Do the tour!

[jonriv]

Most college athletes I know spent their freshmen year in a dorm, as required. After that they moved into houses/apartments and ate whatever they wanted and it certainly wasn't in a school cafeteria. Do people rely on cafeteria food for 4 years due to financial reasons? Even that strikes me as odd since we are paying $900/month for my son to live in a dorm his final semester which is more than we paid for him to live in an apartment.

Sorry for my ignorance but I haven't seen this happen to any of the few dozen athletes I've known in 3 different sports. And some of these kids come from pretty poor families.

Mystified Squirrel

Depends where- housing in many schools around Boston is so expensive that the schools offer guaranteed on campus housing and own many of the off-campus options. All of my DD's teammates live on campus

[hit4power]

My DD visited a lot of college campuses early on in high school to get a sense of what she liked and didn't. Sure, they were all on our dime but glad we did it. Schools she thought she would like, she didn't. And schools we never knew anything about previously (other than what was online), she fell in love with. In her situation, it had to "feel" right and the only way for her to get a feeling was to visit the campus. Since she is going to spend four years of her life there, it made sense to spend the time to do our due diligence.

Ditto us, and I couldn't agree more. We dragged DD to every campus we could, mostly by tacking on visits either before or after softball tourneys or vacations. It didn't if it was a school on her list or not, it was just about seeing campuses to get a feel for what's out there. I don't think DD fully appreciated it until one day in HS she was in a college counseling session with a number of other students and the question was asked as to how many campuses have you seen? She had seen more than anyone else (by a lot) and then she realized how fortunate she was. By the time we found the school she now attends she knew exactly what she was looking for.

Also agree with jonriv that test driving the food is important. IMO, it depends on where you are going as to whether your kid will or won't be dependent on the cafeteria after year 1. My oldest, at a big school in a big city, never ate on campus after his first year. I suspect that DD, small school, small town with fewer off campus options, will be more likely to be in the cafeteria after first year.

[jonriv]

We visited close to 20 campuses with my DD- similar experience when meeting with HS counselor. My son is aa HS JR- we have already hit 4 campus. My DW wants to build on what we learned during the whole proces with my daughter. You really learn what they like and do not like.

[BAM2]

Thanks for all the replies, so this is what I got.
More than likely student athlete would have gave their verbal before senior year,
which "might" be the only one offering a recruiting visit.( out of the 5 available )
Food and dorms are important. We would like her to go out of state, so i can see where
this could be and issue as well as expensive.
Any thoughts on sending them to Softball Camps located on the Campus?
Other then we noticed ,most of the time lodging is off Campus, and if you don't go,
the kid is left to fend for themselves.

[DonnieS]

>>
Also agree with jonriv that test driving the food is important.
<<

Think my girls are just happy to be eating something other than what dad killed.

[freetacos]

While both my daughters had on campus apartments where they could cook they also used thier cafeteria priveleges quite often. College kids don't want to cook everyday and most are on fixed incomes anyway. If it's being given to you why the hell not use it when you want to grab some quick food?

dam, now I'm hungry and there is no cafeteria at this house!

ft

[jonriv]

I wonder how the guides can walk backwards for so long?


BTW- When players go to one on the big clinics at Tufts- they have current players give the tour to potential players

[Blind Squirrel]

Something just came to mind: Given we're talking about kids that will be playing a sport it might be worthwhile to check out the medical and training facilities. Kids tend to get nicked up and sometimes worse. When my son needed treatment the care was absolute crap, sometimes complete neglect. The kids on the team taped their own ankles and often just dealt with their issues themselves. At my daughter's school the medical facilties are the same ones used by the football players and they are amazing. Her care over the past 3 years has been first class. As a parent, I find it very comforting knowing my kid has access to that level of medical care. She has used it countless times for everything from minor sprains to a potentially serious illness that doctors at home couldn't diagnose for 3 weeks. The school's doctors had it figured out in days (had to wait for blood test results).

Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Squirrel

[hit4power]

Any thoughts on sending them to Softball Camps located on the Campus?

A good idea as long as you realize what you/she will get out that. At the bigger schools the camps tend to be money makers not someplace the coaches are doing recruiting. That said, your DD will get a feel for what the campus is like by spending time on it and at most of these big schools the current players are involved in the camps and they are a great source of information. At the small schools the camps can be a way to get seen as well as get to know the coaches and players. Some of them (see jonriv's posts on a different thread) are pretty good camps.

Blind Squirrel makes a good point about checking out the medical facilities and trainers. Where DD is, we had to sign a release for varsity participation and agree to allow DD to be covered under their supplemental insurance. That prompted me to start asking questions I really should have asked earlier in the process. Fotunately, I came away very impressed by the trainers and treatment protocols they had in place.

[BAM2]

Medical, never thought about that. I thought they were covered by the school let alone our ins.
As far as the camps, it would be for just getting a feel of the campus, and the girls/atmosphere there.