<p>Once the OV's have been set, is it realistically possible to visit all schools before making a decision, especially if IVIES are involved and they want assurance before a likely letter support is involved?</p>
<p>From what I have read and heard, theoretically? Yes. Realistically, it seems to take an incredible amount of energy to do five OV’s when early senior grades are so important, and it is near impossible to do that many by early decision time if you are in a sport that is in season. I have read about a lot of kids becoming incredibly worn down and even sick. </p>
<p>Best piece of advice I think I have seen was to at least try to schedule your OVs starting with your favorite schools, so you can at least potentially get the most important visits out of the way if you decide you can’t keep up the pace, so you won’t be stuck completely tired out yet not having done the OV of your top choice yet.</p>
<p>I just wanted to make a quick comment about overnights. A lot of people seem to be suggesting that overnights are somehow a required part of the recruiting process and that athletes may not get offers if they do not attend overnights. In my experience, the practice of doing OV visits is really league and school specific and may not be part of the program at some schools. We visited most of the NESCAC schools that recruited my S for his sport during a spring “college tour.” There was no requirement of an overnight visit in the fall – it was available, but not going was not an obstacle at all in the recruitment process. Although we didn’t discuss it explicitly with the coaches, I think they understood that my S was involved in a fall sport and we lived quite far away from their schools, so an OV visit would have been quite challenging. It didn’t impact my son’s options in the least. It was important, however, that we visited at some point during the process so they could meet my S face to face and get to know him. Other schools outside the NESCAC (although DIII) had more formal OV programs and seemed to view attendance as somewhat of a test of an athlete’s true commitment, but again my sense was that there was some optionality for kids who lived far away. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>We have found that several NESCAC specially schools do not do the OV visits or are doing away with them for budget and other reasons. So you have to remember that when considering schools that some will not offer them. I think the most important thing is visiting the school, sitting down with the coaches, getting a tour of the facilities including the athletic facilities that will apply to your student/athlete and getting a sense of the school that way. Good luck.</p>
<p>dragonkids posted…"Once the OV’s have been set, is it realistically possible to visit all schools before making a decision, especially if IVIES are involved and they want assurance before a likely letter support is involved? "</p>
<p>A lot is going to depend your son or daughters Ivy sport. For son’s Ivy sport, almost all recruits will have verbally committed before mid-Sept and completed a prior un-OV. OV’s are for late comers in his sport.</p>
<p>Your OV mileage my vary depending on the sport, and NCAA Division. Personally, I had far better results with un-OVs as the rules & timetables are less rigid. My son got a better overall sense for the programs and schools through un-OVs and they were much more accommodating with schedules. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies. All have stated my student-athlete is their top 1 or 1-2 choice with a couple who have offered direct LL support if the coach can be told now of a commitment. All schools have been visited unofficially with coaches and a few students in attendance and are on equal footing for different reasons as far as preference. I guess the concern is because of the nature of the "musical chairs " game, the “bird-in-hand-two-in-a-bush” worry, and the difficulty of being able to line up OV’s in the exact order preferred. I’d like my student-athlete to really be able to decide. All the coaches have mentioned the pressure will be enormous.</p>
<p>dragonkids,</p>
<p>So, your student-athlete has visited all schools unofficially. He/She has met the coaches and a few students. He/She has been offered LL with a commitment, and told he/she is a top 1 or 1/2 recruit.</p>
<p>“All the coaches have mentioned the pressure will be enormous.”</p>
<p>Truthfully, I find your last statement noted above, interesting. Is the pressure on the student or the coaches? If I’m reading this correctly, your son is in demand. That would infer the pressure would be on the coaches. If I was your son/daughter, I’d line up the OVs the way he/she wants them…your son/daughter is in the drivers seat. I would visit them in the order of preference, and let the cards fall where they may. </p>
<p>PS… If it was up to me in my son’s sport, and there was a lot of travel involved…I would narrow it down to 3 schools at most. Fall of senior year is very important, and you don’t want to get behind.</p>
<p>^agree with Fenway. S narrowed list down to 3 and then did back-to-back-to-back weekends. (I personally think keeping up with the studies during that period wasn’t that difficult. And, if all testing is done, and only a single app. to complete [you can always get an app done in November if the LL doesn’t come through], the pressure isn’t all that great. Most other seniors are dealing with testing and multiple apps)</p>
<p>As for organizing OVs in order of initial preference, that may not be possible. For example, some schools may have OVs available as early as the first weekend in September; others (e.g., Princeton) may not begin OVs until the third weekend in September.</p>
<p>And the coaches may even expect an answer before you are done the OVs. From their perspective, the game of musical chairs is well underway and he/she fears being shutout. From your perspective, stall. One way to stall is to tell them FA is critical to the decision and the delay a few days in getting the FA stuff to the FA office.</p>
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<p>During my daughter’s visits to 3 Ivies - each coach told her that she’d be getting a ‘hard sell’ from the other coaches, pressuring her to commit. That didn’t happen. Those coaches may be out there, but D was able to take all her OVs before committing. </p>
<p>I think good coaches from quality programs don’t want to come across as desperate. A recurring phrase was, “Go ahead and take your other visits, I’m confident you’ll see this is the place for you after you do’”</p>
<p>In regards to NESCAC OV’s… I agree it may not be absolute to take an OV. In my D case, it was very helpful to spend more time with the team-eat, sleep, go to a practice and game. She seemed to get a better vibe on fit and learned a great deal. Moreover, she got an additional feel for the school. This really helped her decide and feel confident about her decision ED1.</p>
<p>S has the same scenario. Was told that he is top 1-2 recruit for the Ivies. We decided that he needs to finish all three OVs before he can commit. So he specifically told the coaches his OV schedule and his wish to wait. All the Ivy coaches agreed that he should make his decision after completing his last OV in early October. That is not to say that the coaches do not continue to suggest that S should say yes now.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice. Each coach has been very gracious and considerate, which is a blessing.</p>