In my last two blog posts, I’ve explained that your college application tells a story about you. And have discussed two of the most important parts of that story: your transcript and test scores. (See: “The Story of Your College Application: Transcripts” and “The Story of Your College Application: Test Scores“.) Here, I will focus on extracurricular activities, which constitute another part of your story.

Throughout this post, I will use the term “activities” to include everything students do outside of the classroom, including clubs, sports, community service, religious activities, and work experience. Many students have asked me if it will “look better on a college application” if they do one activity versus another. The truth is that it doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you’re doing something and demonstrating an ongoing, in-depth commitment to it.

When deciding which activities to pursue, the most important question to ask yourself is, “What do I enjoy doing?” After all, if you’re going to devote a significant amount of time to something, you might as well have fun in the process. If possible, you should take on a leadership role in an activity. As this suggests that you are responsible and have good communication and organizational skills. Additionally, being a leader indicates that you are capable of guiding and managing your peers.  Colleges are interested in this because they want to admit students who will become leaders on their campuses.

Another factor to keep in mind is that you don’t have to do everything. Colleges are not impressed by students who have a mile-long list of activities. But who are only involved on a “surface level”. Especially if those students didn’t even get involved until their junior or senior year. Rather, colleges prefer applicants who have fully participated in two to three activities for an extended period of time. Furthermore, colleges like to see that students have achieved something in their chosen activities. Be it winning a district or state championship, receiving an honor or award, or holding a leadership position.

Some students choose not to get involved in extracurricular activities for a variety of reasons. One of the most common is that they want to focus on school and are afraid that participating in activities will negatively impact their grades. Unfortunately, this generally is not the type of student colleges are looking for. Of course, colleges want students who are committed to academics. But they also want students who will get involved on campus, as that is what makes colleges thrive. Not only that, but participating in activities and earning good grades shows that you can manage your time, and that is key to succeeding in college.

Another reason students might not participate in school or community activities is because they have to work or have family obligations. Such as taking care of younger siblings. Believe it or not, those are activities, too! Again, colleges like to see that you’ve made a long-term commitment to something and that you are responsible. And what better demonstrates that than maintaining a job or helping your family?

In addition to being interested in the extracurricular activities you do during the school year. Colleges also want to know how you’ve spent your summers. Unless you’re going to summer school, you don’t have to go to school at all during the summer. So what you do with that time speaks volumes about who you are. When deciding what to do during the summer, use the aforementioned guidelines. Summer should be more than just sleeping in, watching TV, and hanging out with your friends.

As with your transcript, you have control over the kind of story your activities tell. And you should give some thought to what you want your story to say. If you find yourself coming home after school everyday and doing nothing more than your homework. Ask yourself is there’s a better way you could be spending your time. Not only might you find something impressive to put on your college applications. You also might discover something you really enjoy.

The post The Story of Your College Application: Extracurricular Activities first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

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 – Why Not Plan An “Unofficial Visit” with the Coach? first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

The post 13-year-old Verbally Commits to USC Football first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Universities are also cutting sports–or at least slashing their budgets.  Very few NCAA sports programs break even, and even fewer make money:  most are a drag on institutional budgets.  As reported by the Associated Press,

In the five-year period through 2008, only 18 of 119 Division I athletic departments operated in the black, according to preliminary numbers compiled by Dan Fulks, an accounting professor at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., who has been an NCAA consultant for 20 years. Those numbers were before the economic downturn.

And one might argue (though in America college sports seem to be sacrosanct) that the amounts of money regularly poured into varsity athletics are unjustifiably high.  So perhaps it’s a good thing that coaches’ budgets are being axed.

But whether we think this is a good or bad thing, there is no doubt that the faltering economy is having an impact on the student experience at many universities.

Here are some examples:

• Some schools are eliminating new scholarships to less flashy sports, like cross country, track and field, and swimming.
• Many schools are trimming travel budgets.  For some schools this means fewer chartered plane and more commercial flights.  For some this means more buses instead of airplanes.  For others, it means traveling only to neighboring states.
• Some are cutting insurance for walk-on players.
• Media guides–hefty, eye-popping, public relations pieces–are being eliminated at many colleges.
• Coaches are scheduling more practices and games during the day to save on nighttime lighting.

Some of these measures will be barely noticeable to most athletes (except those swimmers who were expecting scholarships in return for spending countless hours paddling back and forth across the pool).  But if the economic downturn continues to affect college budgets, I would expect to see more cuts to athletic programs in the coming years.

Since most athletic programs do not pay for themselves, college presidents and boards of trustees will come under pressure to make further cuts to their institutional budgets.  And as they do, expect them to focus more on trimming athletic budgets as a way to protect financial aid, faculty salaries, and student services that are shared by all students–rather than the small number of athletes in some sports.

What does this mean for students and their families who are shopping for colleges with particular sports?  Be aware that some sports are much better funded than others, and that while a sport seems well-funded today, that doesn’t mean it will be well-funded tomorrow.  Ask questions about the financial health of the program, and inquire as to what cuts already have been made in the last year or two.  Don’t just assume that if your son or daughter gets a scholarship today that it will necessarily be extended all four years:  that’s a guarantee that no coach can really make in these tough financial times.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

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The post Colleges Cut Costs By Cutting Sports first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

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Mark Montgomery
Great College Advice and Athletic Recruiting Assistance
Montgomery Educational Consulting

The post Answering Coach Questionnaires for NCAA Recruitment first appeared on College Admission Counseling.