My son has been invited to visit a school in the fall by the college coach. Unfortunately he cannot visit on the dates he was invited, but offered other dates. What can he expect during a visit like this? If he offers another date is that looked down upon? Is this a reliable sign with regard to admittance to the college? Thanks for any help you can provide.
From what I’ve read, official visit offer means your son is on the top of the recruit list. It’s like a sales pitch… the coaches are trying to market their school and program to your son so that he will commit. Every athlete I know who got an official was recruited. I don’t think requesting a different date to visit is going to be a negative. It’s exciting! Best of luck!
I disagree only slightly from @eastcoastrower. I don’t think an OV visit means the “top of the list.” I also don’t think it reliably means admittance. A positive pre-read is far more reliable. I do think it means that he is on the list (whatever that is at this point in time) and that the coach thinks he is within the range to be admitted. I also believe it means that the coach is recruiting him. That may or may not mean that he will be on the coach’s ultimate list of supported athletes presented to admissions. Because many recruits have OVs at more than one school, and coaches know that, coaches will invite more students for OVs than the number of recruits they need for their final list. I do know of people who had an OV but did not get admitted.
Don’t get ahead of yourself. Your son should offer up the dates that he is available. If he wants, he can explain why he can’t make the OV on the date suggested, but honestly we all have things we are doing that make us unavailable. The coach will understand if you offer up 2 or 3 alternative dates. Then your son should go to see if HE likes the school.
While I do think that coaches are marketing their program through the overnight, they also are assessing whether your son would be a fit with the team. So, he should behave reasonably. No OV is identical, but most involve time to tour the school, athletic facilities and be entertained by teammates. Sleeping arrangements may be impromptu. You may want to ask the coach if he recommends bringing a sleeping bag.
Doesn’t sound like an OV…more of an unofficial visit. Are they inviting your son and paying for you and your son? some schools for football (usually D3) invite players to games with a total of 3 free tickets but you are responsible for air and hotel.
Thank you for the terrific advice and thoughts. I want to take a measured approach to all of this as my ultimate aim as as a mom is that my son is able to compete at the college level and get a good education. I understand it’s a competitive give-and-take climate when it comes to sports recruiting, and want to coach him forward with good advice. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.
I would agree with moscott, the OP never mentioned it as an official visit, only that the son was invited to visit. It certainly would be OK to change dates and offer the coach alternate days. Our unofficial visits with HYPC coaches was usually arranged after a few back and forth emails discussing alternate dates.
From our experience with our S, the coaches are pretty amenable to picking another date that works for you. They know that kids have other schools they’re looking at. I’d have your son get back in touch with the coach, express his interest in the visit and school, but nicely explain those dates don’t work and see if there’s another date you can come up with, offer it out. I’m sure coaches hear that all the time. Our S just did that with one of his schools - he’ll pick another date further out. Just keep in mind that many college swim teams have meets starting late Oct and into Nov. so some dates may be tough.
As for what he can expect: As a recruited D1 swimmer myself years ago…I stayed with a swimmer in the dorm, met the team and other recruits, watched the team practice, went to a sporting event on campus…at the time (25 years ago), also went to an “event” off campus with the team - not sure how often that happens still as I’m hearing a lot of schools going Sun-Mon overnights to cut down on “event” attending, but I’m sure it does. I met with the coach at the end of the weekend. We are good friends with a swimmer who was recruited to my D1 alma mater last year. At the end of her visit the coach met with her and offered her a NLI for November. She ultimately declined at that school, but those discussions do take place - I guess it just depends on the school/coach. From my personal experience (granted years ago…but I think it still rings true) it was an interview for them, and an interview for me - we both had to put on our best show. Good luck!
I think some research must be done as to what defines an OV and what can be done on an OV in terms of NCAA rules. This smells like an OV to me. And you’re only allowed so many OV’s. But more research should be done by the OP.
For example: “Per NCAA rules, you are allowed to take no more than five official visits to Division I and/or Division II schools and you can only take one visit, per school. There is no limit on the number of official visits you can take at the Division III and NAIA levels, but you can only take one visit per school.”
