NESCAC

[Ejay]

I believe admission rates across the board were lower because 2021 HS graduates were casting a wider net when applying to colleges due to lack of standardized test scores + an inability to travel to visit campuses.

The question on my mind - you now have 3 years of students who have an extra year of eligibility.  How many kids will go to graduate school and play one more year?

[PaulNewman]

I believe admission rates across the board were lower because 2021 HS graduates were casting a wider net when applying to colleges due to lack of standardized test scores + an inability to travel to visit campuses.

The question on my mind - you now have 3 years of students who have an extra year of eligibility.  How many kids will go to graduate school and play one more year?

Yup, that makes sense.  Also interesting because one of the last big discussions on the board (and elsewhere) before we got back up and running with this season was alarm about how many schools would literally shut down never to return again.  The greatest concern was about colleges already in very precarious financial situations (and some did but may have been headed that way regardless of Covid) but there also was a seemingly pretty legit study or projections making the rounds about colleges more broadly where even very well-known and fairly prestigious schools were considered at high to moderate risk while many of the usual suspects were projected to continue thriving.  I suppose we're still in early days as far as long-term impact.  Others may have info that counters my impression but seems like big picture colleges have survived perhaps better than many of us feared.

At any rate, if the admit rates really are kind of artificially inflated the more accurate metric to consider are yield rates.

[PaulNewman]

I believe admission rates across the board were lower because 2021 HS graduates were casting a wider net when applying to colleges due to lack of standardized test scores + an inability to travel to visit campuses.

The question on my mind - you now have 3 years of students who have an extra year of eligibility.  How many kids will go to graduate school and play one more year?

Ejay, I'm embarrassed that I can't answer this myself (and maybe others can chime in) but what do you mean by 3 years of students?  How does that work?  Does any student athlete who was a frosh to senior during the missed Covid season automatically four real years of eligibility and five years to do it, or are you saying they all get a full five years of eligibility and six years to use them?  Very confused.

Also thought we had a fair share of guys who did do a graduate year this year.  Could someone who did a graduate year this year do another one?  And I would guess players who have an extra year left and are at schools that don't have graduate programs could go to another another D3 for his or her final year (kind of like the transfer portal where there could be some great talent on the open market and only schools with graduate programs would benefit).

[PaulNewman]

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[Ejay]

I believe admission rates across the board were lower because 2021 HS graduates were casting a wider net when applying to colleges due to lack of standardized test scores + an inability to travel to visit campuses.

The question on my mind - you now have 3 years of students who have an extra year of eligibility.  How many kids will go to graduate school and play one more year?

Ejay, I'm embarrassed that I can't answer this myself (and maybe others can chime in) but what do you mean by 3 years of students?  How does that work?  Does any student athlete who was a frosh to senior during the missed Covid season automatically four real years of eligibility and five years to do it, or are you saying they all get a full five years of eligibility and six years to use them?  Very confused.

Also thought we had a fair share of guys who did do a graduate year this year.  Could someone who did a graduate year this year do another one?  And I would guess players who have an extra year left and are at schools that don't have graduate programs could go to another another D3 for his or her final year (kind of like the transfer portal where there could be some great talent on the open market and only schools with graduate programs would benefit).

Yes, anyone who is a Soph-Sr this year has earned an additional year.  For example, a Soph. at Haverford could play two more years (Jr-Sr) and graduate with an undergraduate degree in Economics. He could then go to NYU for a Masters in Economics and play a "5th" year.

Real example - My son's team had a grad student on their roster this past season who had played 4 years at another school (graduated spring 2021) and was now playing a 5th year while pursuing an MBA. They also had a Sr. who will graduate this May, but may return for an MBA and play a 5th year. 

[PaulNewman]

Thanks Ejay...so if I'm reading you correctly it's more of a replacement year than an additional year of eligibility.  Is that correct?  They don't get to play five real seasons.  The Haverford soph didn't get to play his frosh year, played soph year, then two more junior and senior and then if wishes can go somewhere for his real 4th year to actually play.  Or do I still have it wrong.  I think I'm partly confused because seems like a fair number of kids who did get in frosh and/or soph year before Covid, sat out at least one semester the Covid to preserve a year, so that in that case they don't get the Covid year because they weren't in school but still have 2 or 1 year left after playing again this season just concluded.

