SUMMARY

The 2023/2024 NCAA fencing season starts off with about 1,320 fencers spread across 45 colleges in Division 1, 2 and 3, with 827 fencers housed in the 29 Division 1 colleges, and 493 fencers housed in the 16 Division 2 and 3 colleges.

The academic spectrum across the 45 colleges is very wide, so are the rankings and rating classifications of fencers on these college fencing teams. For fencers planning their path to athlete recruitment, it is important to understand the differences in recruiting requirements of the colleges. There is not a “one size fits all” standard that fencers must meet.

With 6 colleges in Division 1 (Brown, Barnard, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Northwestern and Temple) and 4 colleges in Division 3 (City College, Denison, Tufts and Wellesley) fielding only women’s teams, the 2023/2024 season sees a total of 672 women fencers spread across 45 colleges compared to a total of 611 men fencers spread across 35 colleges only.

It is important to remember that not every fencer on an NCAA fencing team is a recruited fencer. The composition of the fencing teams varies by college. At some colleges, nearly the whole fencing team comprises of athlete recruits, while at other colleges, “walk-on” fencers form the majority of the team.

DISTRIBUTION BY WEAPON AND GENDER

Based on the roster data we collected as at November 30, 2023, women’s epee and women’s foil had the largest concentration of fencers, each with 231 fencers, women’s sabre had 210 fencers, while men’s epee had 214 fencers, men’s foil had 201fencers and men’s sabre had 196 fencers.

Team sizes vary across the colleges - four colleges this season have teams of more than 50 fencers spanning from freshman fencers to graduate student fencers - these colleges are Ohio State University with 57 fencers, University of Notre Dame with 59 fencers, Drew University with 51 fencers and Stevens Institute of Technology with 54 fencers, while at the other end of the spectrum, there are college teams with as few as 12 fencers.

NATIONAL/FIE POINTS DISTRIBUTION BY WEAPON AND GENDER

We broke out the distribution of freshman fencers with junior national points or junior FIE points by weapon and gender across the 18 colleges considered to be the top fencing colleges in the NCAA. At these colleges, 70% of incoming freshmen on average have national points. The analysis below demonstrates the recruitment openings for fencers with national points at the top 18 NCAA fencing colleges.

In the 6-year period tracked from 2018 to 2023, these 18 colleges recruited a total of about 670 fencers with junior national or FIE points across 3 weapons and 2 genders.

Based on the table below:

• Women’s foil had the largest group of 123 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 20.5 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

• Women’s epee had the 2nd largest group of 117 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 19.5 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

• Men’s foil had the 3rd largest group of 114 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 19 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

• Men’s epee had 111 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 18.5 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

• Men’s sabre had 104 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 17 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

• Women’s sabre the smallest group had 101 recruits over the 6-year period, for an average total of 16.8 recruits annually across 18 colleges.

In the 2023/24 season, the top 18 Division colleges on-boarded 120 freshman fencers with national/FIE points across the 3 weapons and 2 genders. This averages about 20 recruits per weapon per gender across the 18 colleges.

NOTE: College recruitment patterns shown below over the last 6 years (2018 - 2023) reflect that there are fluctuations in number of recruits by gender and weapon from year to year. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment demonstrates these fluctuations by college over the 6-year period.

ROSTER SIZES BY WEAPON AND GENDER

The tables below gives you a breakdown of each team of fencers by gender and weapon at the 45 NCAA fencing colleges for the 2023/2024 fencing season:

NCAA FENCING ROSTER SIZE 2023/2024 - DIVISION 1

College academic profiles

To be viable athlete recruit candidates, fencers must first meet the college’s academic requirements.

The academic profiles of the 45 colleges vary significantly. It is important for fencers to identify the colleges where they are an academic fit FIRST before they proceed to target those colleges for athlete recruitment.

Colleges in both Division 1 and Division 3 include many academically elite universities as well as universities who admit students further down the academic ladder.

