAC schools then she's well ahead of the game!

What level does she play club? Unless she's a freshman and is on a V roster with lots of older club studs on an LL program, it's unlikely she's and ECNL player. but given the schools she is interested in she doesn't need to be an ECNL player to make a squad. The post above about trying an ID event is a good one - $150 will give you a better idea of where she fits in. The goal should always be academics, even if you're a D1 stud. In the end no one is going pro and it's the education that matters. If you get to play in college? winner winner chicken dinner.

Slightly disagree. I think playing on a college team adds to the college experience. If your kid has grads that make her competitive for nescac or Uaa schools, you should encourage her to continue playing. The friendships and experiences will potentially last a lifetime. She will learn to balance her time and won’t have a lot of time to sit around.

The OP made a point in the follow up that his/her daughter is not a D2 player, Academics therefore should be the focus everything else will fall in place.

Yes that's all great. Doesn't mean that the focus shouldn't be on academics first, soccer 2nd. There are loads of academic D3s where playing is a real possibility. Find the top 3 academic schools and see where soccer might fit into that. If it doesn't there are loads of other things to keep students busy and still have a fulfilling college experience

If she is not a D2 player then she is likely not a top 30 D3 player. How does one come to the conclusion that they can play at top levels of one division but not another. You know there is a lot of overlap between division 3 and 2 right? Top D3s can beat lots of D1 .... Even if they don't beat them they can play very respectable against them. You need to visit schools that interest you and see how good (or bad) they are.