College Recruiting: Avoid the Money Trap
One of the biggest college recruiting mistakes student-athletes and families make is basing their final choice of school solely upon scholarship offer(s). I often times see student-athletes simple choose the school that offering them some kind of athletic scholarship. I’ve even seen some companies, that supposedly help with college recruiting, say that “money” is a “good” reason to choose a school. In other words they list a scholarship offer as a good reason to chose the school you will be attending.
I happen to disagree with that completely!
Too often I see student-athletes make this mistake. They choose the school that offered them the most athletic scholarship assistance based upon that factor alone. Often times they disregard the fact that the school is in a location they don’t really want to be. The disregard the fact that the school doesn’t exactly have the area of study the student-athlete is interested in. To throw out all other factors and make a decision solely based upon or heavily weighed by the almighty scholarship dollar can be a huge mistake!
In almost every case that I’ve personally seen, the student-athlete gives up playing or stops going to that school completely by the end of their freshman year. Why? Because every other major factor that influences their quality of experience at the school is NOT what they were looking for or not what they are comfortable with. Remember, if this college you choose is more or less going to be your home for the next 4-5 years! It better be a place you want to live in.
Honestly, think about it. If a student-athlete ends up not playing ball or giving up on the school completely after that first year, was it really worth it to chose the money? After all, they may have gotten that one year paid for (or helped with), but now where does that leave them? Often times it leaves them out of the sport they love AND a college bill to pay for the next 3-4 years.
Wouldn’t it be better to choose a school that offered less money (or even no money) if it was a better fit for you? If it was a place you loved? And environment you enjoyed living in? Had the exact academic program you want? AND gives you the opportunity to continue playing your sport?
Often times, even though your first year isn’t paid for athletically, you can 1) possibly get help from other sources (academic funds, grants, or other scholarship sources) and 2) possibly earn some “athletic help” in the future. So yes, maybe you have to pay for that first year, but paying for one and getting help with or having the next 3-4 years paid for is so much better than having just that first year taken care of but paying for the rest. Isn’t it?
The bottom line is that it’s almost always better to choose the school you WANT to be at, rather than simply choose the school that offers you the most money. Be smart about this decision, it’s not only going to affect the next 4 years of your life, it will affect at least the next 40 years of your life!
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If you need personal assistance with your college recruiting journey, talk with the experts at NSCA. They know their stuff and they are as passionate about getting student-athletes to the next level (and keeping them there) as anyone else I know.
Fill at the form HERE and a real live person will give you a call regarding your plan for the future.
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