Hi!
Our D will be a high school senior this fall. She has verbally accepted an offer to play D1 volleyball starting Fall 2016. She verbally accepted the D1 offer (without talking to us) to a school we do not think is a good fit for her (she doesn’t think it is the best fit, either… don’t ask me why she committed… sigh…). (You can read my previous post from late May “Full ride at small school or walk-on at dream school”).
Although it is not the decision we would have steered her towards, it is a good decision and she could be very happy at this school (it has exactly what she wants to study and lots of opportunities for travel – which she wants to do & with the full-ride offer can afford to do). However, she has second thoughts constantly about this decision to attend this small D1 school…
Anyway – should we have her apply to other colleges this fall? Not necessarily to play volleyball at them (because she has verbally committed to play at the small D1 school and the volleyball “ship has sailed”). But, just in case she gets injured in the next year (heaven forbid) – she will have options to attend a school she wants to attend?
Also – although we are hoping she stays at this small D1 school for all 4 years, if she is unhappy, we have told her she can transfer somewhere else. Can anyone shed some light on how transferring works for an athlete? When does that process start? Do she tell her current college coach she is unhappy and she is looking somewhere else?
Any thoughts are appreciated!!!
First, the verbal commitment is not binding, so she could change her mind. Not sure how good the school is academically and otherwise from a fit perspective, or how much better she could do given her grades and SAT/ACT. I would generally suggest attending the best school – academically and fit-wise – that she could get into. I wouldn’t worry about the committed school being small. Is it a good school that she would be happy at if she wasn’t playing volleyball? Even assume a full-ride for academics. Would that be a school she would choose? If she says no, then I would look at other schools. I know someone who went to a small (I think D3) school that was not great academically to play volleyball. She realized it was a mistake and transferred to a top 20 engineering-focused school and loves it despite not playing volleyball. Though she was lucky to get in as a transfer, it generally is difficult at the most selective schools and it can be tough to switch schools. I guess the other variable is how much you can afford to pay for college and how much of a benefit is the full ride? Would she get financial aid at other schools if she can get in?
Applying to another school as a back up only works if she actually uses the acceptance as a freshman. If she wants to transfer after attending the D1 school, she’d need to complete a transfer application. Now, some schools will allow the transfer based on the initial application, but they don’t have to. I did transfer schools and to one that had accepted me, but they also needed to see my grades from the current school, so a ‘mini transfer’ review, but still, they didn’t have to accept me after I’d started at the other school.
If she seems unhappy with the school she’s committed to, keep looking! There is a reason why nothing is binding until she signs the NLI - kids change their minds! Coaches change, buyer’s remorse, better offer. It doesn’t happen a lot, but enough that it is not unusual. And the school can withdraw its offer too. It is not a binding commitment. Better to have doubts now. The school is investing a lot in her; she really should be happy with the decision or keep looking.
My daughter is very indecisive, and I thought for sure she’d have buyer’s remorse after she signed her NLI. Nope, has never looked back and is actually looking forward to next year. Really very unlike her, so if your daughter is already having doubts, she should keep looking. She may find the offer she has is still the best, but she may feel better about it after she sees a few more situations.
Yes, I would recommend applying to other schools. Our son ended up applying to 2 DI and 2 DIII schools before receiving a likely letter. Until you have a signed letter of intent (or likely letter), verbal offers can evaporate. There are many tales of kids accepting a verbal offer and not continuing the recruitment process, then ultimately having the verbal offer disappear at the last minute. No one wants to have nowhere to go at the last minute.
Having said that, it is rare, but it does happen. I would suggest continuing to look at other schools until a firm offer is received.
As others have advised, the verbal commitment is not binding. Things change dramatically once she signs the NLI and the school’s financial agreement, then all NCAA transfer restrictions and limitations come into play, until then a verbal commitment is just that and no more. Also, keep in mind the school is not bound either, and she is not “in” the school until she has the acceptance letter in hand.
My son initially went to a small D1 school, it seemed like a great fit until he actually got there. I can say from experience, transferring is certainly doable but brings with it a lengthy list of rules and policies that must be adhered to. If you want to transfer you need to ask your current school for “permission to contact” before talking to other coaches. Depending on the coach/athletic director this can make a bad situation worse for your child. In my son’s case, what was a strained relationship with a coach became an ugly relationship. Once you are an athlete, transferring is much more complicated than for the general student population, but it can be done.
I will also say that what we thought was a great fit on paper did not necessarily turn out that way, so in your daughter’s case what may be the dream school might not actually be a dream! My advice would be to apply to other schools and keep options open, a lot can happen in the next few months.