Divulge to colleges where applying?

<p>I was looking at the student/athlete form for a couple of colleges my son might apply to, and they ask where else he might be applying. What are the pros and cons of answering truthfully? Is it really their business?</p>

<p>There are NCAA rules concerning recruiting athletes. There’s only certain times of the year; depending on the sport. If an athlete has given a verbal or written commitment to a particular school, then other schools have to be very careful how they go about talking to the student. There are a lot of rules. YES. It is their business if you are being recruited as an athlete as to WHERE you have applied and might also be recruited from.</p>

<p>How about if you’re not being recruited? We’re just filling out an interest form on the college’s sports team website. We’re not going for a scholarship, just to get in and play. Can we keep close to the vest? Why is it their business if we’re willing to pay?</p>

<p>I saw an interesting presentation by a Harvard coach regarding recruiting. She mentioned that when responding to this question it would be important to list colleges that are competitors of the school you are interested in. If coaches are interested in you, they may be more likely to pursue you if they think you may go to a competitor. Make sure you list schools that are in the same conference/league of your desired college.</p>

<p>It doesn’t matter whether you get a scholarship or are a walk-on. If you are on a college sports team playing IC “Inter-Collegiate”, then there are rules when it comes to the team (Coaches) talking to perspective players. There’s NCAA/NAIA concerning this. </p>

<ol>
<li>A college coach can only call or visit you after July of your junior year in high school.</li>
<li>You can call or meet with a coach at any point in your high school career.</li>
<li>You can take as many campus visits as you would like when considering a sports scholarship offer. Again, the key here is that you are the one initiating the visit.</li>
<li>There are blackout periods where coaches/teams are not allowed to contact the student at all.</li>
<li>There are NCAA rules that high school students applying to a college and playing a sport, will have taken certain minimum classes in high school with minimum grades.</li>
<li>There’s also certain eligibility factors. This one can really apply to your question. IF a student is RECRUITED by a team to play a sport and decides to change schools later on; the athlete becomes ineligible to play at the new school for a complete season. This is to stop 1 school for trying to grab a star player during the season from another school and have them play for them.</li>
</ol>

<p>So there’s a lot of reasons a school would want to know if you are being looked at by other schools or if you are applying to other schools. A scholarship has nothing to do with this. That’s because when you fill out any interest in a college sports team, you AREN’T applying for a scholarship. It is up to the college/team on whether they want to offer you a scholarship as a means to get you to play for them. Bottom line: If you are interested in playing sports at the college level, you will need to inform the school of other schools you are interested in playing for and that you have contacted; or who have contacted you. If you don’t like this, then enroll in the school as a NON-Athlete and then try to get a walk-on once you are there. As a current student, most of the concerns don’t apply. academically, competition, eligibility, etc.</p>