At Great College Advice, our team of college admissions consultants has guided hundreds of student-athletes through every division of college sports, from NCAA Division I powerhouses to D3 programs. This guide compiles the questions our counselors recommend asking, informed by years of firsthand experience working with recruited athletes and their families.

Whether you are an NCAA Division I prospect, a Division III athlete seeking academic rigor, or considering the NAIA, these questions matter. Use them in any recruiting conversation with a coach.

Why the Right Questions Matter

High school athletes can be star-struck when recruited, especially by distant programs. This guide helps you regain control.

Jeanette Hadsell, senior admissions consultant at Great College Advice, says: “The recruiting process is a marathon, not a sprint. Families must research before meeting coaches. Without clear questions, you risk life-changing decisions based on incomplete information.”

One parent in our community put it well: after an MIT Track and Field coach contacted their student a week before the deadline, the family realized they lacked a framework to evaluate the opportunity. A prepared question list would have helped.

Signing with a college athletic program is a major commitment — you exchange athletic ability for education. Be thorough.

Questions to Ask About Your Athletic Role

Before you consider anything else, understand exactly where you fit in the program — not just in Year 1, but across all four years. Coaches recruit for positions they need to fill; make sure you know the full picture.

• What position will I play on your team?
• Have you personally watched me play, or have you reviewed my video highlights? Why do you think my skills fit your program?
• Who are the current players competing at my position, and what skills do they have?
• How many other recruits are you considering for my position this cycle?
• Where do you see me fitting into the program in Year 1? Years 2, 3, and 4?
• What is my realistic chance of earning playing time as a freshman?
• Where do I rank on your list of recruits for this position?
• Can I redshirt my first year? Under what circumstances do you typically redshirt players?
• What are the annual physical requirements — training load, conditioning standards, weight expectations?
• Will I receive a written scholarship agreement or tender?
• What are your expectations of me as a player and as a person?

A redshirt year lets a student-athlete practice and attend classes without using a year of eligibility. This is common in football and some other sports although less so these days in the new era of NIL (Name, Image and Likeness). Clarifying whether this is part of the coach’s plan is essential. Redshirting affects your four-year trajectory in ways that may not be obvious on a visit.

Questions About NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness)

Since 2021, NCAA athletes have been able to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. NIL has reshaped recruiting, especially at Division I programs.

• How has NIL impacted your recruiting process at this program?
• Does your school have an NIL collective, and what opportunities might be available to athletes in my sport?
• What guidance does the athletic department provide to help athletes navigate NIL deals?
• Are there any NIL restrictions specific to your conference or institution I should know about?

NIL is no longer a bonus consideration — it is a line-item question in any serious recruiting conversation, particularly for Division I programs.

Questions About the Transfer Portal

The transfer portal is now a lasting part of college athletics. Understanding how a program handles players who leave and recruits from the portal reveals a lot about how the coaching staff values the roster.

• How many players have entered the transfer portal from your program in the past two years?
• Do you bring in transfer portal athletes at my position, and how does that affect my roster spot?
• If I am not progressing the way I hoped, what is your process for having that conversation?
• If I wanted to transfer, what would that process look like, and would you support my decision?

Questions to Ask About the Coaching Staff

Your relationship with the coaching staff will shape your entire college athletic experience. It is just as important for the coach to evaluate you as it is for you to evaluate the coach.

• How would you describe your coaching philosophy and style?
• Where do you place your emphasis during training — offense, defense, individual skill development?
• When does your head coaching contract expire?
• What is each assistant coach responsible for?
• How does your program treat walk-ons?
• What does a typical week look like for a student-athlete during the season? During the off-season?
• How important is this sport to the school’s athletic director and administration?

The question about the head coach’s contract is one that families frequently overlook. If a coach is in the final year of a contract with no extension in sight, the program you are committing to may look very different by your sophomore year. Jamie Berger, veteran college admissions expert, advises families to remember that “you are not just committing to a sport — you are committing to a coach, a staff, a culture, and an institution. All four of those things need to be right.”

