Could someone explain the recruiting process for D3 academically strong schools (MIT, UChicago, Amherst, etc) and ivies? Do they typically wait to see where the top commits go first or do they go after a different pool (not top, but solid players with high GPAs) from the start? Thank you.
The process is different for everyone... and every school.
Be proactive, reach out to all of the coaches at the schools that your daughter is interested in not just the head coach. Ask your club coach/director, High School coach, any current players that you may know at the schools to contact the coaches about your daughter. Be persistent without being annoying.
The most important thing is to try and get on the coaches radar.... Coaches watch players and they know what and who they like but no coach gets all of their "top recruits" so they are constantly reassessing and prioritizing their recruiting lists.
Although the pool of players with the academic credentials to go to the type of schools that you mentioned is smaller than than the rest of the pool of players you are still talking about a large number of student athletes trying to get recruited.
