Recruiting Tips -- Deciding Where to Go

In Part 1, we discussed the value of reducing your options to maintain your sanity as you decide where you want to attend college.  However, before you completely write off any of the factors below, let’s talk about the tradeoffs briefly.

Location
Do you like the cultural opportunities offered on an urban campus or the open spaces of a rural environment? Perhaps you like the chance to experience both by attending a suburban campus. The choice of location can really impact your mental state and is worth some consideration.

Enrollment
The tradeoffs here reside between the number and type of services offered versus the personal touch of a smaller campus. Do you desire a setting where you know students and teachers as you walk across campus or does that make you claustrophobic? Likewise, do you prefer more diversity in curriculum and facilities, fully knowing that you will be one of 65 students in a lecture hall? Larger campus can offer more amenities but can also be more impersonal.

Distance from Home
Are you someone that wants to be able to come home at a moment’s notice or have your friends and family see you play? If so, traveling to a distant location is not going to accomplish that goal. On the other hand, traveling to a college far from home affords you the chance to live in a totally different area of the country with its own culture, climate, and geography.

Cost
Figure out how much you can afford along with how much you are willing to borrow and then plan accordingly. This type of analysis may eliminate some schools from consideration immediately. Make sure you have a back-up plan in case the financial aid package is less than you expect from the school of your choice.

Academic Reputation
Can you get into the school and will you be successful based on your academic ability? Does the academic reputation of the school matter to you in the first place? Most of the education you receive is dependent upon the effort you put in wherever you go, but some schools obviously carry a bigger name. Elite academic institutions will place greater emphasis on the academics versus the water polo, so bear that in mind.

Institutional Type
Although the differences may not be perceptible to most, does it matter to you whether the school is a private institution or a state school? Private schools tend to have higher costs and smaller teacher to student ratios than their state counterparts.

Competitive Level
Do you want to play at a Top 20 varsity program with a chance to make the National Team, or are you at the other end of the spectrum, simply looking for a recreational activity to occupy some of your time? Collegiate Club teams offer competitive opportunities from the recreational to the competitive levels, while varsity teams provide chances to play at the competitive through elite levels.

Coach
What type of coach can you survive with and thrive under as an athlete? Do you need a teacher? Can you tolerate a screamer? Failing to consider this beforehand can cause problems once on the team.

Initial Playing Time
Honestly evaluating your ability is an important step in determining where you can contribute. In addition, you need to decide if you are willing to ride the bench for a while or whether you want to contribute as a starter immediately. This will impact the level of play you eventually seek.

Summary
Thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of the items above will help give weight to each factor and ultimately give you a better picture for the type of school you want to attend.