Questions About Academics and Athletic Support

Sarah Farbman, Senior Admissions Consultant at Great College Advice, notes that athletic recruiting often pushes application timelines forward, sometimes by 18 months or more. That urgency makes it easy to overlook academics. Do not let it.

• What is the admissions process for a recruited athlete at this institution?
• What percentage of scholarship athletes graduate in four years?
• What was the team’s average GPA last year?
• What academic support systems are in place — tutors, mandatory study hall, class-load management?
• How are missed classes and exams handled during the competition schedule?
• How are missed practices or tardiness due to academic commitments handled?
• How many academic credits are required to maintain athletic eligibility?
• How many credits are required to maintain financial aid?
• Does the school have a dedicated athletic advising center, and how many athletes use it?

For guidance on how GPA is calculated and what academic benchmarks matter for recruited athletes, see our dedicated guide.

Questions About Team Culture

Jeanette Hadsell of Great College Advice emphasizes that team culture questions are among the most revealing a recruit can ask: “Ask about what the culture of the team is like — how the players get along, what the expectations are beyond practice. For sports like swimming or track, where men and women may train together, that environment matters too. The off-season culture tells you a lot about a program.”

• Do players on the team live in the same residence hall?
• Am I required to live on campus all four years?
• What region or state do most of your players come from?
• What team-building activities does your program use?
• How much travel is involved in a typical season?
• What are the program’s most notable accomplishments in the past five years?
• What are the team’s conduct standards — are they the institution’s minimum or more stringent?
• Am I expected to stay on campus during the summer?
• What are my off-season responsibilities?

Questions to Ask About Athletic Scholarships and Finances

Jeanette Hadsell warns against a common misconception: “Not everything is a full ride. Sports and schools differ in scholarship budgets. Many Division I schools do not offer athletic scholarships. Football and basketball follow different financial rules than Olympic sports like track and swimming.”

This means financial conversations require careful, specific questions — not assumptions.

• Exactly what expenses does the scholarship cover — tuition, room, board, books, fees, special assessments?
• If I am injured, what happens to my scholarship?
• What conditions determine annual scholarship renewal?
• What medical insurance and coverage does the college provide for athletes?
• Can I also receive academic merit aid in addition to athletic aid?
• Are there academic scholarships available if my athletic aid is reduced or does not cover the full cost?

For a broader look at which athletes receive the largest scholarships and why, see a detailed breakdown by sport and division.

How Great College Advice Supports Recruited Athletes

Great College Advice offers assistance in building an athletic résumé, guidance on coach outreach strategy, assessment of coach interest, and integration of athletic prospects into the broader college list development process.

Our counselors — with over 100 combined years of admissions experience across the team — understand that athletic recruiting is not a separate track from college admissions. It is deeply intertwined with it. The students we work with are not just athletes; they want the right academic environment, the right culture, and the right competitive opportunities.

Navigating athletic recruiting and don’t know where to start? Contact Great College Advice for a free consultation. We will help you build the right questions, evaluate the right programs, and make the decision that is right for your future.

The post What Questions to Ask Recruiting Coaches first appeared on Great College Advice.

Many families assume that athletic talent is the golden ticket to college funding. The reality is more nuanced — and, for most student-athletes, more encouraging than you might think. At Great College Advice, our team of consultants with over 100 combined years of admissions experience guides families through exactly these decisions every year.

How Much Athletic Scholarship Money Is Actually Available?

The NCAA and NAIA distribute over $4 billion in athletic scholarships each year — a figure that sounds substantial until you break it down. Only roughly one-quarter of that pool is available to incoming first-year college students, leaving approximately $1 billion for an entering class. With more than 80,000 incoming student-athletes potentially eligible, the average award works out to around $12,500 per athlete.

That average will not cover the full cost of a college education at most institutions — and it masks enormous variation across sports, divisions, and schools.

Do All Division 1 Athletes Get Full-Ride Scholarships?

No. Full-ride tuition scholarships are reserved for a small set of revenue-generating sports including men’s football, hockey and basketball, and women’s basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics. These are the programs that fill stadiums and generate television revenue. Other sports operates under a very different financial model.

