athletic scholarships – Pathway Communications

#CollegeChat Transcript: Social Media and Recruiting of High School Athletes

Theresa Smith — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:17:48 +0000

Social media has quickly transformed the world of athletic recruiting in just a short period of time according to Karen Weaver, EdD, director of Athletics for Penn State University-Abington and a TV color analyst for ESPN, CBS College Sports and Big Ten Network. Weaver was a recent guest on #CollegeChat and discussed how social media is benefitting both athletic programs and high school athletes who want to play in college.

During #CollegeChat, Weaver addressed the following questions:

How has social media changed athletic recruiting?

Can college coaches “friend” students on FaceBook? What are the guidelines?

What are the best practices in for both recruiters and prospective athletes to use in technology and social media?

What questions should an athlete ask a coach on a college visit?

Has social media changed high school athlete recruiting for the better?

How has social media helped get student athletes recruited? Is Youtube helping? Twitter feeds of club games?

Do high school students need to go through the expense of belonging to fee based online recruiting sites?

The entire transcript is available for download Social Media & Recruiting Transcript

Best Selling Higher Education Author Lynn O’Shaughnessy to Provide Advice on How to Evaluate Colleges #CollegeChat May 15th

Theresa Smith — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:52:23 +0000

O’Shaughnessy to discuss advice from her new book “The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right price (2^nd Edition)

Lynn O’Shaughnessy, a bestselling author and higher education journalist, will share advice from her newly published book The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price (2nd Edition) during #CollegeChat on Twitter, May 15, 2012 at 9 p.m. Eastern.

O’Shaughnessy wrote the second edition of her book “so you too can become an empowered consumer.” During #Collegechat, O’Shaughnessy, https://twitter.com/#!/collegeblogs , will discuss key information parents and students need to know including:

What are the biggest sources of college money.
How can you increase your chances of qualifying for merit scholarships.
How you can evaluate the generosity of a school before applying.
Where to find the best online tools to evaluate colleges.
What do families of divorce need to know about financial aid.
What are a teen’s options if he/she does poorly on the ACT or SAT.
What is the real story behind athletic scholarships.

About Lynn O’Shaughnessy

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is a nationally recognized higher-ed author, journalist, and speaker. She is the author of numerous books including her Amazon bestseller: The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price. She also wrote Shrinking the Cost of College, a workbook available only on her website, that helps families make smart and affordable college choices. O’Shaughnessy writes frequently about college issues for her CBS MoneyWatch column and for her popular college blog TheCollegeSolution.com. O’Shaughnessy is the consulting director of college planning, K-12, at the University of California, San Diego Extension. She is also a frequent speaker on how families can find and afford great schools.

About #CollegeChat

#CollegeChat is a live bi-monthly conversation intended for teens, college students, parents, and higher education experts on Twitter. #CollegeChat takes place on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET. Questions for each #CollegeChat edition can be sent to Theresa Smith, the moderator of #CollegeChat via http://Twitter.com/collegechat, by entering questions online on the CollegeChat Facebook page or by email. More detailed information about signing up for Twitter and participating in #Collegechat can be found at http://pathwaypr.com/how-to-participate-in-a-twitter-chat

What is #CollegeChat

Theresa Smith — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:16:44 +0000

#CollegeChat is a live bi-monthly conversation for teens, college students, parents, and higher education experts on Twitter. #CollegeChat takes place on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. PST/ 9 p.m. EST. The chats are intended to help students navigate the college admission process; succeed in college life including course work, majors and internships; provide information and insight on graduate school; and provide expert advice on securing careers after graduation.

The first #CollegeChat was held on June 1, 2010 with Amazon bestselling author and higher-education journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy regarding her book Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Price of a Bachelor’s Degree. Subsequent chats have included authors, college to career experts, athletic director, graduate school admissions counselor, and admissions counselors. A full listing and description of #CollegeChat editions can be found at http://pathwaypr.com/tag/collegechat.

If you have a guest or topic suggestion or any other questions please contact Theresa Smith, the moderator of #CollegeChat on Twitter @CollegeChat , by entering questions online on the CollegeChat Facebook page, or by email. You cal also leave your suggestion in the comment setion below.

More detailed information about signing up for Twitter and participating in #CollegeChat can be found at http://pathwaypr.com/how-to-participate-in-a-twitter-chat .

8 Facts About College Athletics and Scholarships: What Every High School Athlete Needs to Know

Theresa Smith — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:47:43 +0000

Over the next few weeks, 400,000 US college athletes will head back to their campuses to begin another year of college sports. But what most parents and high school athletes don’t realize, according to Karen Weaver, EdD, director of Athletics for Penn State University-Abington and a TV color analyst for CBS College Sports and Big Ten Network, is that there is 22 times more academic aid available than athletic scholarships and Olympic sports scholarships usually are in the $3,000-$5,000 per year range. Only two percent of high school athletes receive an athletic scholarship and only one third of college athletes have an athletic scholarship.

