College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Advantages of Early Admissions Policies for the Student-Athlete

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

The college admissions process for a recruited student-athlete is naturally accelerated. After completing the Early Read process, a student-athlete can begin transitioning into the application phase. Depending upon the student-athlete’s target list of colleges/universities, there will be a number of different admissions policies from which to choose:

• Early Decision (ED): This is a binding agreement. If the student-athlete applies to a college under an ED admissions policy, the student-athlete must attend that institution and withdraw all of his/her other submitted college applications. A student-athlete would only choose this admissions policy if that particular college/university is his/her number-one choice. Remember:  “D” for Definite.
• NOTE: College coaches of institutions that offer ED admissions policies highly recommend this option. The student-athlete’s main advantage of applying Early Decision is to potentially secure a spot on the varsity roster.   
• Early Action (EA): This admissions policy is non-binding. The student-athlete finds out in mid-December whether or not he/she is accepted and then has until May 1 to make his/her final decision. Remember: “A” for Almost.
• NOTE: College coaches typically do not wait until May 1 to fill their rosters. It benefits the student-athlete to commit soon after they receive their acceptance letter even under an Early Action policy in order to potentially secure a spot on the team.
• Regular Decision (RD): This admissions policy is non-binding. The student-athlete typically finds out in late March – early April whether or not he/she is accepted and then has until May 1 to make his/her final decision.
• NOTE: Unless the institution offers an Early Admissions Option (i.e. ED or EA), recruited student-athletes rarely choose to apply Regular Decision since college coaches like to confirm their incoming class earlier than May 1. 
• Rolling Admission (RA): This admissions policy is non-binding and does not adhere to a strict deadline. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Therefore, it benefits the student-athlete to apply as soon as they are ready to do so.   

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of May 6, 2019) – Standardized Testing in the Student-Athlete's College Admissions Process 

College Search Process for Student-Athletes – What is an “Early Read” in the College Athletic Recruitment Process?

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

A student-athlete should research his/her best match schools academically and socially before he/she begins to “overlay” the athletic fit. If the student-athlete receives positive feedback/interest from the college coaches he/she has contacted, he/she may transition into the next phase of the athletic recruiting process known as the “Early Read.”

An Early Read typically occurs at the end of junior year after final grades are available. This is when a college coach requests the following academic information from a student-athlete:

·         Official High School Transcript (final grades from 9^th, 10^th and 11^th grade)

·         SAT and/or ACT Score Reports

·         High School Profile

·         List of senior year courses (including course level – i.e. College Prep, Honors, AP)

The college coach then takes this information to his/her respective admissions liaison to get an indication of the student-athlete’s chance of acceptance. From there, the coach communicates to the student-athlete whether or not he/she is a good candidate for admission.

NOTE:  The better a student-athlete does academically, the more options he/she will have athletically. Remember, although college coaches may be able to help support a student-athlete’s chance of acceptance, the student-athlete must officially get accepted into the college/university on his/her own merit through admissions.   

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of April 22, 2019) – Advantages of Early Admissions Policies for the Student-Athlete  

College Search Process for Student-Athletes – Importance of Creating an Athletic Profile

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

Are you a high school student-athlete who desires to play at the collegiate level? If so, depending on your respective sport, an essential self-marketing tool is to create an Athletic Profile, a website link which you can directly email to college coaches.

If you participate in a “timed sport,” such as swimming or track, you may not necessarily need an Athletic Profile. However, if you play a “subjective sport,” where college coaches need to evaluate your athletic ability, an Athletic Profile could help you stand out.

An Athletic Profile typically includes the following:

· Home Page: Short biography of yourself, including major academic and athletic accomplishments

o   Note: This is just an overview – be sure to make it brief.

· Contact Page: Lists your address, email, cell phone and parent contact information

o   Note:  It is recommended to password protect this particular page so that your contact information remains private. Be sure to let coaches know what that password is.

· Academic Page: Includes GPA, standardized test scores (i.e. SAT and/or ACT), academic honors/awards, and a link to your transcript

o   Note: Uploading your transcript helps college coaches to facilitate the “Early Read” process (if applicable).

· Athletic/Stats Page: Highlights your athletic statistics/honors/awards for both your high school and club teams

o   Note: Be sure to keep accurate records of your athletic achievements as soon as you begin high school.

·  Schedule Page: Links to high school and club team schedules of games/tournaments in which you plan to participate, including individual showcase schedules, too (i.e. Bay State Games)

o   Note: Be sure to indicate which games on your schedule are against your most competitive opponents so that college coaches can best evaluate your play.