Jeanette Hadsell, Senior Admissions Consultant at Great College Advice, explains the landscape clearly:

“What families most commonly misunderstand about athletic scholarships is that not everything is a full ride. Different sports and different schools are allocated a different bundle of money. There are plenty of D1 schools that don’t offer scholarships at all. Families need to understand the specific financial landscape at each school — whether there is any athletic money available, or whether the better route is merit-based academic aid.”

— Jeanette Hadsell, Senior Admissions Consultant, Great College Advice

Division 3 programs — approximately 200,000 student-athletes — never award athletic scholarships. Even at Division 1 and Division 2 programs, coaches routinely carry roster spots that receive zero scholarship money.

What Is the Difference Between Revenue Sports and Olympic Sports?

The distinction matters enormously when families are weighing scholarship potential. Revenue-generating sports (football and basketball) attract the most institutional investment because they generate ticket sales, broadcast deals, and alumni donations. Olympic sports — track, swimming, tennis, rowing, soccer, and others — typically operate on equivalency budgets that must be divided across an entire roster.

Hadsell describes the practical difference:

“Revenue-generating sports will have a much different recruiting process than Olympic sports such as track and swimming, where the money is not as freely available. It also depends on the division level of the school — whether it’s D1, D2, or D3 — and within D1, whether we’re talking about a Power Five school or a mid-major. Both are Division 1, but they have very different financial obligations and recruiting expectations.”

— Jeanette Hadsell, Senior Admissions Consultant, Great College Advice

Most non-revenue sports are “equivalency sports,” meaning coaches have a fixed pool of scholarship dollars that must be divided across all players. In practice, this creates a recipe for scholarship unpredictability — and underscores why academic credentials matter so much as a supplement or alternative.

Why Do Strong Academics Lead to Bigger Scholarships for Athletes?

There are two mechanisms at work here, and both favor the student who prioritizes the classroom.

Merit scholarships are more predictable than athletic offers. In 2024–2025, the average financial aid award per student reached nearly $17,000, with $12,000 in grants. Unlike athletic scholarships — where a coach’s needs shift year to year and your fit with the team is inherently subjective — academic merit is evaluated against consistent, objective standards across all institutions: your transcript and, where applicable, your standardized test scores.

Strong academics actively help athletes get recruited. Coaches face NCAA academic standards for both incoming recruits and their existing roster. Students who bring high GPAs into a recruiting conversation reduce a coach’s compliance risk and raise the team’s academic profile. These “academic recruits” may not be the most dominant athletes on the field, but they are actively sought after — and they often qualify for substantial merit scholarship opportunities precisely because of the academics that made them attractive to the coach in the first place.

Jamie Berger, veteran college admissions expert at Great College Advice, notes that he regularly works with students who are both academically strong and athletically capable:

“For a student who is both a strong academic and hoping to play a sport in college but not expecting to be a high-level D1 recruit, the approach is to use the athletic interest to open doors while making sure the academic record carries the financial weight. The two reinforce each other.”

When Should a Student-Athlete Start the College Recruiting Process?

The timeline for athletic recruiting is earlier than most families expect — and significantly earlier than the standard college application cycle.

Sarah Farbman, senior admissions consultant at Great College Advice, is direct about the urgency:

“Athletic recruiting shifts the entire application process earlier, sometimes by up to 18 months. We regularly see athletic recruits who are essentially finished with their college process by the beginning of senior year, which means they need to start by sophomore year. If you have a student who is a high-performing athlete, I would strongly recommend gathering information by freshman year.”

— Sarah Farbman, Senior Admissions Consultant, Great College Advice

Hadsell adds an important mindset note for families entering the process:

“Athletic recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint. It can take a long time, and families need to be patient. It is not necessarily going to pay for all of their child’s college tuition — and understanding that from the outset helps families make smarter decisions about the rest of their financial planning.”

— Jeanette Hadsell, Senior Admissions Consultant, Great College Advice

For a broader view of timing across the high school years, see the College Admissions Lifecycle guide from Great College Advice.

What Other Benefits Do College Athletes Receive Beyond Scholarships?

