<p>I have been emailing some coaches recently and several have mentioned official visits. Now, considering many of these are quite far away, I would have to fly to them. My question is, does the college pay for travel expenses or is the recruit expected to? My family is on a tight budget as it is and could not afford a plane ticket. One college in particular sent me this:</p>
<p>"Once you decide to come for a visit we will begin working on your schedule
while you are here. All you need to do is sign up and get to campus by plane,
train or automobile. We can arrange pick-up to and from the
airport/hosts....classes....etc for you."</p>
<p>It doesn't sound like hes offering to pay. Should I call admissions and see what they can do?</p>
<p>FWIW (DD had official visits with D1, D2 and D3 schools) - </p>
<p>D1 paid for airfare, food and lodgings for athlete, and hotel for parent. </p>
<p>D2 schools were within driving distance - paid for athlete’s food and lodgings - parents on their own. </p>
<p>D3, we had to get ourselves to the city (flew across country), they picked us up in uni vehicle. Food and lodgings for athlete were provided. Parents were on their own.</p>
<p>An “official visit” allows the school to pay for the recruits travel expenses and room and board while on campus. I think that visits can be no longer than 48 hours. Some schools pay for the max, some don’t. Some pay for the parent’s hotel, some don’t. The coach rules the roost on OV’s – not admissions --on what he/she is paying; so have your recruit ask the coach outright about the cost stuff. </p>
<p>One interesting issue is when the airline schedule doesn’t quite work out and you need to get there the night before the OV begins – that night in the hotel is on you.</p>
<p>The number of OV’s a school can give (as well as the number you can go on) are limited by rule so make sure you understand if it will be an OV or an unofficial visit.</p>
<p>In some instances the school sent S a ticket; in others they reimbursed him (took a while). I would strongly suggest that you allow the school to take care of the arrangements – OV’s can be canceled by the school at the last moment (e.g., they found the player for that position a day before) and if you buy a discount ticket, you’re stuck with a useless ticket and no reimbursement.</p>
<p>It varies by school and by program. One OV flew my son in … and it would have been quicker to drive, but they made the arrangements and paid. The other school was of the “get yourself here and we’ll take care of the rest.”</p>
<p>Basically, the school is allowed to pay for transportation but not obligated to pay for transportation.</p>
<p>It depends. Are you a senior? Have you been actively recruited by the coach? Is it a DI school?</p>
<p>In my daughter’s case, I don’t consider it an official visit offer unless the invitation is specific, “We would like to invite you for an official visit at our school. These are the dates we have available. Do any of theses work for you? We will follow up with the specifics.”</p>
<p>I was too quick with my answer: if you’re unsure about anything a coach ever says to you, it is always good to ask for clarification. They speak the lingo, and they recruit every year. This is your first and only time, so it’s fine to ask lots of questions, even seemingly obvious ones like: “I’m trying to make sure I understand what you’re offering. Is this an official visit?”</p>
<p>Re: #5 No, it isn’t necessarily an official visit. One school on D’s list had a special open house day for kids they were interested in recruiting which was a precursor to an OV. For one thing, it took place during junior year and not after the start of school the athlete’s senior year. Therefore it could not be counted as an official visit as per NCAA regulations.</p>
<p>Our kiddo just sent an email asking for clarification from one school…</p>
<p>One ivy is making all the arrangements…however this other school has invited kiddo up–and asked for dates that work -yet not given indication of how they do it all.</p>