<p>My d is a junior who has begun e-mail exchanges with several coaches (mostly ivies) interested in potentially recruiting her for her D1 sport. Two of these coaches have asked her to visit campus unofficially (obviously way too early for any Official Visit yet). Are these unofficial visits worth it - do they have any weight? Will they do more than just show how interested she is? They are both at schools she would love to go to. The recruiting process is super competitive I know, and although my d is receiving a lot of encouragement from the coaches she is communicating with, I know they must ask lots of potential recruits for unofficial visits - doesn't cost the school anything. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Officially, there isn’t much a D1 school coach can say to or do for a Junior. </p>
<p>That being said, if your d is truly interested in a school, she should pay an unofficial visit. And not just because the coach is saying what she wants to hear. </p>
<p>The recruiting process is only as competitive as you allow yourself to become. If you treat the college search as a search for a place where she will grow into the best {insert name here} she can be, that is what you will get. If you treat it as a contest to see who can get an admissions spot they might not otherwise get, that is all you will get from the experience.</p>
<p>I have a senior right now and I am so happy we spent many trips during 10th and 11th grades touring schools (about 25 or so) before she knew exactly what she wanted and which coaches were interested in her. She can now examine the entire package of a school without focusing entirely on every phrase of the coaches email. She has her likes and dislikes and knows what she is indifferent about. I am confident that she will make a decision that when things don’t turn out as expected, she will be able to accept as her own.</p>
<p>For you, just keep asking her about the broken-leg test.</p>
<p>I think unofficial visits are very helpful. Talking with a coach in person is much different than conversing by e-mail. (One coach we dealt with sounded so gruff in his e-mails, but was a real teddy bear in person.) Visiting will give you a feel for how well your D might relate to him/her and vice versa. And yes, coming and asking questions will show the coach that your interest in the school is serious and based on tangibles–not just the Ivy name and reputation. That will put your D’s name in the forefront and, frankly, above kids who didn’t take the initiative to visit. Also, by making some official visits now, your D can begin to narrow down her possibilities to the 5 schools the NCAA allows her to visit officially. Trust me, she will notice some little things on these visits which will help her choose if she’s lucky enough to have more than 5 options. On the other hand, if visiting would be a heavy financial burden, then it is not absolutely necessary right now. At least you might wait a while, like until the spring, and keep gathering information–things such as how well the team is doing this year, esp. how well they’ve developed their freshman recruits, some of whom you may know. That way your D can eliminate some in advance and make the list more manageable and financially feasible.</p>
<p>If it’s feasible for you to do the unofficial visits, our experience was that they were really valuable. Official visits can’t happen until after school begins in Sept of senior year. Then things can get very hectic with multiple visits needing to be scheduled before EA/ED apps are due. It’s really useful to do as many unofficial visits in advance of that, in part to determine which schools your athlete might like to visit on official visits (if given that opportunity, of course). I think coaches do use an athlete’s willingness to make unofficial visits as one indication of interest - they don’t want to waste time pursuing an athlete who isn’t really interested. </p>
<p>Finally, you might want to check out the Athletic Recruit forum under College Admissions - lots of knowledgeable parents there. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you can afford it she should go 
It will give her a first hand look at the school and she may even able to cross it off/keep it on her lists of schools based on “fit”. Absolutely make sure she uses the “broken leg test” first & foremost. What if??? </p>
<p>And she would absolutely benefit from meeting the Coaches. Not only would it show interest, but they would then be able to put a face & personality to the name. Just remind her, that just because a Coach is there her Junior year, does not mean the same Coach will be there her Freshman year. So, she should see the school and not base her lists only on her sport. </p>
<p>What a fun & exciting time for her Enjoy it.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for this advice. Regarding the unofficial visits expressing her genuine interest and enthusiasm, you are confirming what I thought. These are all schools that she has visited (but without having any involvement with coaches) when we did our big (21 schools) college visits (just info sessions/tours), so she already knows that she really likes them - and would not base any decision solely on the coach. I also made her look at several colleges that do not have her sport so that if she were to be injured, etc., she would have other ideas for places she would be happy, and would have a chance of being admitted without any coach, etc… Realistically, the colleges that are currently expressing interest are ones that she would need to be recruited to for admissions - she would need this “hook”. </p>
<p>Again, thank you so much for your comments - they are very appreciated as we are charting very new territory for us, and I want to keep it all in perspective!</p>
<p>I have a Jr who is also an athlete.
So I hear ya…</p>
<p>Be sure to get an NCAA clearinghouse number…all the grades/scores etc have to be sent there from your school.
Check that NCAA website for your student’s sport and the rules because even if you student does an unoffical visit…technically coaches aren’t supposed to talk with kids about programs etc until I believe like July 1 after the Jr yr (may vary by sport) As you may know there is a scale of GPA and SAT they mustf fit per NCAA regs to be cleared as eligible.</p>
<p>Infractions to the rules could make your student ineligible.</p>
<p>SOme coaches adhere very strictly to the rules, others interpret them differently. But its best for you and your student to know whats what so that you don’t let something jepordize your student’s eligibilty. Especially if the coach is playing it a little lose…</p>
<p>Last yr as a soph we started school visits just a casual campus tour of rural, urban, big , small to get a feel of what our DS is comfortable with…and with that looked at facilities etc. </p>
<p>If your student’s stats are great, then fill out the online recruitment sheet at each schools website.</p>
<p>Good luck ;o)</p>
<p>During the winter of Jr year, D contacted the coach at P after completing the questionaire on their athletic web site and getting a thank you email response. Her purpose was to let him know that she would be playing in a tournament nearby and perhaps he’d come take a look. His response: “We’ve already completed recruiting for 2010 but if you enroll at P you’d be welcome to try out.” That was 18 months before what will be the start of her freshman year.</p>
<p>Around this same time, D did get invited to visit a D3 school and spent a very nice day with two coaches (different sports) and members of the teams. The school bought us lunch and provided a guide for a personal tour. Again that was D3 so the rules may be different. D will be applying there even if she can’t play.</p>
<p>So depending on the sport, your D may already be late to the party. </p>
<p>I’d do those visits soon.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips, and how amazing to think that OSDAD’s D was overlooked as early as Junior winter - that makes me think this is all so much more accelerated than I imagine. Do the coaches pretty much all know what/who they want by July 1st of next summer when the may phone start ringing? (One hopes - cannot assume anything, obviously - anything can fall apart!)