For families weighing the full value of an athletic program, financial aid is only part of the picture. Hadsell outlines the non-monetary benefits that athletes often receive:

“As an athlete at a school, you can receive significant benefits beyond financial assistance. Many programs provide gear, access to training staff, priority course registration, priority housing, tutors, and dedicated academic advisors. These are real advantages — especially priority registration, which can make a meaningful difference in a student’s academic experience.”

— Jeanette Hadsell, Senior Admissions Consultant, Great College Advice

These benefits are worth factoring into any financial aid comparison between schools.

Academic vs. Athletic Scholarships: Where Should Families Focus?

Here is a direct comparison to help families allocate their time and energy:

The bottom line: every hour a student-athlete spends strengthening their extracurricular profile and academic record builds leverage that works regardless of which sport they play or which division recruits them. Athletic talent opens doors; academic excellence keeps them open — and funds the education on the other side.

Frequently Asked Questions: Athlete Scholarships

Which athletes receive the biggest college scholarships?

Athletes who combine strong academic credentials with athletic ability receive the largest overall aid packages. Outside of full-ride sports (including men’s football, hockey and basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics), the students who earn the most scholarship money often times are those with the highest grades and test scores.

Do all Division 1 athletes get full athletic scholarships?

No. Full-ride athletic scholarships exist only in a small number of revenue-generating sports. Many D1 programs — especially in Olympic sports like track, swimming, and tennis — divide a limited budget across an entire roster or have a set number of full-ride scholarships to offer top recruits. Some D1 schools offer no athletic scholarship money in certain sports at all.

What is the difference between head-count and equivalency sports?

Head-count sports (mainly football and basketball) allow each scholarship to cover a full ride for one athlete. Equivalency sports (most other NCAA sports) give coaches a total dollar amount that must be divided across the team — so a coach might split one full scholarship across three or four players. This is why most college athletes, even at D1 programs, receive only partial aid.

How much is the average college athletic scholarship?

Across all NCAA and NAIA divisions, the average athletic scholarship for an incoming student-athlete is approximately $12,500 per year. By comparison, the average academic financial aid award in 2024–2025 was nearly $17,000, with $12,000 in grants. Neither figure covers the full cost of attendance at most four-year institutions.

Can a student-athlete get both an athletic and academic scholarship?

Yes, and this is often the most financially advantageous outcome. Coaches actively recruit students with strong academics because they raise the team’s academic standing and reduce compliance risk. Those same students frequently qualify for institutional merit scholarships. The two awards can and do stack, particularly at Division 2 and Division 3 programs.

Do Division 3 athletes receive athletic scholarships?

No. NCAA Division 3 rules prohibit athletic scholarships. However, D3 schools — many of which are highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities — often provide generous merit-based and need-based aid to recruited athletes. A strong student-athlete at a D3 school may graduate with significantly less debt than a peer who received a partial athletic scholarship at a D1 program.

When should a student-athlete start the college recruiting process?

Earlier than most families expect. For students seriously pursuing athletic recruitment, the process ideally begins by sophomore year of high school, with information gathering starting in freshman year. Athletic recruits are often committed to a school before senior year begins — up to 18 months ahead of the standard application timeline.

What should a recruit ask a college coach during the recruiting process?

Key questions include: What is the team’s culture and how do players interact? What are the coach’s expectations during the season and off-season? What does a typical practice look like? What academic support — tutors, advisors, study halls — is provided to athletes? How is scholarship money structured, and is there potential for the award to increase over four years?

What non-financial benefits do college athletes receive?

Athletes at many programs receive gear, access to training staff, priority course registration, priority housing assignments, dedicated academic advisors, and access to tutoring and study halls. Priority registration in particular can give athletes a significant advantage in course selection each semester.

Should my child focus more on athletics or academics for college scholarships?

Academics offer a more predictable and universally applicable path to scholarship money. Athletic recruiting is unpredictable — a coach’s needs change each year, and most sports carry limited aid. Strong grades and test scores, by contrast, are valued at every institution and in every sport. The best strategy for a student-athlete is to build the strongest possible academic record, use the sport to open doors, and let the academics provide the financial floor.

