Students and parents must take the initiative and work on their own behalf. Your child's coaches and school counselors will support them on their efforts, but they must take the lead in seeking out the right college. Staying on top of all the information throughout the high school years makes it easier when the time comes to apply to colleges.
FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE YEARS
- Become familiar with the Core Courses as defined by the NCAA in the Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete
- Enroll in a solid academic program.
- Maintain at least a 2.0-grade point average out of 4.0 in core courses.
- Talk to your coach about opportunities to increase your exposure in your sport.
- Attend summer camps: for exposure - select camps at colleges that you may want to attend, to improve your skills, and to compare your current skills with others.
- Keep records of your athletic achievements, start developing a resume of academic, athletic and extracurricular accomplishments.
- Visit college websites. View the team roster, noting how many athletes are in each grade level, physical characteristics, and location of their prior high school to see what parts of the country coaches are recruiting from. If applicable look at times or statistics in your events for the current members of their team.
JUNIOR YEAR
- Become familiar with Recruiting Regulations as outlined by the NCAA in the Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete - you must look at this Guide each year because rules and regulations change frequently and it is THE ATHLETES' responsibility to become familiar with these rules and regulations.
- Continue to do well in school while taking a strong academic program.
- Register to take standardized testing in the spring: either the SAT or ACT meet with your school counselor to map out a testing schedule.
- Be sure to send your scores to the NCAA - the code # is 9999.
- Begin to establish a list of colleges with your school counselor.
- Make unofficial visits to colleges.
- Meet with your coach to go over your college list seeking their input on the appropriateness of this list based on your athletic abilities.
- Discuss with your coach at this time their level of involvement in the process: what can they do to help you reach your goals? Do they have suggestions on camps, programs or showcases that would improve your chances to gain exposure to college coaches who would be looking for athletes with your abilities?
- Update your resume.
- Send a letter of introduction with your resume to colleges that you are interested in attending (check the college website to get the names and e-mails for the current coaches).
- Complete in a timely and accurate manner all questionnaires that you receive from college coaches.
- For those playing on team, sports make arrangements to have access to game tapes.
- Continue to attend camps, showcases or tournaments.
- Keep a file on each college that you have contacted.
- Visit college websites observing team records and who their competitors are. Remember if you believe that you can play at a certain college then you should look at the rest of the colleges on their schedule.
- Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, by clicking here.
- Obtain an unofficial copy of your transcript at the end of your junior year in order to make copies to distribute to college coaches.
SENIOR YEAR
- Review the most up to date version of the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete.
- Take a strong academic program for your senior year.
- Assess with your counselor whether you should re-take the SAT or ACT test; check standardized testing requirements for each college specifically do you need to take SAT Subject Tests.
- Gather applications from all your colleges; prepare your personal statement; request teacher recommendations.
- Have your SAT and ACT scores sent officially from these companies directly to your colleges.
- Complete all financial aid forms as quickly as possible - CSS Profile in the fall (only used by certain colleges) and the FAFSA as soon as possible, after January 1st.
- Review college list with your school counselor to be sure that you have some academically safe colleges on your list.
- Continue to contact college coaches that have expressed an interest in your potential to play at their college or university.
- Update your athletic resume.
- Be prompt in your response regarding college questionnaires and requests for additional information
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