During the latest edition of #CollegeChat via Twitter, Weaver (http://twitter.com//collegeathlete ) and other college professionals and students discussed facts about college athletics. “I’m afraid that most club coaches are selling parents a bill of goods in chasing after an athletic scholarship,” Weaver said. “There can be a lot more availability of academic aid for college athletes at Division III schools which tend to be small private colleges. Aspiring college athletes need to ask themselves what are their priorities?”

Weaver outlined the following facts about college athletics and recruiting during #CollegeChat (http://twitter.com/collegechat):

Fact 1: Four Year Full Ride Athletic Scholarships are a Myth

Contrary to what parents and high school athletes believe, guaranteed four year full ride scholarships are a myth. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) stipulates that athletic scholarships are good for one year at a time and are potentially renewable at the coach’s discretion. Coaches that promise full ride 4 year scholarships are not telling the truth. In addition, if an athlete is injured the athlete may lose their scholarship.

Fact 2: Forget Studying Abroad or Participating in Internships in Most DI Programs

According to Weaver, in most DI programs it is very unlikely that athletes will be able to participate in studying abroad or working in internships. However, in DII and DIII it is more likely that athletes can participate in studying abroad and internships as well as other campus extracurricular activities.

Fact 3: College Sports May Leave Little Time to Study

Generally, when college athletes are “in season” they may spend 15 to 30 hours per week training and playing in games. In addition, they will also be spending a significant amount of time traveling to games. Therefore, when high school athletes are comparing different colleges, it is extremely important that they find out from other players how much time is required to devote to their sport. Make sure to ask about practice time, weight training time, and travel schedule as well as off season training.

Fact 4: Hiring an Athletic Recruiter Can Be a Waste of Money

According to Weaver, “I am not a fan of most recruiting services. Most coaches do not like the interference.” Instead, Weaver recommends that parents and aspiring college athletes do the work themselves. One place to start is Weaver’s website at http: http://www.intelligentrecruiting.org/ . On the “Resource” link page http://www.intelligentrecruiting.org/resources.html parent and athletes will find an exhaustive list of resources they can utilize to learn more about the recruiting process. High School athletes and parents should also download and read through the NCAA’s “2010-2011 Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete” available at http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-3950-2010-2011-guide-for-the-college-bound-student-athlete.aspx

Weaver recommends that parents or high school students make the first contact with a coach via email explaining why the student athlete is interested in that college. The email could also include a link to the student athlete’s highlight footage on YouTube. Coaches are also interested in a student athlete’s scholastic record including GPA, SAT or ACT scores, AP classes and any academic and athletic awards.

Fact 5: College Coaches start building files on 9^th graders and on 7^th graders for basketball

If a budding athlete is interested in playing Division I especially, they or their parents need to make contact with college programs they are interested in as early as 7^th grade for basketball or by the end of 9^th grade. Weaver recommends that parents take the helm of the initial phone contact between coach and athlete but need to turn this over to the high school athlete by the time they become a junior. After all, it is very important for the coach to get to know an athlete and the one thing all coaches don’t want is a helicopter parent.

Truth 6: You Don’t Need to Hire a Professional Videographer to Capture Your Highlights

Save your money and upload your athletic highlights to YouTube recommends Weaver. Coaches don’t want to search through DVDs of recruits when they can simply go online and see the latest clips of an athlete on YouTube.

Fact 7: High School Athletes Must take the SAT or ACT and Meet All Academic Eligibility Requirements

The NCAA spells out in detail the academic requirements for DI and DII athletes at http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/student-athlete+experience/becoming+a+student-athlete/division+i+toolkit

But these guidelines should be used only as a starting point for athletes. Athletes that are interested in competing at more academically rigorous colleges, or at colleges that demand higher academic achievement by athletes for admission, need to make sure they are satisfying the academic requirements of those colleges and not just the NCAA. After all, the NCAA and the coach don’t admit an athlete to a college, the Admissions Department does.

Fact 8: College Coaches Send Out Hundreds of Recruiting Letters

Although getting a letter from a college coach can be very exciting and encouraging, aspiring athletes need to keep in mind that coaches send out hundreds of letters like this every year. If a student doesn’t have the necessary grades, they will be dropped from the coach’s list. In addition, if your athlete is interested in a particular college that has seen them play either in person or via YouTube, they should ask the coach for an honest assessment of the athlete’s chances of making their team. “If you don’t get a straight answer, that should tell you something,” Weaver said.

#CollegeChat is a live bi-monthly conversation intended for teens, college students, parents, and higher education experts on Twitter. Questions for each #CollegeChat edition can be sent to Theresa Smith, the moderator of #CollegeChat via http://Twitter.com/collegechat , by entering questions online on the CollegeChat Facebook page at http://ht.ly/1XIqV , or by email. CollegeChat can also be found on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/collegechat .