The post Which Students Get Athletic Scholarships? first appeared on Great College Advice.

When did you decide that you wanted to play at the varsity level in college?

I first began thinking about being recruited when I entered high school. But did not really do anything about it until the end of my sophomore year.

How did your recruiting process evolve?

During my sophomore year, I emailed dozens of coaches just trying to get my name out there. Even though coaches were unable to respond, they were able to come and watch me at different tournaments. On top of sending coaches emails, I created a highlight video. As well as a website that highlighted my academic and athletic accomplishments all in one place.

At the end of sophomore year, I joined a club team that went to the two major field hockey tournaments hosted by USA field hockey. One being The National Field Hockey Festival and the other being The Disney Showcase. I went to both tournaments in the fall and spring of my sophomore year. And began getting looks from coaches, mostly from D3 schools.

From the beginning, I knew that I didn’t want to choose a school based on field hockey. But instead on academics, first and foremost. I also wanted a school that fit all of the “criteria” I looked for in a school. This gave me very few schools to choose from. Another major component was that I didn’t want to go north of my home state. Which made it very difficult because many of the schools I was getting interest from were from up north.

As time went on, I was getting a lot of looks from coaches. But not from schools I really wanted to attend, so I lost a lot of hope. Luckily, fall of my senior year (fairly late in the process), I got interest from the field hockey coach at a school I really wanted to go to. It was the perfect scenario. I am very thankful I waited and was patient during this recruiting process.

What did you feel was the most effective way to get seen and develop interest from coaches?

For field hockey, emailing the coaches and having them come and see me at the two major tournaments was the most effective recruiting method. I know a lot of other sports have a lot of showcases and camps, etc. But for field hockey, it is really important to be seen by coaches at The National Field Hockey Festival and Disney. Another way you can be seen is at individual schools’ play days. Which are usually open for anyone to come and allow you to get to know the coaches and some members of the team.

I didn’t attend any college camps until the end of my junior year summer. And to be honest, they really were not worth it. Very few coaches come to the showcases and camps over the summer. And because there are so many of these camps, many coaches aren’t at the ones you go to. So, to me, it was a waste of time.

When did you take your first SAT or ACT?

I took my first SAT/ACT in January of my sophomore year. I took it then only because I needed it to send to coaches so they would have an understanding of where I stood with my academic record and testing potential.

Please explain your “commitment” process.

I committed the fall (November) of my senior year to my school and then applied in January for admissions. The commitment process was fairly easy for me. I discussed my interest with the coach. I went up and visited the school, committed to the school and then went for my overnight. For me, at that point in time, I really had no other choice in schools so that made the process a lot easier. I had declined all other offers from other schools just because the school was not the right fit for me beyond being able to play field hockey.

Why did you choose the school that you did?

The school I choose was not originally on my list of schools that I wanted to attend. I was looking for a school in the South, but when I got an offer from this school I immediately became interested. The school is the size I was looking for (large), there is a nice academic quad, and there is a ton of school spirit, all of which were really important to me. They also have a top program in the major I am interested in.

I considered the distance from my parents, too. Also, I wanted them to be able to come and watch me play, and I didn’t want to have to fly to and from school. I also weighed athletic factors including the coaching staff, the team members, athletic facilities, etc. The school I chose has the best of everything, and the team really is a family.

In addition, the school gives you the opportunity to study abroad (Andrea’s note: This is unusual for a D1 school.) and play for a club team while you’re away. And, finally, the most important factor was that, even though it’s a D1 program, the school puts academics before athletics. That was a major component for my parents.

Any sage words of advice for others in your sport who are going through their own recruiting process?

Don’t feel like it is ever too late to be recruited. The fact of the matter is, things happen and teams and coaches are always looking for players.

Keep contacting coaches no matter how much you think you are annoying them. They get hundreds of emails and you have to make yourself known (email them early).

Join a club team! Very little college interest comes out of high school and being on a club team will allow you to be seen by coaches at the major tournaments!
________________
Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Specialist 
Westfield, NJ

The post Tales of College Athletic Recruiting: Field Hockey first appeared on Great College Advice.

