Our partner Matt Hunt from College Hunt helps students successfully navigate the college selection process. In his latest blog post, he explains what steps you need to take when receiving multiple admissions offers from the schools you applied to.
Congratulations, you’ve earned multiple admissions offers from the schools you applied to! This is a time in your life that’s filled with excitement, happiness, and I’m willing to bet a little confusion on the ultimate next step…where to enroll? With some careful planning, you can lessen the confusion while increasing your confidence on which school is best for you.
Begin by revisiting your reasons for applying to each individual school. Is there a particular major or program that sparks your interest? Do they offer internship or co-op opportunities that could lead to a future career after earning your degree? Remember, while having a wonderful college experience is important the main goal is to come out prepared and ready to compete in the job market. If one of the schools provides something different and unique that you believe would provide incredible learning and training you may be able to eliminate a few off the list.
The cost of higher education continues to skyrocket every year. Do not underestimate the value of each individual financial aid package offered by the various schools. Now is the time to break down what each school is offering and compare and contrast those offers. One of the biggest misconceptions students and parents have is the admission or the financial aid offices frown upon communicating with students who were offered admissions. Contact the financial aid office and discuss the package, don’t be afraid to ask for more or if there in anything else available to lower the cost. Trust me, the admissions offer will remain; it will not be rescinded because you or your parents inquired about the possibility of accessing more aid. In the end, the less debt a student can encumber the better, any money saved can be put towards numerous expenses in the future.
Make time to revisit the campuses, mainly the ones at the top of your list. Now that you’re “in” you may have a different perspective or feel for the campus. Similar to when you first considered and saw the school, work on scheduling a time with a professor in the department you plan to study, observe classes, check out the housing, meet with students in the desired major, and what a perfect time to stop by the financial aid office (see above) to learn more about the offer.
Once you’ve made the final selection on where you’ll attend, congratulations, but you’re not done yet. Best to quickly and appropriately communicate with the schools you’ll not attend so they may offer your spot and financial aid to another student. Showing professionalism and gratitude is best and something you will do throughout life so start now by letting those schools know you’re respectfully declining.
Gaining admissions into multiple colleges and universities is a wonderful experience and the culmination of a tremendous effort by the student and parents. Take time to review the different opportunities and make the best decision for you!
For more information about the college selection process check out his blog!
College Prep Ivy League Admission
Matt Hunt, founder and CEO of College Hunt Educational Counseling, once again leads a very informative workshop for prospective college athletes this time focusing on admissions for Ivy League schools. Throughout the workshop Matt breaks down the requirements and application process for Ivy League admission, as well as providing helpful tips and insight to meet these requirements. The workshop will conclude with a question and answer segment hosted by Matt. (See link below to the workshop) His experience while counseling at Rancho Bernardo High School has provided an opportunity for him to speak directly with Ivy League admission personnel gaining inside information on the admission process.
Click here to view the video and slides from the Ivy League Workshop
“The Ivy League admission office is looking for a positive display of well roundness in every aspect of life”
Do you meet the requirements to attend an Ivy League School?
Preparing to compete
Separating Yourself from other Applicants
The Essay
Have a question or are looking for some potential help with the college selection process?
Matt is currently conducting a limited number of college planning consultation calls with families that are serious and committed to attending college.
Click here to schedule your consultation call or you can reach out to Matt directly at matt.collegehunt@gmail.com.
Are you Academically Eligible to Play NCAA Sports?
Matt Hunt, the founder and CEO of College Hunt Educational Consulting, recently presented a live online workshop where he went over the Do’s & Dont’s of Academics as you prepare for the college selection process. In this workshop he goes over the requirements needed to be academically eligible. (See the video of the workshop down below) Matt prides himself in being able to help high school athletes reach their goal of becoming collegiate athletes. His focus is making sure that athletes make the right decisions off the field as well as on it. Matt’s experience of being a counselor at Rancho Bernardo High School has attributed to a wealth of knowledge regarding eligibility at the NCAA level.
Are YOU Academically Eligible to Become an NCAA athlete?
Academic Requirements
*If you have achieved the 4 requirements listed above, then the NCAA would declare that you have met the requirements to be deemed academically eligible.
Listed below are the UPCOMING changes to the academic requirements listed by the NCAA effective after August 1st 2016:
NCAA DIV I Academic Eligibility Requirement Changes Effective After August 1st 2016
*It is especially important for current sophomores and freshman to mind the change in policy as it will have the most effect on their academic eligibility.
Have a question or are looking for some potential help with the college selection process?
Matt is currently conducting a limited number of college planning consultation calls with families that are serious and committed to attending college.
Click here to schedule your consultation call or you can reach out to Matt directly at matt.collegehunt@gmail.com.