D has registered with NCAA, but since just first semester junior year, doesn’t have much in the way of pertinent scores & grades, SAT IIs, etc. for a real assessment. D is taking SAT early to get an idea, and will post her first semester results, etc. - I suppose at NCAA as well as in follow up emails to coaches? (They all say to keep in touch regarding athletic stats and academic achievements). I assume they want academic updates even if there isn’t much in the way of athletic stat changes - ? Her sport is a spring sport, with a season that won’t begin until March.
I will make sure she plans those informal visits sooner than later - she can’t actually do them until February, but at least they can be planned and on the coach’s calendar, and it will still be before her spring sport begins for her junior year. I agree it does help to have a face and personality recognized to stay on the radar - or at least be a blip…She did meet with one varsity coach while on campus, at the recruiting coach’s request, all informally (we were already in town to vist the school when the emailed request was received) … I am very confident that this school, as would most, would be stringent with the NCAA guidelines. She would be beyond thrilled to be on the team at either college that has asked her for an “informal” visit.</p>
<p>Generally if the contact is student initiated the coaches can always respond. The otherway around is when there’s “quiet times” and “dead times”.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s disheartening to think that D1 schools are recruiting a year ahead (in my D’s sport) as osdad says. D started her sport later than most of her peers and this puts more pressure on her in this coming year as she goes into her jr. year. </p>
<p>OTOH, one of her peers was just recruited by a D1 school - full ride, this month - in her sr. yr. So, all hope is not lost…</p>
<p>Early recruiting has many pitfalls, and it’s amazing how things seem to be falling apart for more athletes this year than in the past in my D’s sport. Anyone else experiencing this? Of course, the ivies and places like Stanford don’t have that problem since they don’t early verbal.</p>
<p>Depressing to think of things falling apart, although that is probably the norm rather than the exception? The relatively late offer for lilmom’s child’s peer is great - but no doubt it was a nerve wracking experience. I know of a male hockey player recruited to an ivy in February or March of his senior year - he hadn’t even applied to them as they had been dismissive of him playing on their team - someone must have dropped out, reneged, etc. leaving a big hole for the team. </p>
<p>My question: I know that Ivy schools cannot give you a Likely Letter before October 1st. Can the admissions office not even read your application before October 1st? Also, non-Ivy Div. 1 schools - when can they start to offer their Letter of Intent? Before October 1st I assume?</p>
<p>I would say go to the visits. I had a discussion with a D1 coach at a highly ranked school the other day and they had just been getting responses to their likely letters and the athletes were being reported on a national recruiting website as having verbally committed. </p>
<p>This particular institution can squeeze maybe fewer than six “recruits” in the sport in question through the admissions office each year. This is arrived at from a group of about two dozen official visits. Of that number of official visits, about 15 of the recruits indicated that the school was their first choice if they could be admitted. For this to take place, a lot of groundwork had to be put in place, and it takes a lot of time. Over the summer before senior year, they are lining up the applicants they think they can support, and figuring out which ones they need to direct elsewhere for admissions or other reasons. </p>
<p>Coaches at the the most selective schools want to recruit athletes who would be good enough to receive D1 scholarships at strong programs. To be successful at this, you have to be able to have the applications submitted early in the fall, and get an admissions decision in the form of a likely letter early in the game. Otherwise, the UMs, UCBs, UVAs, UNCs WakeForests, Dukes, Vandys, and Northwesterns of the world, among others, will have your team on their squads early in the fall. </p>
<p>If she likes the schools, try to make the visits and take it from there.</p>
<p>Thanks - did you get a feel from the coach you spoke with when it goes from verbal to “real” (from a D1 non-Ivy) - in the autumn, it sounds like? There are so many legendary stories about early signings, and it is hard to separate fiction from reality. My D will definitely go on the visits - any doubts I had about the real value of the time, travel, etc. have been put to rest!</p>
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<p>My understanding is that, for athletic scholarship schools, that jargon refers to being able to sign the national letter of intent. I am not certain when this occurs, but I believe the first signing period begins on November 11, depending on the sport. </p>
<p>see [National</a> Letter of Intent](<a href=“http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/nli/nli]National”>http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/nli/nli)</p>
<p>Until you have something to accept, which is either the NLI, or the admissions deposit forms, everything is regarded as verbal…as I understand it.</p>
<p>For an Ivy, I guess the kid isn’t signed until April, when he’s able to send in the papers.</p>
<p>Thanks for the NIL link. For the Ivies, apparently the Likely Letter is as good as a true acceptance letter providing you don’t have a slide in grades, no disciplinary issues, etc.</p>