So, we have asked students who have just recently completed their own recruiting journey to provide us with their thoughts. And advice on what other student-athletes should know, and do. And what to consider as they pursue their dreams of playing their sport in college.

Here is our first post, and it focuses on girl’s lacrosse, which is a sport that recruits early, early, early!
______________________________
Name: Kathryn.
Sport: Women’s Lacrosse
Athletic Conference Recruited to Play for: NCAA Division 1 – Ivy League

When did you decide that you wanted to play at the varsity level in college?

I decided that I wanted to play at the varsity level in college going into my Freshman year of high school. But ever since around 7^th grade, I knew I kind of wanted to go that path.

How did your recruiting process evolve?

My recruiting process really began right before my sophomore year of high school. I think the first email I sent to a coach was in August right before my sophomore year started. So I made a list of 20 or so schools that had good D1 lacrosse programs. And were also good schools academically and then sent out an email introducing myself. Saying where I go to school and play club lacrosse and attached an “athletic resume” to the email. I also cc’ed my club coach to all of my emails and college coaches would email my club coach to respond. Because at that point in my high school career, it was against NCAA rules to email me directly.

As the process moved on coaches would start contacting my club coach and invite me to “Sophomore Days”. As well as overnight campus visits. So, at first, it really stemmed from me reaching out to schools. But then later on, it came from coaches coming to me.

What did you feel was the most effective way to get seen and develop interest from coaches?

For lacrosse, the most effective way to get seen was to play at all of the fall tournaments and showcases my sophomore year. Also, it was really important to go to the fall and winter clinics at the specific schools I was interested in. I never got the chance to make a highlight video of myself because I was going to wait until my sophomore spring high school season. Because I was advised that was when I would appear most developed (which I think was true). But because the recruiting process for lacrosse is so early and fast I ended up committing before my spring season even ended my sophomore year.

When did you take your first SAT or ACT?

I remember sending coaches my PSAT scores. But I don’t think I took the actual SAT until the winter of my sophomore year. So, I “committed” to my college of choice only having taken the SAT once, winter of my sophomore year. After I committed, I took the ACT going into my junior year and got the score I needed. So I didn’t have to take standardized testing again. (Andrea’s note: Kathryn was required by her recruiting school to meet a certain standardized test threshold. If she had not achieved this score, she would have been required to take the ACT again.)

I definitely was encouraged to take standardized testing earlier than I would if I wasn’t an athletic recruit. In my opinion, I was encouraged rightfully so because it was very clear from the college coach’s side of things. It would be impossible to offer a player a spot on their team if there was no standardized testing scores. Even just a baseline score was enough but with nothing, coaches don’t like to commit to a player.

When and how did coaches that were interested in you communicate with you?

Coaches communicated with me through email and phone calls. They would email my club coach and say something like, “Will you have Kathryn call me tomorrow night at 6:30 pm?” and then my coach would forward that to me, and I would call the coach. Coaches would also send emails to my club coach. And then my club coach would forward those emails to me. And I would respond directly to the interested coach.

The coach for the team I will be playing for first communicated with me in maybe October of my sophomore year after they saw me playing at their fall clinic. She pulled me aside at camp and said she was interested in me. And then followed through with some emails to my club coach asking for information on my fall schedule after the clinic. I then emailed her (and other schools on my list) with a full schedule for my fall with all my camps and tournament dates in it for the fall and winter.

Please explain your “commitment” process.

I committed in April of my sophomore year. I think about two weeks before I had committed I was up at the school and had a conversation with the coach about her level of interest in me and my level of interest in the school. At that point, I had been on two overnights at the school, had been to both the summer and fall camps the school offered and the coach had seen me play at multiple tournaments and had even come to practices of mine in the winter for my club team.

I ended up emailing the coach saying officially that her school and team was my first choice and that I would love to play there if offered a spot and asked to speak on the phone with her at some point in the next week. She emailed my club coach back to respond and scheduled a phone call, and on the phone call, she offered me a spot on the team.

Why did you choose the school that you did?

I chose the school that I did because I loved the team, the campus, and the coach. They have a great lacrosse team and met my academic standards.