Of the 45 colleges, 9 are liberal arts colleges, with 3 of them in Division 1 and 6 of them in Division 3. With the addition of a Division 3 fencing team to Wheaton College in the 2024/2025 season, there will be a total of 10 liberal arts colleges with NCAA fencing.

We breakdown the 45 colleges into 5 distinct academic categories (more details below):

• 12 academically elite colleges (middle 50% SAT scores:1470 - 1580)

• 10 highly selective colleges (middle 50% SAT scores: 1320 - 1550)

• 10 moderately selective colleges (middle 50% SAT scores: 1200 - 1500)

• 6 colleges with easier academics (middle 50% SAT scores: 1050 - 1380)

• 7 colleges with high acceptance rates (middle 50% SAT scores: 950 - 1280)

You can explore the academic statistics of admitted students to the 45 fencing colleges below.

The data includes acceptance rates, the mid-50% ranges for SAT and ACT scores, and average GPAs of the class of 2026 based on the Common Data Sets 2022/23 of the 45 colleges. The data also includes college rankings and graduation rates from the 2024 US News College Rankings and includes median starting salaries for graduates of these colleges.

Academic Profiles of Division 1 CollegEs

Academic Profiles of Division 2 and 3 CollegEs

12 Academically Elite Colleges

These academically elite fencing colleges have rigorous academic requirements that are also accompanied by tough fencing performance metrics for fencers, especially amongst the Division 1 colleges.

Based on the academic statistics of the class of 2026, colleges in the academically elite group generally have minimum 25th percentile SAT scores of 1470 and 75th percentile SAT scores reaching as high as 1580. At these colleges, between 60% and 110% of their admitted students submitted test scores with their applications. The requirements for demonstrated academic rigor in a fencer’s high school course work is high even as acceptance rates for this group of colleges is below 10% in all cases.

Below is a list of the 12 academically elite colleges categorized by the NCAA Division they belong in.

Division 1

Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

Division 3

Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Of these 12 academically elite colleges, Brown, Cornell and Northwestern field a women’s fencing team only.

11 Highly Selective Colleges

The academic requirements of this group of highly selective colleges are demanding, even though the acceptance rates at this group of colleges is generally between 10% and 20%. The fencing performance requirements at this group of colleges is very diverse, but generally less tough than at the academically elite colleges.

Based on the academic statistics for the class of 2026, minimum 25th percentile SAT scores are about 1350 and 75th percentile SAT scores reach into the 1500s at this group of 8 colleges. At these colleges, the percentage of admitted students who submitted test scores with their applications ranged from 27% to 67%. The requirement for academic rigor in high school course work is also high at this group of highly selective colleges.

Below is a list of the academically highly selective colleges categorized by the NCAA Division they belong in.

Division 1

Boston College, Barnard College, University of California San Diego, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, and US Air Force Academy

Division 3

Haverford College, New York University, Tufts University, Vassar College, Wellesley College

Of the 8 academically high selective colleges, Barnard and Wellesley field a women’s fencing team only. 4 of these highly selective colleges with NCAA fencing are liberal arts colleges - Barnard, Haverford, Vassar and Wellesley.

9 moderately selective Colleges

At this group of colleges, academic requirements are less demanding than at the 20 colleges identified above. At these colleges, fencing performance requirements are diverse and flexible.

Based on the academic statistics of the class of 2026 at these colleges, minimum 25th percentile SAT scores start at 1200 and 75th percentile SAT scores reach as high as 1500. Acceptance rates vary between these colleges from 16% to a high of 53%

Below is a list of academically strong colleges categorized by the NCAA Division they belong in:

Division 1

Lafayette College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, and Pennsylvania State University.

Division 3

Brandeis University, Lawrence University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Denison University and Yeshiva University.

Of these 9 academically strong colleges, Denison University fields a women’s fencing team only, and Yeshiva University’s roster over 6 years indicates that their team is made up entirely of “walk-on” fencers.

