Searching for a college that's the right fit for you can be confusing and overwhelming. I want to offer some advice that will hopefully help you through this process.
Here's the reality: Only .8% of all high school senior football players will get a full D1 football scholarship. I'm not sure of the exact percentage, but around only 5 % of you will get a partial football scholarship. So this means over 90% of you will not get a football scholarship. This doesn't mean you're not a good football player or that you don't deserve to play college football. This is why it's so important that you attend the best "academic" school possible because while your football ability may not get you a scholarship, it may help you get into a better school. The majority of you will play football at a DIII school and there is nothing wrong with this. The football is very competitive (we have a playoff system!), the academics are typically better than D2 and D1 schools, and some schools are making a huge financial commitment to facilities (we're spending 90 million here at Grinnell on our athletic facilities)
Here are some myths and some facts about the recruiting process:
Myth: At the DIII level, because you are a recruited football player, this will get you a better financial aid package. You may get a great financial aid package if you are a good football player, but it's not based on this. It's typically based on your family's need and/or your merit. Some DIII schools have a combination of merit and need based financial aid awards and some schools have just need based financial aid.
Fact: Because I'm a recruited football player, this will help get me admitted to a higher ranked academic school. This doesn't mean you will get admitted just because a coach is recruiting you. You get admitted to a school because of your academic merit, but with many very good students competing to get into the top schools, the fact that you bring something to a school (the ability to play college football) helps you. Just like a talented musician or actor brings something to a school.
Myth: Using an outside recruiting source to promote me will help me get more scholarship money. This is what all of the many recruiting solicitations want you to think so they can make money off of you. It's true coaches use these recruiting tools. It's a convenient way for us to look at your profile, your video, and your academics. The problem is there are so many of them, and it's difficult for coaches to go through everyone and decide who is the best fit for their school and program.
Fact: Contacting a coach and letting him know I'm interested in his school will help me get recruited. Yes, it's that simple. Contact a coach via email, phone, or mail and let him know you're interested in the school. Send video, a brief profile and an unofficial copy of your transcript. You shouldn't "mass contact" coaches though. Just like you don't like to be "mass recruited", coaches don't like to get a random email or letter that's addressed to "Coach". Make your contact personal and sincere. This requires you to do some research and work on your part. Narrow your schools down to around 10 schools and focus on those schools based on what's right for you. Don't solicit yourself to 100+ schools. You're wasting your time and the coaches time.
Myth: Sending out mass emails, letters, and video will help me get a scholarship and recruited. As I mentioned above, this is not how it works. When I get a random contact (coaches get hundreds, even thousands of them), the first thing I do is check to see if the recruit is in our database (this means he filled out either the questionnaire we mailed him or the one online). If he isn't in our database, he must not be that interested in us and he's just "mass soliciting" himself. Again, coaches don't like this.
Fact: All I have to do is go online and fill out the online questionnaire to be recruited by a school I'm interested in. Yes, that's it! I know it takes a few minutes to do this, and I wouldn't recommend doing it for 100 schools. Again, narrow your schools down to around 10 and fill out their online questionnaire. Why? This gets you in their database. Most schools nowadays have sophisticated online databases. If you get in their database, you're going to get recruited. It shows you're interested in that school because you took the time to fill out the online questionnaire. This is what coaches want. At that point, the evaluation process will begin. If you're not athletically or academically qualified, you may not get recruited by that particular school. So if you don't hear back from a coach, this is probably why.
Myth: I should go to the school that's giving me the most money or that costs less and therefore is the "cheapest". This means they want me more right?? No. If a school throws a lot of academic money at you, it more than likely means you are one of the top students for that school. This doesn't mean it's the best school for you. Remember, you should use your football playing ability to get into the "best" school. Even if it means having to pay more to attend that school. It will pay off in the long run!!
Fact: You're probably going to have to pay more to attend a better school. Every coach is going to tell you they're a "good" school. You ever hear a coach say "this isn't a very good school academically, but we have a great football program"? No. No coach will ever say that. Again, do some research and dig deeper and find out for yourself which school is the "best" school and the right school for you. Don't just settle on a "good" school (remember they're all "good" schools). Use your football playing ability to get in the best school possible because where you want to be in 10 years and 20 years down the road is the ultimate goal.
So, again attend the best school possible, even if it means paying more. You pay for what you get. Yes, some schools are over priced and out of range of what you can afford, but if it means paying a few extra thousand dollars to attend a much better school, then do it. It will definitely be worth it in the long run!!
Please feel free to email me at hawseyma@grinnell.edu if you would like more advice on the whole recruiting process.