Do you have any significant stories that affected your recruiting experience?

Any sage words of advice for others in your sport who are going through their own recruiting process?

I would say to go to as many tournaments/showcases and camps as you can to get as much exposure as possible. Be on top of emailing coaches and letting them know where you will be playing. Also, I would say to be flexible and be open to many different schools.
________________________
Many thanks to Kathryn for informing us about her experience. Stay tuned for future posts about other sports, other divisions and other conferences!
 
Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Consultant 
Westfield, NJ
 

The post How to get Recruited to play Womens College Lacrosse first appeared on Great College Advice.

Another parent chimed in that she was quite surprised to hear this because, though this female athlete was very accomplished on the field of play, she was not much of an achiever in the classroom. Yet, another parent mentioned that she’d heard that the same Ivy League institution had gotten commitments this year from no less than 7 female athletes for the same sport from her local high school, and these students, too were either sophomores or juniors. She added that only a couple of them were particularly strong students, as far as she knew.

If you do the math, that makes for 8 girls being recruited for and committed to the same Ivy League team between just two high schools — and those were just the players that we knew of! Most collegiate teams in the sport we were discussing carry about 25 players on their rosters. So, how could it be when there are so many high-caliber high school players in the country, that athletes coming from just these two New Jersey high schools alone could potentially populate almost one-third of this Ivy League school’s roster?

Sounds like an SAT question, right? So, let’s have some fun.

Following are three statements that could answer the question posed above.

Choose which one(s) you think are true:

1. Those NJ high schools really crank out the best athletes anywhere.
2. The “commitments” are not a guarantee of admission to the school. Once the students go through the admissions process, most of them may find themselves not getting accepted to the school.
3. Most of those athletes will never play for that school. Coaches will promise more players a spot on the team than they have the ability to roster.

Answers:

a)  #1 only
b)  #2 only
c)  #3 only
d)  #2 and #3 together
e)  None of the above

If you guessed answer d) #2 and #3 together,  you are correct!
While the word “commitment” sounds steadfast and secure, in college athletic recruiting, a commitment is anything but! Coaches may be genuinely interested in having an athlete on their team, and thus, lead the player to believe she has a spot. But, when it comes to colleges — especially highly selective schools such as the Ivy League — it’s the Admissions Offices that have the final say, not the coach. The coach can only advocate to Admissions for a certain, usually small number of players.

So, if an athlete is not a great student, and not at the tippy top of the coach’s recruiting list — which, by the way, might be very long — then the player might find whatever commitment was made to be meaningless because Admissions won’t approve the application.

Why do coaches lead all of these players on?  

A coach’s goal is to field a winning team with the best possible players that the coach can find. Unfortunately, this goal means that the coach doesn’t really focus on the best interests of the individual high school athlete. If a player is “promised” a roster spot in her sophomore year, that means that the coach still has another year and a half, at least, to be exposed to other players who the coach may ultimately prefer.

What if the committed player gets injured or doesn’t develop on the early potential that the coach originally saw? The player will drop on that coach’s list, and the coach will not push for that student to be admitted because he will be less interested in having the athlete play on his team.

As a student-athlete going through the college athletic recruiting process, it’s important to know where you stand in the coach’s mind at all times. Even if you’ve “committed,” you should regularly ask the coach where you are on his list of potential recruits. If you’re not near the top, don’t get too comfortable with your commitment. It may be time to look beyond that school.

Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Counselor
Westfield, NJ

The post College Athletic Recruiting: What’s In A Commitment? first appeared on Great College Advice.

If you’ve identified a college that may be of interest to you, make a special point to visit that school. While on campus, why not make a little time to visit with the coach? Meeting with a coach is a great opportunity to ask questions about the school and the athletic program that you are interested in.

Not only will it give you more insight into the program and help you decide if you like the coach. But it’s also an excellent chance to market yourself. Be sure to contact the coach in advance of your visit to schedule an actual appointment. You don’t want to show up on campus hoping to speak to a coach and have no one there to see you!