4 of the colleges in the moderately selective group are liberal arts colleges - Lafayette College, US Air Force Academy, Lawrence University and Denison University.

6 Colleges with Easier Academics

This group of colleges have less demanding academics and are less selective in their admissions process. They are generally also flexible on their fencing performance metrics.

Based on the academic statistics of the class of 2026 at these colleges, the minimum 25th percentile SAT score is 1050 and the 75th percentile scores reach up to 1380. Acceptance rates at these colleges range between 50% and 90%.

Below is a list of colleges with easier academics categorized by the NCAA Division they belong in:

Division 1

Long Island University, Sacred Heart University, St Johns University, Temple University and Wagner College

Division 3

Drew University

Of these 6 colleges, Drew University is the only liberal arts college.

7 Colleges with high acceptance rates

This group of colleges has basic academic requirements for admission. They generally also have flexible fencing performance metrics.

Based on the academic statistics of the class of 2026 at these colleges, the minimum 25th percentile SAT score is 950, and in some cases, the colleges did not disclose test scores at all. Acceptance rates ranged from 40% to 93%.

Below is a list of open admissions colleges categorized by the NCAA Division they belong in:

Division 1

Cleveland State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, University of Detroit Mercy and University of the Incarnate Word.

Division 2

Wayne State University

Division 3

City College of New York, and Hunter College,

Of these 7 colleges with high acceptance rates, Fairleigh Dickinson and City College field women’s only teams. Based on 6-year roster data (2018 - 2023), fencing teams at Fairleigh Dickinson, City College and Hunter College comprise of “walk-on” fencers with little to no fencing experience.

Fencing Performance Metrics

Just as there is diversity in academic requirements, there is also diversity in fencing performance metrics between the 45 colleges.

Generally, the academically elite colleges in Division 1 require their fencing recruits to meet a much higher standard of fencing performance than the other colleges in Division 1. Even between the elite fencing colleges, there are real differences that fencers must understand in order to pursue an effective recruitment strategy.

We discuss the importance of each of the major fencing performance metrics used by NCAA coaches in the recruitment process.

Junior National Points

Amongst the elite universities, and some of the highly selective and moderately selective colleges, whether a fencer has junior national points is the most important fencing metric used in assessing a fencer’s candidacy for recruitment to a college fencing team.

At the academically elite colleges in Division 1, junior national points are either the sole determinant or, at the very least, a major factor in determining whether a fencer can get recruited to that elite college.

Top 18 Division 1 Colleges

The chart below shows that at the 18 Division 1 colleges viewed as strong fencing schools, freshman fencers with junior national points or junior FIE points represent 70% of the total number of incoming freshman fencers at these colleges for the 2023/2024 fencing season.

CHART: Comparison of Ranked to Unranked Fencers at Top 18 Division 1 Colleges 2018 - 2023

When you look closely at the 18 colleges individually, you will see, as demonstrated in the chart below, that at some of the elite colleges freshman fencers with junior national points make up more than 90% of the team in the 2023/2024 fencing season. Unranked freshman fencers at these 18 colleges are usually fencers with ratings classifications only and occasionally, they are “walk-on” fencers who have neither national points nor ratings.

Only at Ohio State, US Air Force Academy and UNC Chapel Hill, did freshman fencers without national points outnumber fencers with national points in the 2023/24 fencing season. Meanwhile, at Columbia and Princeton, 100% of freshman fencers for the 2023/24 season had junior national points.

You will see in a later chart that at elite Division 3 colleges like Johns Hopkins, national points are beginning to feature more prominently amongst recruited fencers to that college.

CHART: Comparison of Ranked and Unranked Freshman Fencers by College at Top 18 Division 1 Colleges 2023/2024

Understanding what the junior national points distribution is like at the individual colleges is critical to a fencer’s understanding if they are a viable recruitment candidate for that college. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment sets out in detail the distribution of national points and ratings classifications at each of the 45 colleges, making it clear to aspiring recruits where their best fencing fit is.