I should put this in a different thread, but based on these parameters Kenyon could be returning everyone except CB Sam Hosmer-Quint who just today was named a 1st team Academic All American and 3 year GK starter but backup this year, Ian McInturf.  Of course I expected Chayne Bruneau back this year who transferred to Springfield and I'm not sure what happened to Tomas Munoz Reyes from Chile/CT/Black Rock who would still have eligibility left but don't know if he left Kenyon, dropped soccer, or was just doing some kind of internship at Goldman Sachs this Fall.  Anyway, could bode well if only losing one starter no key subs and with a fresh class coming in.

A team also has to avoid major injuries.  Conn probably doesn't win this year if Djerdjaj, Yeonas, Bocchetti, or Tshuma has a serious injury. Some good fortune is necessary.

[Ejay]

Yes, it's a "replacement" season.  It's like the 2020 season never happened regardless of whether you played an 8 game modified schedule like the ODAC, or 0 games like the NESCAC. 

So W&Ls Zimmerman, who started 5/8 games in 2020 as a Fr., and all 21 this year as a So., has 3 more seasons of eligibility. If he graduates on time (May 2024), then his "replacement" season would be as a grad student somewhere in the Fall of 2024.  If he decides to gap a spring semester, then his "replacement" season would be as a 5th year senior and he would graduate in December 2024 instead of the previous May.

I don't think may kids will choose the latter as they wouldn't want skip a semester at school. But I can certainly see a bunch of kids who would jump at the opportunity to play one more year while earning a graduate degree.  In our Zimmerman example, he could play 2 more years at W&L, graduate on time and with his friends, and then play a "replacement" season at Montclair State who offers a 12-mo accelerated MBA program.

[d4_Pace]

I know in the past that kids have usually gone the second route, taking off their junior spring semester and getting an internship before coming back for a fifth year and December graduation. With everyone having that extra year now I'm sure we will also see more people go the grad school route but it only really makes sense if you were planning on going to grad school anyways.

[PaulNewman]

I know in the past that kids have usually gone the second route, taking off their junior spring semester and getting an internship before coming back for a fifth year and December graduation. With everyone having that extra year now I'm sure we will also see more people go the grad school route but it only really makes sense if you were planning on going to grad school anyways.

Thanks again, Ejay.  I agree with D4 though that a good number did or will choose the second option, especially if they are with a program expected to be a legit contender like Tufts, W&L, Kenyon, etc.  For instance, I think Muther took off the Fall 2020 semester to not lose a season.  And I would think a Zimmerman would find a way to get his replacement year at W&L on a projected top 5 team rather than look for another one unless of course he already had planned to go to grad school at another D3 with a very good program.  Tufts of course does have some graduate programs and W&L has a law school and perhaps grad programs in journalism or a couple of other things, but if you weren't originally planning on grad school skipping a semester and using that for work, internship, going abroad apart from a school program, etc.  might seem ideal.

BTW, two Tufts players named Academic All American....Van Brewer to 1st team and Cano to 3rd team....and surprisingly, which should fuel another NESCAC gripe, they were the only two selections for the entire NESCAC which seems odd.

[jknezek]

I know in the past that kids have usually gone the second route, taking off their junior spring semester and getting an internship before coming back for a fifth year and December graduation. With everyone having that extra year now I'm sure we will also see more people go the grad school route but it only really makes sense if you were planning on going to grad school anyways.

Thanks again, Ejay.  I agree with D4 though that a good number did or will choose the second option, especially if they are with a program expected to be a legit contender like Tufts, W&L, Kenyon, etc.  For instance, I think Muther took off the Fall 2020 semester to not lose a season.  And I would think a Zimmerman would find a way to get his replacement year at W&L on a projected top 5 team rather than look for another one unless of course he already had planned to go to grad school at another D3 with a very good program.  Tufts of course does have some graduate programs and W&L has a law school and perhaps grad programs in journalism or a couple of other things, but if you weren't originally planning on grad school skipping a semester and using that for work, internship, going abroad apart from a school program, etc.  might seem ideal.