Before you go, it’s also good idea to do a little bit of research about the college so that you can highlight to the coach the particular reasons why the school appeals to you. Spend some time on the school’s website. Read up on the school in one of the guidebooks to colleges. Check out YouTube to see if the school has a virtual tour, or go to one of the websites that offers virtual campus tours such as ecampustours.com  or Youniversitytv.com.

For your appointment, be sure to take:

• A copy of your transcript, so the coach can see what kind of student you are
• A copy of your athletic resume

When you go, there’s no harm in having a parent be there with you. It may even be beneficial since your parents will ask questions that you won’t. Be nice to your parents, however! The coach will be observing you, and you want to leave the best possible impression. Coaches don’t want disrespectful players on their team.

Because you have initiated the contact with the coach, and you are paying for everything having to do with your visit (i.e. transportation, food, lodging). You are considered to be conducting an “unofficial visit”. “Official visits” are those where the athlete is invited by the coach to spend time with the college’s team and the athlete’s expenses are paid for by the school. (Note that “official visits” can’t happen until after a student’s junior year in high school.) There is no such thing as an “official visit” in NCAA Division III sports, since those schools will not pay to recruit athletes.

If you are on an early “unofficial visit”, and you don’t really know where you stand with respect to the team and the recruiting process at that school, frame your questions as exploratory (e.g., “Playing my sport in college is very important to me, so I’m interested in understanding your approach to the team and the student experience on the team and at the school.”)

If you are further along in the recruitment process, and you appear to be clearly on the coach’s radar for recruitment. Then you can be more direct and specific with your questions. Either way, don’t be afraid to ask questions of the coach when you meet. You need to have as clear an understanding as possible about where you stand as an athlete with that school. And, if you attend, what your experience will be like when you get there.

For a great list of possible questions to ask the coach, see my colleague Mark’s blog post here.

Andrea Aronson
College Admissions Counselor
Westfield, NJ

The post Athletic Recruiting: Plan an Unofficial Visit first appeared on Great College Advice.

The post To Play or Not to Play: College Sports and Academics first appeared on Great College Advice.

The first thing I said was that participation in sports was often an indicator of success in college. As varsity athletes tend to have higher GPAs and are more satisfied with their college experience.

However, these parents’ basic concern is valid. Being a Division I athlete is a huge commitment. One must eat, sleep, and breathe one’s sport, and a D1 athelete can plan on training throughout the year to stay in tip-top condition. Further, Division I athletes must commit to playing all four years if they want to keep their athletic scholarship.

But I spent a lot of time explaining that while Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, they do recruit athletes in a different way. Every school with a volleyball team (for example) wants to fill its roster with good players who can take a league championship. Thus many colleges offer other forms of scholarship money to entice an able player to join its team–and its student body.

For you see, colleges have needs that they are trying to fulfill. Not only do they need to round out their volleyball roster. But they need a tuba player, an editor of the school newspaper, and a tenor for the glee club. Think of admissions officers as social engineers: they need to populate the campus with a variety of folks to fill certain prescribed roles. The whole process is not quite so neat and clean as that (it’s not very scientific). But the art of the admissions officer is to build a well-rounded class. And in order to do this, they have to meet the needs of the coaches (among others).

So my advice to parents was to relax a bit. Their kids can still find colleges at which they can have a satisfying varsity athletic experience. And still focus on their school work and also allow them to explore other activities (study abroad, a new social cause, artistic pursuits, etc.).

While some kids are seeking the rush and excitement of serious competition a the Division I level. The majority of players that I met today at the Colorado Crossroads volleyball tournament will never be able to achieve that level of competition. But as I explained to these parents, their daughters will have myriad opportunities available to them. If they learn to play the college admissions and athletic recruiting games like a pro.

Speaking of a pro, I have been very fortunate to have Nancy Nitardy, author of Get Paid To Play, working with me at Colorado Crossroads. She is a former Division I swimming coach at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Indiana University. She works with me in advising athletes on their best athletic options. While I help the same students identify their best academic options. Together, Nancy Nitardy and I are able to provide great college advice for college-bound athletes, whatever their level of play.

Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
Great College Advice

The post Division I vs. Division III: Sports or Studies? first appeared on Great College Advice.