Change for a Reason: The Redesigned SAT

SATs
The College Board has recently implemented greatest single change in the SAT test since the test began decades ago. The SAT taken by millions of college-bound students now includes a student-written essay. This new section of the test will increase the maximum total score possible to 2400 from the previous maximum of 1600. Other changes include the elimination of word analogies and "quantitative comparisons." In addition there are changes in some of the math subject areas covered and in the kinds of questions asked.

The New SATs and NCAA eligibility
The new SAT understandably has high school students worried. For student athletes the question arises in the context of Division I and II eligibility requirements. For instance, there is a minimum SAT or ACT score required for initial eligibility in Division II. For Division I initial eligibility there is a sliding scale of test scores and high school grades. The NCAA has no plans to include the score on the student-written essay at this time. The SAT scores in the NCAA initial eligibility requirements will continue to be the sum of the verbal and math components of the SAT test. They plan to watch the situation and could change the specific eligibility requirements based on experience in scoring the new tests.

New rules reduce financial aid
The U.S. government has adopted new rules on how federal financial aid is calculated. These new rules have increased the "expected family contribution" (EFC) figure calculated from family financial data submitted in the "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" (FAFSA). The result is that many families will now be required to pay significantly more than the previous rules required. These rules will impact need-based college financial aid at most colleges and universities since schools will be required to follow the federal guidelines or give up federally subsidized aid for their students. News stories about the changes in the FAFSA calculations indicate that the committee that drafted the new rules did not intend such drastic changes in the calculation of need. There may be revisions that adjust the rules, but for now these changes emphasize the importance of sports scholarship aid.

See the new SAT changes here


opportunity/sat

Find the colleges that will recruit you to play college softball.

The fundamental fact of college softball recruiting is that you can't be recruited if the coach doesn't know that you exist. Gone are the days of a player being spotted at their local high school game.

 

Too many players worry about colleges finding them.

What they need to do is to find the colleges. But there are 1,600 colleges that offer softball programs.

 

How do you decide from over 1,600 colleges?

What you need to do is to create a general list of up to 500 acceptable colleges and then start narrowing it based on the specifics of the softball teams, contact with the coaches, and academic offerings.

 

To generate this list, you need to find out two sets of information about the colleges: what you really need to know and what you should know.

 

What you really need to know about colleges:

Does it fit your athletic abilities? Division Level and Conference indicates the general competitive level of the school. You can make a good first cut with this information. Three of the four final schools my son was considering were in the same conference (obviously not for softball).

 

Can you get in?

The SAT/ACT profile will give you an idea if it will be easier or harder for you to be admitted.

Can you afford it? Given that the biggest college division in the NCAA is the one that doesn't offer athletic scholarships, D3, more than likely you will be paying some, if not all, the tuition bill yourself. You need to know the Average Net Price so that you know what kind of bills you'll be looking at.

 

Will you get a degree?

Graduation Rates indicate your chances of graduating if you deciding to quit playing softball.

 

How many people will be competing for positions on the team?

At the most basic level, the bigger the school, the more competition exists to play on the team.

 

Will there be anything to do when you're not playing softball?

Are students generally involved with campus activities? In other words, will there be things to do on campus and people to do them with when you take a break from studying? The higher the percentage of students who are part-time and the lower the dorm availability, the more likely the college is a commuter campus with less student support and involvement. Such schools also tend to have lower graduation rates.

 

How much does the college care about softball?

Knowing how much a school spends on softball compared to other sports or other schools in its conference shows the relative importance of softball at the school.

 

Will your grades make you more competitive?

The lower the acceptance rate, the more your academic credentials can help you to narrow the competition. You only have to compete against other with similar gpas and test scores.

10 Steps to Help Your Child get Recruited by a Coach

The following is an article by Joie Jager-Hyman, college consultant and author of B+ Grades, A+ Applications. Joie was an Assistant Director of Admissions at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, and has a Doctorate in Education Policy.

Many students dream of playing sports on the college level but most athletes don’t know how to get started with the college recruiting process. How can you tell if you’re good enough to play for a university? When should you reach out to coaches, how do you contact them and what’s the best way to introduce yourself? What role does academics play in the athletic recruiting process? These are just a few of the commonly asked questions I get from the students I work with as a college admissions consultant.

To give student-athletes a head start, I worked with Andrew Herman, who is an experienced university Athletic Director, on developing these ten basic steps to get the athletic recruitment ball rolling (pun intended) for my new book, B+ Grades, A+ Applications, which will be published by Ten Speed this summer.

1. Be Good at the Sport

In addition to beating school records, coaches are looking to recruit athletes who also spend time outside of school playing in tournaments and investing time in off-season training. For most sports, it’s also important to begin a weight-training program because college athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger than high school athletes.

2. Become Familiar with the NCAA Rules and Regulations

It’s easy to get confused when researching colleges individually since each NCAA classification (Division I, II and III) has their own rules and regulations. The NCAA website (www.ncaa.org) is a comprehensive resource for athletes to understand the different classifications, regulations, team rankings and academic requirements.

3. Find Role Models

It’s important to do research about how other student-athletes in a sport got recruited to learn more about the recruiting process. Additionally an athlete may want to research college athletes’ bios online and see if you can spot some themes and what they have done to get them where they are. (i.e. Did all the lacrosse players at your top-choice school play for a particular travel team or attend a camp?)

4. Get a Head Start

Most coaches begin recruiting athletes in their junior year of high school and most athletes commit to a college the following summer or fall. Since the athletic recruiting process is earlier than the regular college admissions timeline, by the end of sophomore year or beginning of junior year an athlete should start putting together a list of potential colleges that might be a good fit athletically and academically.

5. Get the Best Grades You Can

Although athletes are favored in the admissions process, they still have to meet the college’s minimum admission requirements to be accepted. It’s best to keep options open and cast a wide net when looking at colleges the beginning of the process because there is still time to improve as an athlete and a student.

6. Create a Resume to Send to Coaches

Take the initiative to send a resume to coaches at the schools of interest. Resumes should include: name and contact info, relevant physical characteristics, athletic and academic experience. Athletes can also include any outside hobbies or other extracurricular interests.

7. Write a Cover Letter

When sending resumes, an athlete should be sure to attach a brief cover letter introducing himself or herself to the coach. Keep the letter short and sweet, remembering to show enthusiasm for the school by including one or two details about the college and some information about personal academic interests. To ensure future contact, athletes should let the coach know their intentions to keep he or she updated on their progress.

8. Make a Video

Coaches use videos to see what athletes look like in action. The footage does not need to be professional, but it would be best to put together a short segment of a game or a series of clips that showcase personal athletic abilities relevant to the sport. Be sure to show it to people who can provide appropriate feedback before sending.

9. Send out Packets

A packet is the most important and comprehensive piece of information an athlete has to share with coaches. A packet should include: a resume, cover letter, video, and a copy of the transcript so the coach sees if an athlete meets the school’s academic profile. The earlier an athlete sends their packets (think winter of junior year), the more time they have to communicate with coaches.

10. Follow up

Athletes should be sure to follow-up with any coach that contacts them after they have sent their packets. The response should be brief and should express interest in learning more about the team, including questions about any camps or tournaments that they plan to attend and if the coach will also be there. If an athlete doesn’t hear from a coach within two weeks, he or she can write an email to inquire whether or not the coach has received the packet, kindly restating their interest in the school.

NCAA and NAIA Softball Scholarships

What you need to know about softball scholarships and softball recruiting.

Finding a softball scholarship comes down to finding schools that are right for you, giving coaches the opportunity to scout you and managing the college softball recruiting process to maximize your opportunities. There are just over 1,600 college softball programs across the country.

Softball Scholarships by the numbers

There are 286 NCAA DI programs, 264 NCAA DII, 392 NCAA DIII, 205 NAIA and 470 NJCAA softball programs in the United States.

Each NCAA DI program can offer up to 12 scholarships per team, while DII programs have up to 7.2, NAIA programs have 10 scholarships and fully funded NJCAA Softball teams have 24 scholarships per team.

Not all softball scholarships are full rides and the majority of programs split up their scholarships in order to give money to as many good players as possible.

Scouting + Recruiting = Scholarships

College softball scholarships don’t just happen. Generally the process begins when a player starts to get scouted by playing in different tournaments usually with travel teams. After being scouted coaches interested in pursuing you will initiate contact and begin the recruiting process. The recruiting process will typically take a couple of years and involve numerous phone calls, visits and various communication before any official scholarship offer is made.

Position by position break down: How coaches use scholarships

Understanding the college softball recruiting process.

Each softball program uses their scholarship money a little differently depending on the programs needs and financial abilities. Knowing how coaches typically use their scholarship money for each position will help you plan out a successful recruiting game plan.

Pitchers

Every program could always use another dominate pitcher. Pitchers can, single handed, carry a team through a slow patch in the season or win them championships. This is one of the positions where you can expect to get a scholarship coming out of high school as coaches are willing to put promising pitchers on scholarship in order to develop them. Most college softball scholarships aren’t full rides; of the players on full rides the majority are pitchers.

Catcher

This position is all about stability for a college softball program, if you can handle the pitching staff and be consistent with your at bats you will be in a strong position or a scholarship. Many programs will have two to three girls at this position and the second and third catchers are usually asked to walk on as the scholarship money is used for the number one catcher on the team.

Middle Infielders

College scholarship middle infielders are extremely well rounded ball players with solid fundamentals in the field and can generally bat at several spots in the lineup. Generally this is not a position where you get a scholarship unless you are starting for your team. One of the ways you can give yourself a better chance of earning a scholarship is to be an excellent batter that a coach would never want to take out of the lineup.

Third Base

This can be one of the most demanding positions on the field at the college level. Besides having excellent hands and being able to field well you also need to have great mobility to cover the drag bunts and slaps. This doesn’t mean you can just ignore your time at the plate, all scholarship softball players are expected to be able to bat as well. Finding a division level where you can play this kind of role for a team will go a long way in finding a scholarship opportunity.

First Base

If there is one position on a college softball team where coaches will recruit a player who isn’t a great all around player it is first base. For several programs this is where the power hitters of the team field and as long as you can hold your own fielding and carry a big bat you can find scholarships at the college level as a first basemen.

Outfield

Every team needs girls who get on base and can score runs with their feet. Because most programs look for left-handed slappers in those positions in the lineup these girls will also generally be the outfielders. This is generally a position that will have two to three girls for each spot which means unless you are consistently starting it can be difficult to get a scholarship. If you play outfield and want a scholarship look for a division level where you can come in and start right away.

10 Steps to Help Your Child get Recruited by a Coach

The following is a guest post by Joie Jager-Hyman, college consultant and author of B+ Grades, A+ Applications. Joie was an Assistant Director of Admissions at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, and has a Doctorate in Education Policy.

Many students dream of playing sports on the college level but most athletes don’t know how to get started with the college recruiting process. How can you tell if you’re good enough to play for a university? When should you reach out to coaches, how do you contact them and what’s the best way to introduce yourself? What role does academics play in the athletic recruiting process? These are just a few of the commonly asked questions I get from the students I work with as a college admissions consultant.

To give student-athletes a head start, I worked with Andrew Herman, who is an experienced university Athletic Director, on developing these ten basic steps to get the athletic recruitment ball rolling (pun intended) for my new book, B+ Grades, A+ Applications, which will be published by Ten Speed this summer.

1. Be Good at the Sport

In addition to beating school records, coaches are looking to recruit athletes who also spend time outside of school playing in tournaments and investing time in off-season training. For most sports, it’s also important to begin a weight-training program because college athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger than high school athletes.

2. Become Familiar with the NCAA Rules and Regulations

It’s easy to get confused when researching colleges individually since each NCAA classification (Division I, II and III) has their own rules and regulations. The NCAA website (www.ncaa.org) is a comprehensive resource for athletes to understand the different classifications, regulations, team rankings and academic requirements.

3. Find Role Models

It’s important to do research about how other student-athletes in a sport got recruited to learn more about the recruiting process. Additionally an athlete may want to research college athletes’ bios online and see if you can spot some themes and what they have done to get them where they are. (i.e. Did all the lacrosse players at your top-choice school play for a particular travel team or attend a camp?)

4. Get a Head Start

Most coaches begin recruiting athletes in their junior year of high school and most athletes commit to a college the following summer or fall. Since the athletic recruiting process is earlier than the regular college admissions timeline, by the end of sophomore year or beginning of junior year an athlete should start putting together a list of potential colleges that might be a good fit athletically and academically.

5. Get the Best Grades You Can

Although athletes are favored in the admissions process, they still have to meet the college’s minimum admission requirements to be accepted. It’s best to keep options open and cast a wide net when looking at colleges the beginning of the process because there is still time to improve as an athlete and a student.

6. Create a Resume to Send to Coaches

Take the initiative to send a resume to coaches at the schools of interest. Resumes should include: name and contact info, relevant physical characteristics, athletic and academic experience. Athletes can also include any outside hobbies or other extracurricular interests.

7. Write a Cover Letter

When sending resumes, an athlete should be sure to attach a brief cover letter introducing himself or herself to the coach. Keep the letter short and sweet, remembering to show enthusiasm for the school by including one or two details about the college and some information about personal academic interests. To ensure future contact, athletes should let the coach know their intentions to keep he or she updated on their progress.

8. Make a Video

Coaches use videos to see what athletes look like in action. The footage does not need to be professional, but it would be best to put together a short segment of a game or a series of clips that showcase personal athletic abilities relevant to the sport. Be sure to show it to people who can provide appropriate feedback before sending.

9. Send out Packets

A packet is the most important and comprehensive piece of information an athlete has to share with coaches. A packet should include: a resume, cover letter, video, and a copy of the transcript so the coach sees if an athlete meets the school’s academic profile. The earlier an athlete sends their packets (think winter of junior year), the more time they have to communicate with coaches.

10. Follow up

Athletes should be sure to follow-up with any coach that contacts them after they have sent their packets. The response should be brief and should express interest in learning more about the team, including questions about any camps or tournaments that they plan to attend and if the coach will also be there. If an athlete doesn’t hear from a coach within two weeks, he or she can write an email to inquire whether or not the coach has received the packet, kindly restating their interest in the school.

---

Dr. Jager-Hyman is an internationally acclaimed expert on the college admissions process.? As an expert on college admissions,? Joie? has appeared on the CBS Early Show, New England Cable News, NPR and dozens of other radio programs. A graduate of Dartmouth College,? Joie? served as Assistant Director of Admissions for her alma mater, and then went on to complete a doctorate in education policy at Harvard University. Her latest book is,? B+ Grades, A+ College Application: How to Present Your Strongest Self, Write a Standout Admissions Essay, and Get Into the Perfect School for You.

The Super Competitive World of Female, Fast Pitch Softball

Female, fast pitch softball participation rates in the United States and worldwide are at an all time high. Over 1.6 million girls participate in youth softball on an annual basis. According to the 2014 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), 573,535 girls participated in fast pitch softball at the high school level. This is fantastic news for the sport of female, fast pitch softball. However, the greater the number of  participants, the greater the level of competition for playing time at the high school and college levels and the greater the competition for coveted college softball scholarships. Unfortunately, talented players get overlooked every day by college recruiters and coaches. If you want a chance at the limited number of college softball scholarships, YOU MUST create, develop, maintain and publicize your “SOFTBALL BRAND NAME” and effectively market you’re playing skills to college recruiters and coaches.

College Softball Participation Rates

The NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA (Junior Colleges) reported the following softball player participation rates:

NCAA Division I --- 5,285

NCAA Division II ---4,905

NCAA Division III --- 6,964 

NAIA Division I --- 1,920

NAIA Division II--- 1,948   

NJCAA (Junior College) Division I --- 3,291

NJCAA Division II --- 1,353

NJCAA Division III --- 965   

Number of Schools Offering College Softball

NCAA Division I--- 289

NCAA Division II--- 265

NCAA Division III--- 381

NAIA--- 198

NJCAA Junior College Division I, Division II, Division III ( combined) --- 339

Total --- 1632

Softball Scholarships Available At Each Collegiate Level

NCAA Division I --- 12 scholarships (per school) 

NCAA Division II --- 7.2 scholarships (per school) 

NCAA Division III --- 0 scholarships  

NAIA --- 10 scholarships (per school)

NJCAA Division I and II --- 24 scholarships ( per school)

NJCAA Division III --- 0 scholarships

The total scholarships listed above pertain to schools that are fully funded with large athletic budgets due to lucrative football and basketball revenues. Unfortunately, most college softball programs are NOT FULLY FUNDED, which makes a softball scholarship a highly valued commodity.  

College coaches will avoid “overbearing parents” in the athletic recruiting process at all costs

Posted by recruiting-101.com | August 25, 2014 .

As I have mentioned many times and in a number of different articles, college coaches try to find out the most that they can about each recruit that they are after.  If a scholarship offer will come to the table, the majority of coaches do an in-depth background check that allows them to learn as much as they can about the situation of each athlete they are serious about.

But when they do this background check, it is not just 100% about the athlete.  The coaches also look into the family life and what they may be dealing with over the next four or five years.  And in some situations, overbearing parents may be enough to turn away college coaches and have them look for another prospect.

Really it is a fine line to walk being a parent who wants to promote your kid and at the same time not being overbearing.  On one hand, marketing your son or daughter to college coaches really is an essential part of the recruiting process in any sport.  But if you think your child is a Division I athlete and they are not, then some may think that you are being unrealistic because it is your child.  This happens all the time.

A few years back I heard a good story about an athlete who is a talented basketball player.  He works hard and does the right things to make him successful on the court.  But his mom is a completely different story.  Following one game where her son didn’t get enough shots, she screamed at an assistant coach about it.  This was in public and their team had won the game that night.  Again, it is a high school assistant coach.

There was a college coach there that night from a school that had recently had some success on the court.  They were looking at recruiting this kid but the college coach saw all this drama in fold right in front of his eyes.  He saw this overbearing (Crazy may also work here) parent yelling at a coach after their team had won the game.  Right then and there, the college coach told the head coach that he was no longer interested in the prospect and left.

If that was the only Division I school that was recruiting this athlete, then the years of work and dreams of playing at that level may have been out the window as well.  Obviously not all parents are this overbearing.  This is easy to avoid.  Minor things you should think about is how you talk about their coach, if you tell others that offers are coming and they don’t end up being there, and things along that line.

I obviously get a chance to talk to a lot of parents and many are wide eyed and excited to go through the recruiting process.  Usually these are the ones who don’t do a ton of marketing because they are just unsure about what they should do in the process.  That is why they visit this site, right?

I completely understand that no matter how hard you try, you are not going to be able to take away the bias when evaluating your kid.  In the eyes of parents, it is nearly impossible.  This is the kid you raised over the last 18-years and to evaluate them accordingly without bias is nearly impossible.  But you can’t push it too much.

Recently I have been in contact with a parent who doesn’t seem to get the recruiting process.  He thinks he does, but he really doesn’t get it.  His son is a Division I athlete but there is only one offer and it is by a low, low major school.  The dad has been telling people this summer that his son will have more offers and this school or that school is going to offer the next day.  Like I have said before, don’t believe the offer is there until the official paperwork is in your hands.  Too many schools give verbal offers and never come through.

This parent also tries to do rankings and things along that line but his son is always ranked too high.  The bias is there.  While I am unsure how he acts around college coaches, his misunderstanding of the recruiting process could end up hurting his son in a big way.  Anyways, being the overbearing parent will turn off college coaches.  These coaches want to focus on basketball and not dealing with parents about playing time, carries, or shots that their child is getting each game.  For you parents, keep that in mind!