Hopefully you have created your college target list. If you haven’t started your college target list yet, click here to see how to easily get started.
Once you have started your college target list you should really go through all of your schools and start ranking them based on how they score on some important decision factors. Click here to review the different decision factors you should be using to help you create and rank your college target list.
The next step for managing your college target list is to use the different decision factors and start identifying which category to place each school in: Reach, Target or Safety. We recommend that each category should have at least 5-10 schools.
In order to determine which category each school falls into, it is important to know which each category really means. Below we have broken down each category and provided some additional information to help you identify which schools belong in each category:
Reach Schools
Definition: A reach school is a college that you have a chance of getting into, but your test scores, class rank and/or high school grades are a bit on the low side compared to the school’s profile.
These are schools that you just might get into. These are labeled your dream or reach schools for a reason. While you may fall short on some of the requirements you could try to make up for it in other areas.
Expect strong competition for your reach schools and make sure to manage your expectations when applying to these schools. Your odds might not seem great, but you need to make sure you apply to your reach schools. You definitely won’t get in if you don’t apply!
Target Schools
Definition: A target school is a college that you are pretty likely to get into because your test scores, class rank and/or high school grades fall in line with school’s profile.
These are schools that you should feel pretty confident that you will be accepted to. Your target schools should be places that you really want to go to. You should meet all or at least most of the requirements and test scores for these schools.
Be sure to consider multiple factors when reviewing the schools profile. Your location could play a key role as State schools often favor in-state students. If you are applying to out-of-state schools, you may need to exceed the requirements.
Safety Schools
Definition: A safety school is a college that you will almost certainly get into because your test scores, class rank and/or high school grades are well above average when you are reviewing the school’s profile.
These schools you should feel the most confident about: You are going to get in! These aren’t your dream schools, but you should have some interest in your safety schools. You should be on the high end or exceed all of the requirements for these schools.
It’s important to have your safety schools just in case you don’t get into your reach and target schools. Your safety schools might provide other criteria that is more beneficial for your family (i.e. less expensive than your target and reach schools). They may also offer a scholarship or other perks that weren’t available at your other target schools.
Additional Advice:
Don’t Forget to do Your Research
•We recommend using a “bottom up” approach while making your college target list. While determining your reach schools is important, you should first focus on finding the schools that fall under your safety and target criteria.
•Understand your eligibility for admission at a particular school by getting familiar with the school’s admitted student profile.
Be Well Rounded
•While you may fall short on some requirements, you can make up for it other areas.
•Athletics can help lower the requirements in other areas.
•Volunteer Work, extracurricular activities and involvement in school organizations are also other great ways to boost your opportunities
Separating your schools will help you manage your expectations throughout the admissions process. It will help ensure you set some ambitious goals for yourself, but you also give yourself some back up options as well.
Tell us how your target list and different categories are coming along. Leave us a comment in the comments section below.
One of the keys to NCAA recruiting success is ACADEMICS!
A recruited student-athlete is 3 to 4 times more likely to get accepted to a more prestigious academic university then a non-recruited student or student-athlete.
To ensure you become a recruited student-athlete you have to perform in the classroom Here’s a link to the NCAA core class worksheet. With this worksheet you can monitor how you are doing in your classes and make sure you are on track with your core classes.
Click BELOW for your Core Class Worksheet:
http://www.spor
Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.
As the school year winds down, many students start to get a little tired and start looking pretty hard towards summer. High school seniors are so notorious for this that there is even a word for it: senioritis. Just because you’ve been accepted to a college and cleared for graduation is no reason to let your grades and academic and athletic performance slip. Read on for some tips to help you enjoy your senior year without tarnishing your record.
Avoid the Schedule: Gym, Lunch, Gym, Pottery
Don’t set yourself up for a lackluster semester by not challenging yourself. Sure, badminton can be challenging and so can making a clay pot, but how will these look on your transcript? There’s no reason not to take classes you have been looking forward to all high school in your senior year, just don’t let this be your entire course load. Keep yourself challenged to stay engaged and show colleges that you are a serious student. Consider taking and AP class if you have not already, if you work hard and pass the AP test for a certain subject, you’ve already taken care of some college credits.
Stay Engaged by Doing Things You Love
It’s easy to get bored senior year and try to forget about high school and look at your college years ahead, so find projects that will keep you engaged in your high school life. Working on the school newspaper or yearbook is a great way to do this. These will help you stay up to date and involved in your school. Also, just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean the school paper will stop going out, so being held to deadlines will keep you in the right frame of mind and keep you from slacking off. As a bonus this extracurricular activities are great experience as you build your resume.
