Making the Most Out of Visits

You should begin to take visits to schools early on in your high school career because you won't know what is important for you until you step on college campuses and compare.

When you visit schools, you learn some important things where the school will eventually fall on your priority list, such as the campus atmosphere, the school's athletic and academic facilities, and your feelings about the school.

Campus Atmosphere

How do you feel when you're on campus? Comfortable? Stressed? Challenged? While it sounds vague, a “feeling” can help guide you to find the perfect home for your college future.

The campus atmosphere, understanding campus life, and getting a feel for the friendliness of people count for a lot in making a final decision.

Athletic and Academic Facilities

Early on, you're probably not going to have much interaction with coaches when you visit a school (especially during your freshman and sophomore years), but you can still see with your own eyes what their stadium is like.

Many schools will allow you to visit their locker rooms, training facilities, and academic centers if you alert them that you're an athlete considering their school.

Those visits will help you get a "feel" for what their situation is like.

Do you see yourself playing in their stadium?

If not, then you're going to already know that maybe that school isn't the right place for you.

Information About the Campus

Aside from “feelings,” you'll also scope out facts about the campus itself: student-to-faculty ratio, required courses, programs and majors, research opportunities, housing, dining, safety, facilities, costs, location, admission requirements, etc.

Goals for Campus Visits

• Visit schools in different locations – small towns, medium-sized and major cities.
• Visit schools with different enrollment sizes, from larger to smaller.
• Visit schools that focus on your preferred academic major and schools that offer a wide range of major options.
• Go on at least three campus or unofficial visits in your freshman year.
• Go on at least five campus or unofficial visits in your sophomore year.

Something is better than nothing, but there are times of the year that simply give you a more authentic college view.

Spring and Summer Visits

• Pros: Warmer, flexible
• Cons: Fewer events and students

Spring and summer visits invite warmer weather and more flexible schedules, but the downside is that there are fewer students on campus, so you miss out on typical academic year activities, such as more robust classes or even football games.

Fall Visits

• Pros: Lively campus, realistic view of school life
• Cons: Busy season; might get more personalized experience in the summer

There's nothing better than crunching through the leaves on a crisp, blue-sky day in October – especially on a gorgeous college campus or a college football Saturday. College campuses bustle with students in the fall and offer a realistic view of academic and social life. The downside is that it's a busy time of year for football players, and it can be tougher to balance school and other commitments.

Winter Visits

• Pros: Quieter; can see what the campus is really like during a potentially chilly time
• Cons: Potential for bad weather

Things slow down during the winter months on campuses, but you're also risking the potential for running into bad weather and experiencing limited outdoor activities, such as football games. Do you like to ice skate through your college visit?

What Days Are Best for Visits?

Fridays and Mondays are the most popular days to visit campuses because they're before and after the weekend. Fridays are also the most popular day overall because you might tap into a day off of school here and there.

If you can visit during the middle of the week, you might benefit from more personalized attention on an individual campus visit, more so than you would on a Friday.

Morning Visits

• Pros: Launch right into the hustle and bustle; can observe campus energy
• Cons: Can be a busy time to visit campus

If you arrive bright and early, you have the benefit of attending morning classes and observing the campus energy in the morning. Many colleges and universities tend to slow down in the afternoon as students finish up their classes for the day, so you can see how the campus “wakes up.”

Afternoon Visits

• Pros: Often seem calmer
• Cons: Things may be wrapping up for the day

Slower and more leisurely afternoons on some campuses might be exactly what the doctor ordered, particularly if you're nervous about the college search. If you want to be eased into the college search process, you may want to take advantage of meeting faculty and students and exploring extracurricular activities in a calmer setting.

Once you begin the recruiting process, you will be able to take two different types of campus visits. Both are uniquely different.

Unofficial Visits

An unofficial visit can happen at any time during the recruiting process. An unofficial visit is completely paid for by the recruit, and assistance from the college is not allowed.

Take as many as you can! The more times you can get on campus, the better. The more times you can get face time with a coach, the better. Take advantage of these. The good news is that they're unlimited – meaning you can go as many times as you can.

• On unofficial visits, a prospect plus three family members may receive tickets to home games. A nontraditional family may receive two additional tickets.
• A prospect may receive transportation to practice and competition facilities while on an unofficial visit.
• All unofficial visit activities must occur within a one-mile radius of campus.

Official Visits

Starting on and after April 1 of a recruit's junior year, players can plan and take paid official visits to schools. Recruits are allowed to have visits starting April 1 through the Sunday before the last Wednesday in June. They can then take official visits during contact periods of their senior year.

• On official visits, a prospect plus two family members may receive transportation expenses, meals, and lodging in transit.
• Recruit plus four family members may receive meals/snacks, lodging, entertainment, and tickets to home games.
• Lodging and meals provided on an official visit should be comparable to what is provided to student-athletes.
• A school may provide entertainment valued at up to $60 per person, which does not include the cost of meals or tickets to home games.
• Transportation to an official visit may be provided from any location. Return transportation must be to the original point of departure or a prospect's home, school, or competition site.
• Generally, a school may provide two nights of lodging for an official visit. An additional night of lodging may be provided prior to starting the official visit if a recruit arrives at the school too late to begin the visit.
• All official visit activities must occur within a 30-mile radius of campus.
• Recruits can take an unlimited number of official visits to D-I schools. However, recruits are limited to one per school, unless there is a head coaching change after their visit, in which they are permitted a second visit.
• Visits to Division II and Division III schools are unlimited.

1. Put your "Cool Card" away – It's OK to be impressed with the stadium or brand-new weight room.
2. Everyone has an ego, and gratitude never goes out of style. Be somebody they want to spend the next five years with.
3. Be aware of what you wear and how you act. Don't wear a Texas sweatshirt while on a visit to Texas A&M.
4. Stay off your phone.
5. Bring your parents on visits. It's always good to have multiple eyes to view a situation.
6. Come with empty pockets. Leave with empty pockets.
7. Spend as much time with the players as possible.
8. Don't talk about scholarship money/offers from other schools unless head coach asks you about it.
9. Relax, be humble, and have fun – but don't make a poor decision that ruins your chance at a scholarship.
10. Ask questions and talk to everybody.
11. Make sure you visit the training table/campus dining hall.
12. Learn as much as you can about community off campus.
13. Have an open mind.
14. Be prepared to talk about yourself.
15. Attend at least one class with a current student-athlete.

• D-I official visit rules: Recruits can take official visits to Division I schools starting April 1 of their junior year of high school.
• D-II official visit rules: Recruits can start taking official visits starting June 15 after an athlete's sophomore year.
• D-III official visit rules: Athletes can begin taking official visits after January 1 of their junior year.

Follow up after your visit: Once home, send a thank-you email to the coach.

Mention what you enjoyed about the campus and programs, and express your appreciation for their time.

Include details about your upcoming events or competitions so they know where to see you in action next.

Want to really impress? Send a handwritten thank you letter with many of the same things mentioned above.

An old-school approach of taking time to write the letter, address the envelope, and take it to the mailbox can really impress a coach.