Not sure about details–we’ve already visited once. Will find out.
This is extremely helpful. Do you think parents should be nearby or is this strictly a student event? What is NLI? Can you tell you’re talking to a rookie 
This is really helpful too. I’ll do a little research. Thank you.
NLI is National Letter of Intent
Thank you.
My D18 has an official visit scheduled in October. It is much as kjs1992 described: she will hit campus on Friday morning and go to classes with future teammates and watch a practice, there is a football game Saturday and we leave Sunday morning (by NCAA rules, you are only allowed 48 hours on campus). She will stay overnight in the dorms with the team on Friday and Saturday nights (D18’s recruited '17 friends advised “events” still take place). We have already been told by the coach that she will sign her NLI (which is in essence a financial aid contract) during the early period in November.
@crimsonmom2019 I totally forgot the class! Yes - my son will be attending a class in Sept. as well at his visits. I think that’s just a super important part of the whole process - going to a class and seeing how it operates on the collegiate level. After all, you’ll spend more time in class than on the field, pool, gym…etc. 
Thank you that’s really helpful. It looks like his visit is planned for October. I appreciate your help and wish your daughter success.
Thanks. I know my oldest child who was not a sports recruit did attend classes before choosing a school and that really helped. I’ll remember that.
Official visits vary by NCAA division. D1 and D2 official visits are usually paid for by the school and there are caps on the number of official visits an athlete can take. D3 does not generally pay for the visits and there is no limit to the number of visits. My experience is only with D3 visits, so I can’t offer specific advice tailored to D1 and D2 official visits. If your student is invited to a D1 etc. official visit, search this board for key terms related to his sport and you will probably find a wealth of information about that sport and what to expect.
As for D3 prospie visits – it means the coach is interested in the possibility of the athlete. It does not mean much, in itself, about admissions and does not mean the athlete has a “spot” on the team. It is the next step in the “dance” of seeing if the student-athlete, on one side, and the school and team, on the other, are a good fit. It is positive in the sense that the coach has to narrow his list at some point, and it is good to still be on the list of those who get invited to campus.
You can expect that the prospie will have a meal with team members, go to class with team members, interview with admissions, if available, and have a meeting with the coach. If it is a sport “in season” in the fall, coaches like to have prospies visit on match/competition days, to see the team in action and vibe off the experience. They do understand that fall of senior year is a busy time and students may not be able to get away on those dates. Alternative dates are fine. Numerous coaches told us that the team’s response to the prospie is very important – the coach is looking for “fit” with the guys he already has. Depending on the schedule, the prospie may stay overnight, usually on the floor of a team member (some schools had air mattresses). During the coach meeting, be prepared to ask specific questions about admissions and the team. Is the coach offering the player a roster spot? Does the coach expect ED commitment? What are the coach’s experience with players with similar stats in terms of ED acceptance/deferrals/rejections? Does the coach have tips, slots or other “say” in admissions, and if so, is he prepared to use it on your kid? Does Admissions do pre-reads and can your student get a pre-read. If you are applying for financial aid, can you get a financial “pre-read.” If the school awards merit and you need merit to make the package work, can the coach or admissions give you a sense of what kind of merit award your kid would receive?Where does kid stand in terms of recruits, in terms of the sport? How many other students does coach want to bring in at your son’s position/event etc? Are there cuts after pre-season? Is your player guaranteed a spot for freshman year? Are there cuts after that? There is a potential chasm of uncertainty and ambiguity in this process if a family does not ask specific questions. It is easy to hear the “good” news and harder to pay attention and follow up to understand just what that means.
Good luck, sounds like your kid is still “in the game” – which is great, but not the end of the process. My kid matured a lot as he moved through recruiting, and loves his school and his team, but it is a long, sometimes uncertain, often exhausting process.
Thank you so much. This is very helpful. He just made plans for his first visit and the questions you pose are terrific. We will be certain to ask those questions. It truly is a “maturing” process as you note–much like looking for a job. Since we’re doing this on our own, I appreciate the support of so many on this site. I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions in the weeks ahead. Thank you!