College recruiting

[jringo]

My son has two offers thus far. One from a local D3 (30k+tuition) and one from a D3 satellite junior college (Under 10k w/room and board) that is 4 hours from home. Both are great educational opportunities. His summer coach helped him with the second offer, the first he primarily did the work. My thinking is that the satellite school will offer the same opportunity at an affordable price while letting him see where he fits in baseball wise. Not sure what opportunities he'll get from his high school team but his summer coach is willing to bat for him. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject

[oldcrow]

My son has two offers thus far. One from a local D3 (30k+tuition) and one from a D3 satellite junior college (Under 10k w/room and board) that is 4 hours from home. Both are great educational opportunities. His summer coach helped him with the second offer, the first he primarily did the work. My thinking is that the satellite school will offer the same opportunity at an affordable price while letting him see where he fits in baseball wise. Not sure what opportunities he'll get from his high school team but his summer coach is willing to bat for him. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject

first of all good luck to him. i have given this a fair amount of thought lately as my child enters her sophomore season. not sure what your financial situation is, but i have pretty much decided that i'm not or am going to have my daughter saddled with a bunch of debt when she gets out of school. i know the D3 schools sometimes award aid based on merit (kind of a hidden athletic scholarship) if your child is a solid student. the cost of some of these institutions is hard for me to understand the value in attending unless money is not an issue. i understand that is the case for some people. i think with the financial investment that is being made today for a college education, a well thought out plan of payment and return must be considered.

oldcrow

[spectator123]

My son has two offers thus far. One from a local D3 (30k+tuition) and one from a D3 satellite junior college (Under 10k w/room and board) that is 4 hours from home. Both are great educational opportunities. His summer coach helped him with the second offer, the first he primarily did the work. My thinking is that the satellite school will offer the same opportunity at an affordable price while letting him see where he fits in baseball wise. Not sure what opportunities he'll get from his high school team but his summer coach is willing to bat for him. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject

You need to go through the entire process before committing. Some schools if you request through the coach will give you a total aid estimate pretty quickly based on the info you submit. You should submit your FAFSA and backup info to all the schools and see where you end up. You may be surprised if your son has decent grades. If your income will remain relatively stable throughout his college than as long as he meets his GPA requirements, if any for merit, the financial and merit aid will remain close to the same.

[southpaw69]

My son has two offers thus far. One from a local D3 (30k+tuition) and one from a D3 satellite junior college (Under 10k w/room and board) that is 4 hours from home. Both are great educational opportunities. His summer coach helped him with the second offer, the first he primarily did the work. My thinking is that the satellite school will offer the same opportunity at an affordable price while letting him see where he fits in baseball wise. Not sure what opportunities he'll get from his high school team but his summer coach is willing to bat for him. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject

I like the way your thinking. After one or two years at a JUCO he may have a lot more opportunities to play at a 4 yr school other than the one D3 he has now. What position does he play?

[BENSPAPA8]

Since there is no NLI associated with D3 and JUCO, there is no rush. Explore all aspects. What grade is the player in? Any D1 possibilities? Any pro baseball prospects?

College is about education first and foremost. Make that an important criteria when seeking a fit. Finances and Baseball follow.

FAFSA, even though an unfair calculation, i.e. to the middle-class, it is required for getting loans.

[itsgone]

College is about education first and foremost. Make that an important criteria when seeking a fit. Finances and Baseball follow.

You won't get any better advice than this. Many times demonstrating to the coach or school that this is where you want to be because of academics can help significantly with the athletic 'negotiations'.

[IMHO]

My son has two offers thus far. One from a local D3 (30k+tuition) and one from a D3 satellite junior college (Under 10k w/room and board) that is 4 hours from home. Both are great educational opportunities. His summer coach helped him with the second offer, the first he primarily did the work. My thinking is that the satellite school will offer the same opportunity at an affordable price while letting him see where he fits in baseball wise. Not sure what opportunities he'll get from his high school team but his summer coach is willing to bat for him. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject


Consider what is the best fit for your son. Is he a good student? If not he may have trouble keeping the GPA requirement for aid at the D-3 school thus making it very expensive. Most D-3 schools have some type of aid based on merit but you must keep up a certain GPA for most. What does your son want to study? Alot of D-3 schools are liberal arts institutions that do not offer a ton of options for the student to pick from. Liberal Arts is a great education study but is not for all.

What is his baseball siutuation. Does he love the sport? Will he make the committment necessary to play in college. What is the situation like in the position(s) that he plays at the colleges that have offered him? If he really wants to play and gets into a situation where he is sitting the bench he will not be happy at that school.

Bottom line is do alot of research and find a situation that fits the educational areas as well as provides a good fit for what your son wants to do athletically that also fits your budget. There is still time to do that even if he is a senior this year.