Search Out Academic Options
In your final months of school, you may feel like you’ve got high school mastered. So why not take a college course or two early to challenge yourself and stay ahead of the game. Try the local community college for these classes. Many high schools will count this college course credit towards your high school credit and some schools even allow for early dismissal from regular hours to attend college courses. Check with your guidance counselor for your options, you may even be able to knock out a Gen Ed or two. Just make sure your future college will accept these credits, so you don’t end up taking the same class twice.
Stick with Sports, Even if Your Main Season is Over
If practice is the only thing getting you through your day as the school year winds down, then so be it. Just don’t let that fall to the wayside, too. Sports can be a great motivator to go to school, so even if you’re major season isn’t the spring stay involved with any spring sport as an incentive to go to school and stay in school those final days of your college career. Remember, colleges don’t stop looking at you once you’ve been accepted, that final transcript matters, so don’t tarnish it with senior skip days and sliding grades. Enjoy your senior year, just not too much!
Be sure to visit our Education Page for more resources for student-athletes and parents.
To get more advanced recruiting tips, strategies and advice, visit our website and sign up for our complimentary SportsForce College Recruiting Guide and updates below.
FREE sign up for SportsForce College Recruiting Guide:
http://www.sportsforceonline.com/resources/resources_recruiting_recruiting_guide.html
Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional College Sports Recruiting Profiles, Highlight Videos, Tips and Tools – www.sportsforceonline.com
As the school year winds down, many students start to get a little tired and start looking pretty hard towards summer. High school seniors are so notorious for this that there is even a word for it: senioritis. Just because you’ve been accepted to a college and cleared for graduation is no reason to let your grades and academic and athletic performance slip. Read on for some tips to help you enjoy your senior year without tarnishing your record.
Avoid the Schedule: Gym, Lunch, Gym, Pottery
Don’t set yourself up for a lackluster semester by not challenging yourself. Sure, badminton can be challenging and so can making a clay pot, but how will these look on your transcript? There’s no reason not to take classes you have been looking forward to all high school in your senior year, just don’t let this be your entire course load. Keep yourself challenged to stay engaged and show colleges that you are a serious student. Consider taking and AP class if you have not already, if you work hard and pass the AP test for a certain subject, you’ve already taken care of some college credits.
Stay Engaged by Doing Things You Love
It’s easy to get bored senior year and try to forget about high school and look at your college years ahead, so find projects that will keep you engaged in your high school life. Working on the school newspaper or yearbook is a great way to do this. These will help you stay up to date and involved in your school. Also, just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean the school paper will stop going out, so being held to deadlines will keep you in the right frame of mine and from slacking off. As a bonus this extracurricular activities are great experience as you build your resume.
Search Out Academic Options
In your final months of school, you may feel like you’ve got high school mastered. So why not take a college course or two early to challenge yourself and stay ahead of the game. Try the local community college for these classes. Many high schools will count this college source credit towards your high school credit and some schools even allow for early dismissal from regular hours to attend college courses. Check with your guidance counselor for your options, you may even be able to knock out a Gen Ed or two. Just make sure your future college will accept these credits, so you don’t end up taking the same class twice.
Stick with Sports, Even if You’re Main Season is Over
If practice is the only thing getting you through your day as the school year winds down, then so be it. Just don’t let that fall to the wayside, too. Sports can be a great motivator to go to school, so even if you’re major season isn’t the spring stay involved with any spring sport as an incentive to go to school and stay in school those final days of your college career. Remember, colleges don’t stop looking at you once you’ve been accepted, that final transcript matters, so don’t tarnish it with senior skip days and sliding grades. Enjoy your senior year, just not too much!
Be sure to visit our Education Page for more resources for student-athletes and parents.
To get more advanced recruiting tips, strategies and advice, visit our website and sign up for our complimentary SportsForce College Recruiting Guide and updates below.
FREE sign up for SportsForce College Recruiting Guide:
http://www.sportsforceonline.com/resources/resources_recruiting_recruiting_guide.html
Article courtesy of SportsForce, Home for professional College Sports Recruiting Profiles, Highlight Videos, Tips and Tools – www.sportsforceonline.com
Congratulations to La Costa Canyon Mavericks Boys Lacrosse goalie Eric Sanschagrin who committed to Princeton Lacrosse over the summer. We caught up with Eric and asked him a few questions to see how he made his decision and what he is most looking forward to. See what he had to say in his own words below, and check back later this week for his great advice for other athletes in the recruiting process.
What factors made you decide on Princeton?