Ratings Classifications

The 2nd most important criteria in assessing a fencer’s viability for athlete recruitment is the fencer’s ratings classification. At many Division 3 colleges, and even the less competitive fencing colleges in Division 1, ratings classifications play the biggest role in the evaluation of a fencer’s viability as an athlete recruit.

The type of tournament at which the rating classification was earned is also an important part of the evaluation, especially at the elite colleges and a few of the highly selective colleges. A rating earned at a large A3 or A4 regional event will certainly be more valuable than a rating earned at a C2 event.

Remaining 11 Division 1 Colleges

The table below shows the aggregate breakdown of freshman fencers to the remaining 11 Division 1 colleges over a 6-year period from 2018 to 2023.

You can see that at these 11 colleges, fencers with junior national points represent only 24% of incoming freshman fencers over a 6-year period, and freshman fencers with ratings classifications represent 27% of incoming fencers, and fencers with neither rankings or ratings form the bulk of incoming freshman fencers. 49% of incoming freshman fencers at these 11 Division 1 colleges had neither national points nor a ratings classification.

These statistics indicate that half to less than half of each freshman group is recruited while the remaining fencers on the team are “walk-on” fencers.

You can see the differences between the colleges, with St Johns University and Temple University recruiting a majority of their freshman fencers from those with national or FIE points, while some of the other colleges, recruit from amongst those fencers with ratings classifications only.

CHART: Breakdown of Freshman Fencers by Rankings and Ratings at Remaining 11 Division 1 Colleges 2018 t0 2023

Division 2 and 3 colleges

At the 16 Division 2 and 3 colleges, freshmen fencers with ratings classifications only and no national points make up 35% of all incoming freshmen over a 6-year period from 2018 to 2023. At these colleges, fencers with national or FIE points made up only 16% of incoming freshman over the same 6-year period. Freshman fencers without ratings or rankings made up the bulk of the incoming teams each year at 49%.

At the individual college level, you can see that at Johns Hopkins, 46% of freshman fencers had national points over a 6-year period, while 43% had ratings classifications only. At MIT, 33% of freshman fencers had national points and 29% had ratings classifications only.

Over at the Stevens Institute of Technology, 48% of freshman fencers over the 6-year period had ratings classifications compared to only 9% of freshman fencers who had national points. At Drew University, 41% of freshman fencers had a ratings classification, while 58% of freshman fencers over 6 years had neither rankings nor ratings.

CHART: Breakdown of Freshman Fencers by Rankings and Ratings at Division 2 and 3 Colleges 2018 to 2023

Understanding what the national points and ratings classification distribution is like at the individual colleges is critical to a fencer’s understanding if they are a viable recruitment candidate for that college. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment sets out in detail the distribution of national points and ratings classifications at each of the 45 colleges, making it clear to potential recruits where their best fencing fit is.

Fencing Club and coach Standing

This is a criteria typically used by elite and some highly selective universities when recruiting fencers with ratings classifications only. The reputation of the fencer’s coach and the overall performance of the fencing club does influence whether the NCAA coach takes fencer’s viability for recruitment seriously.

The searchable database in the Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment enables you to search for the fencing clubs that fencers at a specific college trained at in high school.

CADET national points

Cadet national points can play an important back-up role in a fencer’s athlete recruitment process. However, they are not a substitute for having junior national points, especially if a fencer aspires to be recruited to an elite college.

There are more fencing colleges looking to recruit qualified fencers than there are fencers in a given recruiting year who are interested in being recruited to a college. Colleges outside of the elite colleges and selected highly selective colleges sometimes struggle to find fencers of a high enough caliber to recruit to their teams.

As such, NCAA coaches who find themselves in this position have to widen the criteria they use to find qualified recruits.

