<p>I'm going on an OV for the first time in a couple of days and I was wondering what kinds of questions should I ask the coaches/athletes there besides "where am I on your list" "What are practices like" etc to get a good feel of the school?</p>
<p>Is there anything that an athlete should be aware of (like drinking parties) before going on a OV?</p>
<p>Any advice or suggestions are welcomed!</p>
<p>Thanks in advance! :)</p>
<p>There are other threads on this forum which talk about what questions to ask coaches and teammates. Search the archives.</p>
<p>But one thing my D wished she knew ahead of time was that at one school, the “admissions discussion” listed on the itinerary was not a group information session or Q & A for prospective students about how to apply, etc. It was an actual admissions INTERVIEW. D was not mentally prepared nor appropriately dressed.</p>
<p>Jumper, I think it depends on the school & sport. My daughter just had her first visit, and I doubt if it was representative as the kids were sort of in ‘angel’ mode due to some issues the week before. In her case, the most important part of the OV seems to be just to see if there’s a good fit, if the team seems right for her, and how they interact with one another. She wants to find a team where she feels like she’ll have camaraderie, since she will be spending so much time with these girls for the four years she’s there.</p>
<p>As far as asking, it’s probably about whatever you want to know. Does the team live together? How many recruits get admitted? what is the team’s graduation rate/GPA? How many classes will you have to miss for sporting events and is there any system in place to keep athletes from falling behind? Most importantly, I think ask the current team members if they like the school and if it has turned out to be what they thought it would be. Otherwise, wait for that “ahhh” feeling that my daughter is looking for! I believe in that.</p>
<p>Also, ask the coaches if you have any concerns, such as what to wear or what to bring. And good luck! Have fun … and brace yourself for the possibility of drinking parties (check out that thread, it’s pretty recent). Figure out in advance how you’re going to deal with that issue if it comes up. And be careful ! Let us know how it goes. :-)</p>
<p>^^^Yes, one of the best things about an OV is when you find your perfect “fit”, and just know it. My daughter has completed two, and is scheduled for three more - the two she has taken have been so illuminating. One school she really liked but didn’t necessarily love is now her absolute dream school. Another school she had liked has shown itself not to be where she would want to spend 4 years. The times at these schools are really educational in every way, and she may end this process sooner than she anticipated, as in commit to one place very soon.
One thing she didn’t count on was how mentally draining these visits are. She has come back from both completely exhausted - and neither one included wild partying. Even if you are physically fine, they do take a mental toll. Plus, making up the school days missed, school commitments, homework … and on and on… However, these visits do not go on forever, and the end result is you making an educated choice, with a coach and team having that same mutual feeling. Plus, you make some friends along the way who you will be seeing at competitions over the next few years, if not being on their team. I believe that when my daughter reflects back on this wild time in her life, she will think it was well worth the time, travel and temporary stress…</p>
<p>GFG: Was your daughter at a D1 school?
Wilberry: I will be going on a D3 school OV and I will let you guys know how it goes! 
Mayhew: Thanks, I will keep that in mind! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses so far! All extremely helpful!</p>
<p>I would ask what percent of students on OVs are accepted. You and the school are both checking each other out at these visits. Might as well learn as much as you can.</p>
<p>It was a D1 school. Unfortunately, it was her first OV and her first choice school prior to the start of the OV’s. We really would have preferred to not have this school be her first visit for just this reason–so she’d learn how the OV’s work before going to her top school. But that particular coach asked for D’s fall sports schedule and then assigned her a weekend to come.</p>
<p>Jumper,</p>
<p>I’ve stated this on another thread some time ago, but will bring it up again as I feel it is real important on OVs or non-OVs.</p>
<p>Have your S or D ask the coach about academic resources and academic policies for athletes. Some schools we went to last year had dedicated tutors, group tutors, and no tutors. In the case of no tutors there was a group study “thing” where a group of athletes would meet and get some help from a rotating pool of student volunteers. This school had a clear firewall between athletics and academics. Some schools have mandatory study hall for freshman, others don’t. Frankly, the tutoring is a safety net that we wanted to know was there. I would suggest diving into the details of their answer to make sure you fully understand.</p>
<p>My son is a month into his freshman year. Everything is good academically, but as parents we know it gets progressively harder. I have some re-assurance in knowing that tutor resouces are there if needed for my student-athlete.</p>
<p>I wish we had prepared how to react to verbal offers. </p>
<p>At each of my daughter’s overnight visits that she’s completed thus far, she was offered a spot on the team in coach’s meetings just before she was scheduled to leave. I feel she handled it well by letting them know there were still more visits she needed to complete and explained that her decision would be made in a few short weeks but she was still caught totally off-guard.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses and advice!</p>
<p>A little digression: Is it possible for a school to lose interest in you if you keep on stalling on whether you are ready to commit to a school. I’ve been getting mail from the same school asking me whether I’ve decided or not for 2 months now…</p>
<p>Only if they find someone better…Seriously, yes, but it depends how skilled/unique you are, if you need a “tip” or a “slot”, and if there is another left handed state champion bowler who shows up…</p>
<p>This has been referenced in other places and is becoming dated, but I think it is a good read, especially for the informed parents of athletes at high academic schools. Don’t print it out–it will be too long. Pay attention to what he thinks happened to his son at the Yale visit. </p>
<p>[College</a> athletic recruiting lessons learned by a Miramonte Dad](<a href=“http://www.johntreed.com/matsdad.html]College”>College Football Recruiting lessons learned – John T. Reed)</p>
<p>His style is a little ragged, but I like his directness. His rants about the former Columbia football coaches are classics.</p>
<p>Jumper: Put yourself in the coaches shoes. He has to fill a recruiting class and is very concerned about waiting until the last minute to do it. He may not lose interest in you, but others may wind up beating you to it if they see the school as their first choice.</p>
<p>I just came back from OV. LOVED the school.</p>
<p>Only thing weird was seeing other recruits trickling in and out, but they weren’t on OVs…so I’m guessing they are on Unofficial Visits? It was quite awkward when the head coach came into the office, greeted me, and was like “sorry, but what is your name again?” to the other recruits in the room.</p>
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<p>Haha, that’s not awkward, that’s awesome!</p>