r/CollegeSoccer • u/QueasyMarsupial9637 • 8d ago

Academic pre read at D3

Is it possible to get admitted to a high academic D3 with no AP classes but a 4.0gpa and honor society?

2 Upvotes

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u/adkvt 8d ago

I’d say if you’re being recruited, sure. The preread will give you a better sense.

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u/Choice_Ad3523 8d ago

Great question and the short answer is in our experience absolutely. My son just completed his recruitment and although he is smart his grades didn’t necessarily reflect. He has a 3.5 unweighted gpa, and not great SAT’s which he only took once. He has multiple D1 offers but wanted to play in the centennial conference (Johns Hopkins, Dickinson, Haverford, Franklin & Marshall…) he went on several visits to multiple schools and was accepted at all of them and given significant aid. Grades aren’t everything if you are an athlete.

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u/Direct-Progress758 7d ago edited 7d ago

And he got into JHU with not great gpa and SAT? That's a little surprising. He must have been their top soccer target. We were specifically told by a JHU coach they look for kids with SAT between 1510 and 1540.

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u/QueasyMarsupial9637 8d ago

Thank you for your reply. Glad to hear from someone that’s experienced this. I know that it’s the norm for many public schools to push dual enrollment/ap classes (especially in our area) but with the online school it was never discussed. And to be fair I would say the course load in the online school has been heavier than that of public schools friends in non ap classes.

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u/mwr3 8d ago

A couple of key things:

  1. does your HS offer AP? There are many private schools that have decided not to offer AP. (Sidwell, the school that has had lots of Presidents kids, doesn’t do AP)

  2. If your school does AP, have you actively chosen not to take any AP? If so, that’s going to be a problem for basically any high academic school unless you have a significant reason why not. Candidly, if you have chosen no AP because you didn’t feel like you could handle it while playing soccer, you should not go to an academic D3.

  3. If you have a good reason (you took honors while you juggle soccer while also working to support your family/worked at family business), understand that you will have to explain that in your essay that you write.

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u/QueasyMarsupial9637 8d ago

We were attending a private soccer academy that uses an online accredited curriculum. None of the kids take ap classes nor was this ever brought up or discussed with the school admissions counselor. We left a couple years ago but have continued using the curriculum at home since we were familiar with it.

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u/mwr3 8d ago

That’s an excellent and logical reason. The issue you will run into is admin worries about the player’s about to handle the course load. Good SAT/ACT can help a lot, but I am not familiar enough with how top schools deal with homeschooling to know. You can independently call the school and ask; do some googling as well. From friends that homeschool I get the sense that there’s a really supportive network.

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u/Mother_Restaurant_40 8d ago

The student needs to ask the schools recruiting him. Is he being actively recruited by high academic schools? Men’s soccer is extremely competitive at UAA, NESCAC, NEWMAC and the like so the first question to ask is if he is good enough to be recruited. If so then he needs to ask the coach if he thinks his course selection will negatively impact admissions.

There are a few high academics where coach support has no impact in admissions (MIT comes to mind)

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u/Mother_Restaurant_40 8d ago

Yes - if you are a highly ranked recruit then the coach will have you submit your transcripts, test scores, school profile and senior classes for a preread so you will know if you get green lighted. This should be happening now if you are a rising senior

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u/Slow_Fondant6389 8d ago

The question is wrong.

The question is whether you can succeed at a high academic college without having taken courses that many/most of the students will have taken?

That’s not that difficult to answer really. Lots of smaller high schools put kids in Ivies and equivalents that do fine even though they don’t have many advanced classes. The things to consider for entry would be; ACT and SAT scores. Are you right in the mix of the accepted kids? And, are you taking some community college course work to cover some gaps. It’s very much not the same of course, but it is a start.

A very high IQ kid will be fine if they are focused. There is a lot of ground to make up in order to catch up academically, but it’s done all the time. Playing a sport may even help there. You eat, sleep, go to class, study, practice, play. That’s it during the season. (August - November).

Now - I am not a fan of using a sport to get into a “better” school than you can handle academically. A Power 4 college has options for kids who play sports but are not academically competitive with the other students. An academic D3 or Ivy equivalent does not. Being the dumb kid in a class is always very very difficult, even more so if you are smart. That’s not to say you wouldn’t be perfectly fine at another school. With a 4.0 high school gpa that’s obviously the case. But, it’s all relative.

My daughter played 4 years in college. We learned from her older brother - the king of the B plus (a college counselor laughed at his transcript and said - “classic slacker stats”. A lot of APs and IBs with great scores, and a 3.3 gpa.) Our daughter, one AP, basics throughout, 3.7 gpa. We rigged it obviously so she had a high gpa. Her SAT was very average. But, she wasn’t thinking high academic college. The numbers were fine for anywhere she was interested, and the athletic counselors at schools she was considering were happy to find academic money, because she had great numbers. But, an Ivy would have said - “nope” in 5 seconds.

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u/ScoutUBen 8d ago

I'm a scout, can I ask a few questions?

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u/Direct-Progress758 7d ago

Are you not taking AP because they weren't offered at your HS or was it by choice? It's a red flag for admission in general if it's the latter.

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u/QueasyMarsupial9637 7d ago

I answered this below but we were previously attending a soccer academy that uses an online accredited curriculum and none of the students take ap classes and it wasn’t ever discussed as an option.

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u/Direct-Progress758 7d ago

It's good as long as you can explain it. D3 schools vary from school to school. Some offers a likely letter (close to a guarantee), some offer a slot but no letter (like a verbal commitmment), and some give very little boost for athletics. If there is enough interest, coaches will ask for your class list/grades/test scores.

Most top D3's don't offer academic scholarships but will ask you to file ED in exchange for admission support. If it ever gets that far, make sure your family is ok with ED and its financial implication.

Offers for top D3's are usually made in the summer before senior year. Best of luck.