Here are circumstances where cadet national points come into play.

Fencer has cadet national points but not junior national points

The cadet national points are relevant when the NCAA coach generally recruits fencers with junior national points, but is willing to recruit fencers with ratings but no junior national points or fencers who are low on the junior points list to complete their teams.

If a fencer had cadet points previously, the coach may take that into account in the recruiting process.

Fencer was on the cadet traveling team but is low on the junior points list

A fencer performed well as a cadet and made the traveling team but has not been able to climb the junior points list and for example, is ranked in the low 80s on the junior points list. An NCAA coach who typically recruits fencers ranked in the top 50 of the junior points list could take into consideration the fencer’s outstanding cadet performance to justify recruiting that fencer, provided the NCAA coach has a vacancy.

But remember that a fencer in this position is unlikely to take precedence over a fencer who is ranked higher on the junior points list assuming that the academics of both fencers are comparable.

NCAA Coach typically unable to recruit fencers with Junior national points

A fencer with cadet national points but no junior national points may be an appealing recruitment candidate to an NCAA coach and college that typically cannot attract fencers with junior national points to join them. Typically, in these circumstances, the fencer’s rating classification, and the fencer’s cadet points will come into play in the evaluation process.

Observations

• For top fencers with outstanding grades, the pathway to one of the 12 academically elite universities is direct and clear. The elite universities are waiting for you.

• Advance planning is essential for fencers with outstanding grades targeting recruitment to one of the elite or highly selective colleges, but have fencing metrics that are not as clearcut.

  These fencers need insight into the recruiting patterns of the elite and highly selective colleges to identify where they may have an opportunity at being recruited. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment has in-depth recruiting profiles for the 45 colleges and will give you insight into where your opportunities are.

• For families who hope that fencing will give their child an advantage in admission to an elite university, it is essential to understand as early as possible both the academic and fencing profiles of these 12 elite fencing colleges, so that you know what benchmarks your fencer must meet.

• While junior national points are the most important fencing performance metric amongst the elite colleges, there is still a spectrum of ranking from Number 1 to Number 101 or more on the national points list. The distribution of fencers’ positions on the national points list varies between the colleges. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment provides an in-depth look at the national points and ratings distribution of fencers at each of the 45 colleges.

• There is no single recruiting benchmark applied across all 45 colleges. Every NCAA coach and college uses a different combination of metrics to select their fencing athlete recruits. Some emphasize national points, while others for a variety of reasons, will accept ratings classifications and high school fencing team experience as qualifiers for recruitment. Some even focus on a fencer’s personality.

  For example, a fencer may have learned from a coach at a moderately selective college about the fencing metrics he/she uses in recruitment. Take note that those metrics apply specifically to that coach and that college. It is not appropriate to assume that the combination of metrics apply to all NCAA coaches and colleges.

  If a fencer is interested in a specific college, then the fencer is advised to speak directly to the NCAA coach at that college to learn what is important for recruitment at the college.

  Recently, FP and X Factor Admissions has received many enquiries that reflect misunderstanding and confusion resulting from fencers and families extrapolating information gained from one college and applying that information across the board to all colleges without nuance. These misunderstandings appear to have magnified the fear and anxiety that families feel as they get closer to applying to college.

  Clarity removes anxiety. The Parents’ Guide to Elite University Recruitment provides that clarity.

Disclaimer: This report is created to provide fencers with general informational statistics on colleges with NCAA sanctioned fencing programs. The college profiles are designed as a general indicative guide to current high school fencers evaluating their academic and fencing achievements relative to the fencers on the current fencing rosters when they were in high school. We have done our best to reflect this information but we have made certain assumptions about high school graduation dates, which may or may not be correct as we cannot account for gap years, grades skipped and other information which is not publicly accessible. All information in this report has been compiled from publicly available data sources. We recommend that you conduct independent due diligence before you make important decisions about college selection and application.