BTW, two Tufts players named Academic All American....Van Brewer to 1st team and Cano to 3rd team....and surprisingly, which should fuel another NESCAC gripe, they were the only two selections for the entire NESCAC which seems odd.

The Generals only grad program is law.

[blooter442]

I didn't do rigorous comparative research here, but I think Colby as of the latest data for class of 2025 has the lowest admit rate in the entire NESCAC around 8% and Bowdoin is right there with Colby in the 8-9% range.  Just a few years ago Colby was still very exclusive in the 20-25% range iirc but 8% is pretty stunning.  Williams, Amherst, and Midd are all still very low as well but I think more in line with their historical figures.  I think I saw that Bates is at 14% which in some ways is more stunning because Bates isn't as endowment "wealthy" as Colby, Bowdoin, etc.  I'm sure some other very elite LACs nationally (like W&L) have seen drops, but clearly there is still extremely strong interest in the NESCACs.

Colby's growth and progress over recent years has been well-documented, but I do wonder how much 8% is sustainable. Then again, they are smart enough to know that you can't just become "elite" just by lowering acceptance rate (tuition money starts to run out at some point), so obviously the volume of applications has put them in a position to do so. Did not realize the size (or lack thereof) of Bates' endowment vs. the other members of CBB until talking to a close friend/alumnus recently who informed me it is around 1/3 of the size ($341MM vs. $1B). I always thought of Bates' student body as less Wall Street-y (and more hippie/Earthy/etc.) so maybe that has something to do with it.

They now have one of the very top athletic facilities in all of D3 and an AI institute that you would expect from MIT more so than a Maine Coast LAC, and the partnership and growth with the town/city of Waterville apparently has become phenomenal.

I'm in the Northeastern (Roux Institute) graduate analytics program concentrating on ML/AI and the head of the CompSci department is the guy who started the data science arm at Colby. Really smart guy (obviously). I knew they did work with Roux but did not realize Colby had an AI Institute in and of itself...that is impressive. DS as a field is changing day by day and is projected to have a ~50% shortfall in terms of supply vs. demand over the coming years so they anticipated that wave at the perfect time.

[PaulNewman]

OK, I waited a couple of days hoping someone else would post this, so please don't shoot the messenger....Middlebury has shut down again.  Don't know what the expectation is for how long and hopefully just to close out the current semester.  What strange, strange (and difficult) times we're living through.

[hiyasoccer]

Blooter how are the efforts to replicate Klopp's brain going? Could totally transform the Northeastern soccer program. 

[blooter442]

Blooter how are the efforts to replicate Klopp's brain going? Could totally transform the Northeastern soccer program. 

Ha — his contract is up in 2024 so I'd best be quick! If they can build 1/10th of the analysis department that Michael Edwards has built I think they'll be OK.

As someone who was pre-law in college (and no coding background) I found a lot of success through the "find something you're interested in" approach to learning code. I actually taught myself the majority of what I know in Python by using FiveThirtyEight's Soccer Power Index (SPI) and FIFA (16-20) datasets — started off pretty basic but would try a new concept each time and it made it easier to retain what I was learning.

[College Soccer Observer]

New England Soccer Journal D3 Best XI https://www.nesoccerjournal.com/best-xi-who-were-new-englands-top-d3-mens-players-in-2021/
GK--Ryan Grady, Middlebury
D--Ian Daly, Tufts
D--Emelson Barbosa, U-Mass Boston
D--Biagio Paoletta, Tufts
M--Calvin Aroh, Tufts
M--Augie Djerdjaj, Conn
M--Peter Novoa, MIT
M--Steve Yeonas, Conn
F--German Giammattei, Amherst
F--Nilton de Andrade, U-Mass Boston
F--Drake Byrd, Bowdoin

Also considered:
GK:  Liam Devanny, Wesleyan and Itai Rubin, Babson
D:  Liam Hanlon, Babson; Casey Kelly, Salve Regina; Bryce Johnson, Amherst; Michael McFarlane, Middlebury
M:  Travis Van Brewer, Tufts; William Toomey, Eastern Connecticut; Alex Shahmirzahdi, Amherst; Ignaccio Cubeddu, Amherst; Javier Beltran, Roger Williams
F:  Chase Gwynn, Gordon; Joey Songthysavong, Norwich; Jordan Saint-Louis, Middlebury