What I can offer for this thread of D1 or bust... My daughter, who was a pitcher, was fortunate to have a P5 offer (Big 10 lower-tier team), a few mid-major offers, and multiple D2 offers (good D2 schools). Back in her travel days, she didn't really have the "D1 or bust mentality". Admittedly, I wanted D1 more as her parent, but I knew this was her journey. Initially, she really liked one of the D2 schools. That offer was outstanding, and it was a highly ranked academic institution. However, after many discussions with her coaches and with us, she realized that pursuing a D1 offer was the way to go for her. She didn't want to go to the lower Big 10 team (and lose a lot), so she chose a decent mid-major team. She just could not pass up the opportunity to play at the D1 level and what it could potentially provide. Thankfully, D1 ended up being an incredible experience for her, and yes for us as parents. She excelled in a strong conference, made multiple All-Conference teams, and had the opportunity to play against some of the best P5 teams. She also helped her team win a conference championship, and got to play in Regionals against top SEC and PAC 10 teams. Everybody's situation will be unique, but what I would offer is that if your DD has the opportunity and talent to play D1, you should seriously consider it. Especially now with the portal and opportunity to move if needed. In the end she said it was worth any of the stress and the challenges of playing at D1 (especially as a pitcher). It was a job and physically taxing. And yes, at times she just wanted to be a normal college kid and go to a party. But now after it all ended last year, she said she wouldn't change a thing. She said she couldn't imagine that a D2 experience would have been the same for her (and I would agree now as a parent). And regarding her actual education, she leveraged the Covid year and ended up getting her Master's Degree in December.