– My main priority was to attend a top academic school, regardless of how good the lacrosse team was. Yet, like many aspiring lacrosse players, I had my heart set on playing Division I lacrosse. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to travel back east for school if it was just for athletic pursuits. I’d have rather played MCLA Lacrosse at an excellent academic school out west than at a lower level Division I school where I wouldn’t have fit academically. So, I sent out my emails to coaches whose schools fit my requirements. I emailed every coach or staff member listed on each school’s website. Thankfully, I got some responses and I was fortunate enough to hear from Princeton! Luckily, they were going to be at Under Armour All America tryouts in Ohio which I had already planned to attend. They noted that they would make sure to have their coach watch me while I was there. After a few follow up emails, I visited Princeton unofficially in July and absolutely loved the feel of the campus and the town of Princeton. During my visit I met most of the coaching staff and toured the campus and facilities. The coaching staff is made up of truly amazing individuals and I couldn’t be happier to have them as my future coaches. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to commit in July and I wasted no time in saying yes.
Were there any other schools you were seriously considering?
– No other schools made it past the “We’re interested” or “What camps will you be attending?” emails. I decided against doing a giant summer recruiting tour and only attended three camps/tournaments. This limited which coaches could have seen me. So, I was extremely fortunate to have Princeton make it to two of them. I was interested in the University of Pennsylvania, where my former teammate Reid Tudor is now a Freshman, as well as the other Ivy League Schools. Honestly, I probably would have settled back west if I hadn’t found something I truly loved.
What are you most looking forward to most about playing for the Princeton?
– After recently visiting Princeton for my official visit, I finally got to meet the team for the first time. First off, I’m really excited to learn from Tyler Fiorito (future teammate and goalie) We are both left handed goalies and I cannot think of a more qualified current college player to learn from. He will be a senior for the 2012 season when I’m a freshman. It will be nice to learn from a player whose prep lacrosse path was so different from mine. He entered Princeton as the top recruit in his class while my light summer schedule has left me largely unnoticed by most talent scouts and recruit evaluators. Also, I met my recruiting class while on my official visit and I was impressed by how down to earth our “Class of 2015” truly was. Coach Bates dubbed 2015 the “Unheralded Class” because we aren’t all well-hyped recruits and we have a lot to prove. I can’t wait for more time with the team and the chance to attend the University!
See Eric’s full SportsForce profile here: http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/esanschagrin
Most student athletes have the dream of successfully being recruited and getting to play for their favorite Division I school. However, it’s a hard fact that this isn’t going to happen for everyone. Courtney shared last week about the benefits of DII, DIII and NAIA schools, but there was another great option we didn’t get a chance to learn about: junior college. Junior college does not have to be looked at as a last resort. In fact junior college can be a great time to knock out some core classes while developing your game to play at that DI school or wherever the next level might be for you. Below you will find some reasons junior college might be the right fit, and why not to rule it out.
Develop Yourself Academically
Like a four year school, you have to remember that your junior college experience isn’t just about sports. Junior colleges (JUCOs) offer an amazing opportunity for smaller class sizes and more professor interaction. The jump from high school to college can definitely be challenging academically, but junior college acts as a great bridge between the two. You’ll get used to the college workload, but your chances of being lost among hundreds of other students in a lecture hall are a lot slimmer.
Develop Yourself Physically
Sure, there are cases like LeBron James, who stood 6’7” weighed 225lbs as a 17 year old, but for many of us, we’re not so lucky (or such freaks of nature). Junior college is a great time to develop yourself physically and develop your game. The junior college sports scene will give you a chance to play against some top athletes and develop a skillset to handle them. Staying engaged in your sport in the two years following high school will help you to increase your abilities and give you a chance to get your body in top performing shape as you continue to grow into it. Maybe it will even help you become the next Aaron Rodgers.
Show the Four Year Schools Your Commitment to Your Sport
Playing at a JUCO will show colleges how committed you are to your sport. The willingness to continue to train and compete show cases determination. JUCO gives you a chance to up your game, and in turn show college coaches how much you have improved and how dedicated you are.
Get a handle on your courses
Take advantage of the smaller class sizes and close knit environment by taking core classes to help you be prepared when you make the jump to a four year school. It’s important not to look at junior college as a lost opportunity and spend your time taking pottery classes (though one might be fun!) and find out core requirements or Gen Eds for you major and take those classes. Many classes transfer over, but be sure to do your research about which credits will transfer to a four year school, so you don’t find yourself taking Writing 101 twice, because your first attempt didn’t transfer.
Lastly, Save Some Cash in the Process
Junior Colleges offer cheaper tuition than four year schools. As you play your sport for two years and knock out some core classes, you’re saving big bucks. Some state schools even offer programs for reduced tuition if you have completed your associate degree at an area junior or community college.
JUCOs are a great choice to ready yourself academically and physically for four year programs, they aren’t just a last chance option, they are a great option for many athletes. Don’t forget about Aaron Rodgers, either, he’s just one of many JUCO success stories.
Visit the below links for more information on Junior and Community Colleges
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) : http://www.njcaa.org/
Junior College Football rankings, programs and more: http://jcfootball.scout.com/
Search for Two year programs at College Board: http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp
