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The following article is sponsored by National Scouting Report. Visit NSR’s web site at nsr-inc.com
RECRUITING BLOG: PANIC TIME FOR OVERLOOKED HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS?
By Gary Silvers
May Day is quickly approaching for graduating high school seniors.
Almost all colleges require high school seniors to make a commitment and pay a deposit by May 1. Seniors should have received all of their acceptance letters by April 1, giving them at least one month to decide on schools. Many seniors, who applied early decision or rolling admission, made their decisions months ago.
But what if you’re a graduating student-athlete? What if you haven’t received an offer -- scholarship or non-scholarship -- by May Day? What do you do then?
Don’t panic!
Because the regular signing period for most college sports runs until Aug. 1, many colleges keep admission spots open for graduating seniors. Therefore, even if a student-athlete didn’t apply to a specific school, receive an acceptance letter by April 1 and decide to attend that school by May 1, it doesn’t mean that he/she can’t receive an offer and, ultimately, play there.
If a coach wants to make an offer to a graduating student-athlete after May 1, the coach will ask that student-athlete to apply to the school. If the student-athlete is accepted by the admissions office, he/she can accept the offer to play.
However, most college coaches finish recruiting and fill their rosters long before the end of the regular signing period. If a student-athlete does not receive an offer before May 1 of his/her senior year, there are very few roster spots and very little scholarship money remaining.
Some college coaches, particularly spring sports coaches, prefer to wait until the end of their seasons to conclude recruiting. High school seniors in those sports may be kept in the dark until well after graduation. But there could be a light – a scholarship light – at the end of the tunnel.
Regardless, all student-athletes should apply to colleges during the first semester of their senior year. They must meet the same application deadlines as non-athletes. They also must decide on a college (as a non-athlete) and pay a deposit by May 1.
If a senior student-athlete receives offers from college coaches and is interested in attending their schools, he/she should apply to them as soon as possible.
If the student-athlete has no offers, he/she still can accept one after May 1, change schools and forfeit their deposit (or a portion of it) to the first school.
Isn’t it worth forfeiting a $100, $500 or $1,000 deposit from one school if you could be receiving thousands or tens of thousands in scholarship money from another?
You bet it is.
Graduating student-athletes who don’t receive offers to play college sports but still want to play in college have three choices: enroll at a school and try to “walk on” to the team; try out for a club team; or sign up for intramurals.
It’s certainly no disgrace.
After all, only 6 percent of all high school seniors will play on college teams and only 2 percent will receive athletic scholarships.
Despite those odds, you’ll still get a good education.
Gary Silvers is Area Director of College Scouting for National Scouting Report, the world’s oldest and largest high school scouting and college recruiting organization. With its 18-phase national exposure program and thousands of college contacts, NSR boasts a 95-percent success rate helping qualified student-athletes earn scholarships in all sports. For a FREE consultation, contact Gary at (215) 480-8764 or gsilvers@nsr-inc.com. For more information, visit NSR’s web site at nsr-inc.com/services.