D3Playbook: A Great Admissions Year, For Some

written by STEVE ULRICH
your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

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TOP STORY

1. A Great Admissions Year, For Some

by Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed

"Not all of the most selective colleges have given out their acceptance letters yet -- the Ivy League will announce Tuesday evening -- but the trends are already clear. The pandemic has not hurt the colleges in admissions; it's helped them. It has sent them new applicants, new minority and first-generation applicants, and new attention. The results are starting to come in -- and they suggest that the most selective private and public institutions are going to have a very good year. What that means for all the other colleges remains to be seen.

Colby College admitted only 8 percent of the (record) 15,857 students who applied, down from 10 percent last year and 13 percent the year before. Despite the popularity of test-optional admissions (which Colby had as a policy before the pandemic), Colby received students with great test scores: the median ACT score is 34, and the median SAT score is 1520. Thirty-five percent of American students are people of color, and 11 percent are international students.

Colby is not alone. Williams College also admitted 8 percent of students this year, out of 12,500 applicants. The admit rate is down from 12 percent two years ago, the last class admitted before the pandemic.

Swarthmore College also had an 8 percent admit rate this year, down from 9 percent last year.

And if 8 percent seems impressive, consider the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which admitted just 4 percent of the 33,240 students who applied. That is a 66 percent increase in applicants in one year. The admit rate fell from 7 percent."

>> Yes, But: Robert J. Massa, principal and co-founder of Enrollment Intelligence Now, said via email that the numbers are indeed good for the more selective colleges and universities. But he said, "We need to remember that although there was an 11 percent increase in applications submitted through the Common App, there was a less than 2 percent increase in the number of students applying. For the institutions with brand recognition, that meant record numbers of applications in the wake of COVID-related test optional policies. Yields will be lower and waitlist activity will likely be high, with -- pardon the expression -- a 'trickle down' impact on many less selective colleges and universities. I would guess that waitlists at institutions with admit rates in the single digits will hit record levels."

>> Translation: "He added that "this does not portend well for lesser selective schools admitting, for example, 40 percent of their applicants vs 4 percent, not to mention those admitting 80 percent. Most of these schools did not receive record numbers of applicants, are admitting a higher percentage in order to enroll the class, have small or no waitlists, and will be subject to waitlist decisions of schools further up on the prestige scale. It is not a pretty picture."

>> Continue Reading

BANDS

2. The Championship Match

To quote the Highlander ... there can be only one!

Is the best fight song in Division III

The Heidelberg Victory March

Or, is the best fight song in Division III

Adrian College | The Adrian College Bulldog Marching Band is… | Flickr

Hail Adrian!

Voting is open @D3Playbook until 9 p.m. EDT tonight

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CONFERENCES

3. We Are The Champions

Salute to these conference champions.

Basketball (W)

NJAC: New Jersey City

Football

ODAC: Randolph-Macon
USA South: Huntingdon

Ice Hockey (M)

UCHC: Elmira

Volleyball (W)

SLIAC: Greenville

NCAA

4. Calendar

April
7-9 - Wrestling Committee
10-11 - Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
12-13 - Management Council
15 - Membership Committee
20 - Championships Committee
20 - Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee
21 - Interpretations and Legislation Committee
21 - Committee on Women's Athletics
23-24 - Men's Volleyball Championship
28 - Presidents Council

LACROSSE

5. Diplomats, Tigers Remain at #1

IWLCA Women

Franklin & Marshall (19), 1-0
Washington and Lee, 8-0
Tufts (4), 1-0
Salisbury (2), 9-0
Gettysburg, 3-0
York, Pa., 6-0
Catholic, 3-0
Ithaca, 6-0
Colby, 1-0
Wesleyan, Conn., 0-1

11-15: Denison, St. John Fisher, Geneseo, TCNJ, Trinity (Conn.)
16-20: Brockport, William Smith, Cortland, Mary Washington, Messiah
21-25: Christopher Newport, St. Mary's (Md.), Montclair State, Lynchburg, Colorado College

>> Welcome: Montclair State
>> Chutes: Wesleyan (-4), Colorado College (-4)
>> Ladders: Cortland (+4), Colby (+3)

>> Games to Watch: #6 York vs. #20 Messiah (Wed.); #19 Mary Washington vs. #22 St. Mary's (Wed.); #3 Tufts vs. #9 Colby (Sat.); #12 St. John Fisher vs. #13 Geneseo (Sat.)

>> Complete Poll

USILA Men

RIT (14), 4-0
Salisbury (6), 7-1
York, 7-0
Tufts (1), 0-0
Lynchburg, 7-2
Cabrini, 3-1
St. Lawrence, 2-0
Williams, 0-0
Christopher Newport, 6-3
Gettysburg, 1-0

11-15: Stevenson, St. John Fisher, Ursinus, Denison, Union
16-20: Wesleyan, Franklin & Marshall, Hampden-Sydney, Ohio Wesleyan, Colorado College

>> Chutes: Denison (-5), Christopher Newport (-4)
>> Ladders: York (+3), St. Lawrence (+3), Stevenson (+3)
>> Hello: Hampden-Sydney, Ohio Wesleyan, Colorado College

>> Games to Watch: North Central vs. Illinois Wesleyan (Wed.); Baldwin Wallace vs. John Carroll (Wed.); #7 St. Lawrence vs. #15 Union (Sat.); #10 Gettysburg vs. #13 Ursinus (Sat.)

>> Complete Poll

TRANSACTIONS

6. Comings and Goings

MARYVILLE - Sara Quatrocky named athletic director

1 THING

7. Every 17 Years

In a few weeks, billions of periodical cicadas are predicted to emerge in parts of the eastern U.S. after 17 years underground, managing editor Alison Snyder writes in Axios Science.

Brood X is one of the largest of 15 groups of cicadas that come out en masse in the U.S. at various intervals.
Once the soil temperature reaches 64°F, typically in late April or early May, billions of noisy cicadas will emerge, mate and lay eggs — all within four to six weeks.

What we're watching: D.C. could be the "main stage" for the 17-year swarm, the WashPost reports:

Georgia and other Southern states will probably be where they first emerge around the end of March, experts say. But residents of the Washington area are standing at ground zero. The District, Maryland and Virginia are likely to host more of these animals than any other of the 14 states that share the experience.

See a map of Brood X. ... Share this story.

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