Steps of the Sports Recruiting Process
We understand how important the decisions are when looking for the school that is best for you both as a student and player.
If you are a star athlete who has worked hard both on and off the field, you may be trying to decide which college is the right choice for you to advance athletically and academically. With athletic recruiting at elite schools, the stakes can be very high, and athletes have been facing earlier and earlier timeframes within which they must make their decisions about the school that they will attend. You might need help through the process as you look for the school that will allow you to excel in your sport at the collegiate level and potentially professionally while also offering you a top-notch education and an excellent scholarship and financial aid package. There will be many steps that you will have to take, and having the support of the experts at Going Ivy can help you to navigate through each step successfully.
Help Through the Athletic Recruiting Process
It is remarkable how many Phoenix-area high school athletes there are in all different sports, and our team in the Valley enjoys seeing students go to the top in both athletics and academics. Regardless of whether you are attending a public, private or charter high school, we understand how important the decisions are when you are looking for the school that is best for you both as a student and player. Going Ivy can help you navigate through the process from start to finish, and we can work with you so that you can identify your goals and then implement a strategy with the goal of getting you accepted into a school that allows you to excel.
Understand that each athlete will go through a different recruiting process. There are different rules in each division. Generally, however, there are some specific steps that you might expect to happen as the process goes on.
Meeting the Coaches
Whether you’re a phenom freshman in high school with dreams of playing in college already or coming into your own in your junior year and interested in your options, the first step you’ll take toward recruitment is contacting the coaches of the schools you’re interested in. So, you’ll need to decide those schools a little earlier than your classmates, and Going Ivy can help come up with a list that is realistic and worth reaching for in terms of your grades and your opportunities to play. When you first contact the coaches, be direct that you want to learn about possibly participating on their teams. You may then visit multiple campuses and meet with the athletic staff in person. Escape the Phoenix summer heat by possibly lining up sports camps on the campuses you’re interested in. Then, coaches who are interested may travel to your high school to watch your games and to talk more with you.
Scholarships and Letters of Intent
If you have one or more coaches who are interested in having you play for their schools, they might contact you with scholarship offers. These offers may be for full or partial tuition. If you decide to accept an offer, you will be asked to sign a national letter of intent. This is an official contract between you and the school stating that you will enroll in the school and play for the team in exchange for accepting the athletic scholarship. Once you sign this letter, you are not able to later decide that you want to accept a different school’s offer. You must contact all of the coaches who have expressed interest in you to let them know that you have signed your intent letter so that you can be withdrawn from their consideration.
Preparing for the Athletic Recruiting Process
If you participate in varsity sports and you are an outstanding player, you should start narrowing down your list of schools by your junior year or even earlier if you’ve been able to visit any campuses. You’ll want to take an honest assessment of your athletic and academic abilities so that you can further narrow your list. If you are a top recruit, it is important for you to do research on your own or with help from experienced experts. Don’t be duped by recruiters telling you what you want to hear about your participation and fame.
If your goal is to get into one of the Ivy League or other top-ranked schools and to be recruited as an athlete, you will need to have strong academics along with great athletic abilities. Star recruits for many of the Ivy League schools do not have to make the top marks in their schools, but they still must have done relatively well. For example, Harvard states that prospects must complete a core curriculum during high school and obtain a minimum 2.3 GPA on a 4.0 scale. They must also meet a minimum score on the ACT or SAT. Since competition is so fierce, it is important for you to aim to exceed the minimum eligibility standard for both your grades and your scores if you truly want to play in the Ivy Leagues.
Get Help from Going Ivy Today
Going Ivy understands how difficult it is to decide which school and division might be best for you. We can help to assess your abilities and interests and work to match you with schools that are a good fit. We can also help you with tutoring in any academic subjects that you need additional help in and get you prepared for the SAT or ACT so that you can obtain the maximum score possible. Contact Going Ivy today to schedule your consultation and start on the path to your future.
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