Using Baseball to Get Into College: The College Application Essay

baseball college admission essay

Outline of baseball player with words inside representing using baseball for your college application essayWhen people think of using baseball to get into college, they’re usually thinking about a coach offering a full-ride scholarship to play on the team. For those who still hold such delusions, time for a reality check. But there are still all sorts of ways baseball can help you get into college, including providing content for your college application essay.

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Should you tell coaches about an injury during the recruiting process?

A healthcare professional in blue scrubs and a stethoscope is examining a patient's bandaged leg, possibly from an injury during the recruiting process, while they sit on an examination table.

examining injured leg representing if you should tell a coach about an injuryJust asking this question suggests that it’s possible to hide the injury from the college coaches. I suppose it’s possible to hide an injury during the recruiting process if it occurs off-season and the player isn’t actually on crutches or doesn’t have an arm in a sling. But how many sports today actually have an off-season? Even those players being recruited in sports that do have a limited season such as football are likely to be playing other sports. Don’t you think the recruiting coach might wonder why the player is sitting out his secondary sport?

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Must Read for High School Baseball Players and their Parents

ball on field representing why some don't play college baseball

baseball on field representing why some don't play college baseballThere is a post at the Next Level Baseball Player blog that all high school baseball players who want to play college baseball and their parents should read “A Raw Look Inside College Baseball Recruiting.” It’s an email from a coach at a D1 university responding to a father who asked why his kid isn’t good enough to play for the coach’s college baseball program.

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5 Ways to Get Smart About College Softball Recruiting

A college softball recruit in a navy and yellow uniform prepares to field a ball on a grassy field.

picture for college softball recruitingLooking for information on college softball recruiting is a frustrating experience. It seems that there are lot more websites out there interested in selling you their recruiting services than providing information. But such informative sites do exist and some of them are actually recruiting services. However, before you decide to hire a recruiting service, use the following sites to educate yourself on the college softball recruiting process.

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Who Pays for a College Athlete’s Health Insurance and Medical Care?

health professional examining wrapped knee representing college athletes health care

Doctor with patient asking who pays for college athletic health care.If as a college athlete you don’t expect to make enough money from the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule to cover your own health insurance, don’t expect the NCAA to be picking up the tab. All college athletes are required by the NCAA to have healthcare insurance. The NCAA does not mandate colleges to pay the healthcare costs for athletes. Should a player be injured, the parent’s insurance is considered the primary insurance for paying for the athlete’s injury costs. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since the term “student-athlete” was created so that colleges wouldn’t be held liable for sports related injuries.

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How to Start the College Athletic Recruiting Process

foot kicking a football representing how to start college athletic recruiting process

football kickoff representing start of college athletic recruiting processYou’ve heard the saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know?” It’s relevant to college athletic recruiting–when starting out, many families don’t know where to begin or what to ask. So I put together this list of posts for athletes and their families just starting the college athletic recruiting process. After reading these, you should have a basic understanding of college athletic recruiting that will allow you to start asking the right questions.

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Athletic Scholarships: 12 Things You Need to Know

Entrance to a sports stadium with blue seating visible to the sides and a ramp leading to a tunnel under the stands, often frequented by recipients of athletic scholarships.

sports stadium representing Things You Need to Know About Athletic ScholarshipsI’m always amazed at how little players and their families know about athletic scholarships. Given that most of them have been justifying playing their sport for the chance at a college scholarship since middle school, you would think they would be better informed. Depending on the sport and division, scholarships can be very limited. It’s kind of like someone planning a trip to Europe and not realizing they need a passport for traveling. Yes, some of the stuff people are missing is pretty basic.

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4 Simple Tips to Organize the Recruiting Process

4 Simple Tips to Organize the Recruiting Process

Athlete using smart phone for 4 Tips to Organize Your College Recruiting ProcessCollege athletic recruiting is a process of narrowing down school choices while collecting increasingly detailed information about those choices and not losing track of where you are during the process. Piece of cake-right! The problem is that athletes won’t always be at the same stage in the recruiting process for every college they’re considering. One school may be at the “received a mass email flyer for a summer camp” stage while another is at the “scheduling an official visit” stage. So how do you keep track of everything? Here are four ways to organize the recruiting process.

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Should You Use an Athletic Recruiting Service?

Two vintage scales; one shows a clock on its tray, and the other displays stacked coins. Text at the bottom reads, "Should You Use an Athletic Recruiting Service?" This image prompts a thoughtful consideration of time and investment when deciding on an athletic recruiting service.

scales with time and money represent athletic recruiting serviceAs students and parents start to wade into the college athletic recruiting process, they’ll soon see all kinds of advertisements, websites, and offers from athletic recruiting services. All promise to help you with getting an athletic scholarship because, they’ll tell you, they have access to people and information that you don’t. And as the wading starts to feel like drowning as parents begin to realize how much college costs and how many colleges are actually out there, paying for a recruiting service doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Is it?

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