[jringo]

This is exactly what I was looking for. His strength is as a pitcher. He can also play 2nd, SS and 3rd. He has had OF experience in the past. Both schools like him as a pitcher but the more expensive one liked the fact that he was a middle infielder as well. I am grateful for the opportunity that his summer team is creating. He picked the team, made it and it's created some unique opportunities. I've asked repeatedly "How much he wants to play". That's not a question. Over the years he's worked harder than anyone to achieve his goals. He's an average 3.0 student. Criminal law is his interest at the moment. Although the more expensive school has an awesome music department which is also an interest. He's gotten some compliments from some of the D1 camps he's attended. Thanks again for the help, I will continue to follow the conversations

[spectator123]

This is exactly what I was looking for. His strength is as a pitcher. He can also play 2nd, SS and 3rd. He has had OF experience in the past. Both schools like him as a pitcher but the more expensive one liked the fact that he was a middle infielder as well. I am grateful for the opportunity that his summer team is creating. He picked the team, made it and it's created some unique opportunities. I've asked repeatedly "How much he wants to play". That's not a question. Over the years he's worked harder than anyone to achieve his goals. He's an average 3.0 student. Criminal law is his interest at the moment. Although the more expensive school has an awesome music department which is also an interest. He's gotten some compliments from some of the D1 camps he's attended. Thanks again for the help, I will continue to follow the conversations

I don't know if I can explain this properly but it is important to find the best academic situation relative to your financial limitations. Bottom line the better grades and test scores a student has the more financially attractive the academically challenging schools become. Put another way you should look for the best academic schools that given your son's GPA and test scores offer the most liberal merit aid. Look at the ranges of student GPA and test scores, check the schools policy on merit aid and you can get a pretty good idea of where you stand. Of most importance is find a school that your son wants to go to...where he will like it whether or not he plays baseball.

It is not too late to look at other schools as long as their application deadlines have not passed. We visited school after we had already applied and did not visit some after we applied because we ruled them out. Make sure you meet all deadlines.

Above all, visit the school, spend time with the coaches, stay overnight with the team. Most DIII coaches are very receptive to players searching them out especially pitchers. Your son has to be happy with his situation.

[bucks08]

I was a senoir at Mason High School last year. I got plenty of interest from D3 schools but the cost was just to much for me and my family. I got two athletic scholarship offers from NAIA schools in tennessee. One of them being Columbia State which is a JUCO school based out of nashville, they are a solid program but they have no housing on campus becasue it is a community college. The other school i got a scholarship off was from Tennessee Wesleyan College, an NAIA powerhouse tradionally ranked in the top 10 nationally for NAIA, its located in Athens, TN. Most people wont think about going NAIA but it is a very good opprotunity for college athletes. If you have any questions about the recruiting process you can PM. I know I'm just a freshmen in college but I do know alot about the recruiting process having just gone through it.

[bball01]

the players have done the majority of the recruiting leg work. Is this true with most?? I would imagine that the studs are hunted down but the others have some work on their hands. Mine was around a group of kids that were going to the recruiting camps nearly every week end in the fall. Yet there are still parents out there that do nothing and expect offers to fall in there laps.

[runnaman24]

I am currently attending a D3 school where I was recruited to play baseball and it costs 30,000 a year. I am paying about 8,000 a year with grades, school grants that they give you, and other financial aid. I started on JV as a frosh, but decided that it wasnt what I had expected and I wanted to be able to do well with my schoolwork and I was used to playing different sports each season and didnt enjoy solely focusing on one year around. I NEVER got money for playing baseball. I did have an on campus job at the athletic complex, but that was as far as you could say I was paid, but I was doing work. I dont play anymore and still pay the same amount for school and I am happy I chose the school I did because I love the program that I am in and the school setting even though I am not playing baseball any longer.

Like others have said look at education first, then money, then baseball. Talk to players to get a real taste of what the program is like....not the coaches. Also, visit with financial advisers because they can give you an idea of what you will pay. Good luck!

[Hometeam]

I agree with everyone on here who says that academics is the most important consideration, that you should like the school even if you don't play baseball, etc.

Another thing I would consider is how many kids are on the baseball roster. Some smaller colleges have a HUGE roster whereas other colleges have a more manageable number. Chances are, the colleges with the high number of kids on their roster have their core players already picked out but they indiscriminately recruit just to get the kids into their school (and many of these kids will be lucky to even set foot on the Varsity team let alone get any significant playing time).

Also, try and talk to other players and parents to see if they are happy with their college program, talk with the coaches, look at the college schedule and records to try and determine if they have a strong baseball program, etc. The more questions you ask, the better prepared you'll be to make an informed decision.

[aroundtown]

hometeam I couldn't agree more