· Video Page:  Link to your Hudl highlight video (if applicable) as well as 1-2 full-length games

o   Note: Coaches do not need fancy, music-filled highlight video – raw footage is fine – they just need to see you play. Remember: videos are more of “the hook” to have coaches come see you play live.

· References Page: List contact information for your high school, club, and skills coaches

o   Note:  You should include a quote from each coach – this can add great value especially if your sport is not “stat-driven.”

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of April 15, 2019): What is an "Early Read" in the College Recruitment Process

Registration Open for 2019 Bay State Summer Games

WOBURN, MA – Registration for the 38^th annual Bay State Summer Games is now open. The 2019 Summer Games will include thirty-one sports with competitions from June 1 – July 27 at venues throughout eastern and central Massachusetts including UMass Boston, Harvard University, Union Point Sports Complex in Weymouth, New England Sports Center in Marlborough, and Veterans Memorial Complex in Waltham.

Eight high school showcase sports will take place for a variety of sports, including Baseball, Basketball, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball. Athletes currently in grade 8-12 who live or go to school in Massachusetts are eligible to attend regional tryouts during the month of June. These tryouts will determine teams representing the various regions of the Commonwealth that will compete against each other in July. Check each sport page for specific eligibility requirements.

The Summer Games include a wide variety of individual sports including Swimming, Track & Field, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Table Tennis, Archery, Judo, Badminton and more. These sports are open to a wide range of ages and skill levels from youth participants to masters-aged athletes. Adaptive sport divisions in Archery, Swimming, and Track & Field are available, as well. Bay State Games also offers tournaments for pre-existing teams in Boys Basketball, Girls Lacrosse, Rugby, Ultimate, and 6v6 Field Hockey.

The 2019 Summer Games will feature three new sports – Pickleball, FootGolf, and Ultimate. The Figure Skating Basic Skills competition has also been reinstated, the Swimming divisions have been restructured, now opening participation to athletes aged 10 & under, and Wrestling has been combined into a one-day competition.

Athletes currently in eleventh grade are eligible for the Bay State Games Future Leaders Scholarship Program which awards six $2,000 college scholarships to Massachusetts High School student-athletes who excel in academics, community service, and athletics. Applications are now available at the Bay State Games website. The deadline to apply is June 5.

For more information on all sports in the 2019 Summer Games, the Future Leaders Scholarship, and links to online registration, go to www.baystategames.org.

For questions, email info@baystategames.org or call 781-932-6555. 

College Search Process for Student-Athletes – Contacting College Coaches

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

College athletic recruiting for both scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes naturally accelerates the college search process. Starting this process early is necessary so student-athletes have ample opportunities to market themselves to college coaches in order to gain exposure and receive critical feedback on their potential level of college play.

Student-athletes first need to target a list of colleges that fit them academically and socially, and then overlay the athletic fit. By approaching the process in this order, student-athletes are more in control and are “covering” themselves in case they get injured or if the coach who is recruiting them decides to leave. It is important that student-athletes reach out directly to college coaches themselves.

A sample target email to a college coach should include:

1. In Subject Line: Student-Athlete Name, Year, Position, High School, Town and State
2. Athletic Information:  Short introductory paragraph listing physical statistics (height, weight, dominant hand/foot) and high school and/or club team name(s). Include most important high school and/or club individual accolades (i.e. Boston Globe All-Scholastic, League All-Star, etc.) and team accomplishments (i.e. State/League Champions, National Tournament ranking, etc.)
3. Academic Information: List such things as:  GPA, test scores, class rank and desired major(s) of interest at each college. 
• Tip: Coaches like to know that student-athletes have already done their research on academic/social fit for their respective school.
4. Link to Schedule: Provide high school and/or club season schedule and indicate which games are most competitive for coaches to attend.
• Tip: Make it easy to be identified by college coaches - list team name, uniform colors and jersey number. Include court/field location and game times.
5. List of Tournaments/Showcases: Include schedule of upcoming tournaments/showcases (i.e. Bay State Games)
6. Link to Video: Provide link to video (i.e. can include highlights, skills and game footage)
• Tip: Videos help college coaches determine whether or not a student-athlete is a recruit they wish to see play in a live game setting
7. Questions to ask a college coach at end of email: Can you please let me know if you are interested in me as a potential recruit for your program?  Are there any camps you run or work at that you believe would be beneficial for me to attend?
8. End of Email: Thank the coach in advance and express interest in hearing back from him/her soon. Be sure to list complete contact information at end, including:
• Address; Cell Phone; Email

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of April 8, 2019) – Importance of Creating an Athletic Profile

For more resources, visit www.baystategames.org/recruiting-tools