Hey, I’m wondering if colleges pay your way to visit their campus on an official college visit, or just some, maybe none? I don’t know and am looking at a few colleges far away that have talked to me about visiting, but would be pretty spendy to get a plane ticket to the specific location. Thanks!
Every school is different. Some pay for your travel, accommodations, and meals. Others will only pay for part of your trip. The NCAA restricts what they can pay for (example: they can’t pay for parent travel) but not every school has the budget to pay for your entire trip. You have to work that out with each coach.
THIS - "Every school is different."
That said, how much of your visit schools will pay for depend on several factors:
*Size of recruiting budget - self explanatory
*Their degree of interest in you - the more interested they are in you the more likely they will pay for most or all of your visit.
*When in the cycle you come for a visit - if it is earlier in the year and they haven't spent their budget you will likely get more or all of it paid; if it is later in the school year their budget may have shrunk considerably (related to #1).
*Where you live in relation to the school - a plane ticket and a couple nights in a hotel (if not staying at a dorm) cost a lot more than someone who live 2-3 hours away and can drive in for a visit. That said, if a school REALLY likes you and you live 15 minutes away, they may spring for a hotel/meals, etc... to let you know they are serious about you. But if they don't, don't read too much into it - they may be making a fiscal decision (unless you are a complete stud for their program - then you should expect it, and if you don't get it, that says something!) HAHA
This seems like a decent summary. The definition of an official visit: "student‐athlete's visit to an NCAA member institution's campus that is financed in whole, or in part by the institution." [Emphasis mine.]
Keep in mind that you get a max of five of these, so sometimes a recruit needs to pick and choose--better to get the lengthier/pricier trips paid for, obviously.
Thanks for all the responses!
If it's an unofficial visit they can't pay for those expenses, but if it's an official visit that usually means you're one of their top recruits and they will likely pay for the travel expenses and food. The person who said it depends on their recruiting budget is mostly right, because even if a school takes you on an official visit they still might not pay for everything. A lot of schools go back and forth on whether they get hotel rooms for parents or not. It all depends on the school basically, but there are limits to how much money they can give you because of the powers that be in the NCAA.
Unless you’re playing football for ‘Bama where you might get some trim tossed in for free.
Power 5 schools have almost unlimited budgets. They can pay for a parent as well as the athlete. That doesn't mean they are going to pay for a bunch of kids to visit unless they are interested in them. You can only take 5 official visits.
"Power 5 schools have almost unlimited budgets."
For some Power 5 schools this may be likely, but many other Power 5s are not as equally funded - in recruiting and in some cases, scholarships. In fact, there are some Mid-Majors that likely have larger recruiting budgets than a handful of Power 5 schools.
"That doesn't mean they are going to pay for a bunch of kids to visit unless they are interested in them. "
Very true. Good coaching staffs will track their success rates - (a) how many contacts with a recruit they interested in yields a campus visit; and (b) how many recruits taking a campus visit results in a commitment.
If the staff knows that "X" % commit after a campus visit and that "X" % of contacts come for a campus visit** - they can project a rough amount of $ needed in the recruiting budget to sign athletes for the following year. This is only a ball park figure, however, as some years more or less are needed due to graduation, # of scholarships available, etc...
**Establishing these program success percentages requires tracking #s over a few years; this can be challenging for a new staff.
Do D3 schools have official visits and do they count as one of the 5?
If a D1 school has you for an official visit can it reasonably be assumed they are willing to offer some type of scholarship?
Am borderline D1. Have been invited to meet with coaches when on campus summer admission tours - unofficial visit.
I would be happy at a number of these schools and it may come down to finances. When limited to 5 official visits I don’t want to go on visits where they are going to encourage me to walk on and pass on visits that may offer financial assistance.
short answer is NO, not all do.
Therefore it is appropriate for you to politely say to each program that wants you to visit, "Thank you coach, I am new to all of this, so can you discuss the visit process for your university?"
Each coach recruiting you will provide infinitely more factual information than the generalizations you will get here.
Learn to communicate in the recruiting process.
Be Polite wrote:
THIS - "Every school is different."
That said, how much of your visit schools will pay for depend on several factors:
*Size of recruiting budget - self explanatory
*Their degree of interest in you - the more interested they are in you the more likely they will pay for most or all of your visit.
*When in the cycle you come for a visit - if it is earlier in the year and they haven't spent their budget you will likely get more or all of it paid; if it is later in the school year their budget may have shrunk considerably (related to #1).
*Where you live in relation to the school - a plane ticket and a couple nights in a hotel (if not staying at a dorm) cost a lot more than someone who live 2-3 hours away and can drive in for a visit. That said, if a school REALLY likes you and you live 15 minutes away, they may spring for a hotel/meals, etc... to let you know they are serious about you. But if they don't, don't read too much into it - they may be making a fiscal decision (unless you are a complete stud for their program - then you should expect it, and if you don't get it, that says something!) HAHA
Kids, do not solely choose a university based on the institution's interest in you. You may be highly recruited by a D-2 university way below your academic standards. Remember, coaches come and go. Do not choose a school just for running/T&F.
D3 visits don't count. Most D1 visits don't result in a scholarship offer. Some schools have 60 guys on the roster and only 12 scholarships. Those scholarships are going to the guys who score at conference abd qualify for nationals. Assume there are 6 full rides and 10 at 50% and 4 at 25%. That leaves 40 guys on the roster with 0 scholarship. Look at tfrrs to see what time it takes to be 1st in the conference and that should be a full ride. See what it takes for 8th in the conference and that should get you about a 10% scholarship.
Which P5 schools dont have unlimited recruiting budgets? They all do.
THIS
"Learn to communicate in the recruiting process."
"Each coach recruiting you will provide infinitely more factual information than the generalizations you will get here."
"Thank you coach, I am new to all of this, so can you discuss the visit process for your university?"
AND THIS
"Kids, do not solely choose a university based on the institution's interest in you. You may be highly recruited by a D-2 university way below your academic standards.*** Remember, coaches come and go. Do not choose a school just for running/T&F."
Respectfully, NOT this
"Which P5 schools dont have unlimited recruiting budgets? They all do."
A financial budget, by definition, is a particular amount of money used over a set period of time - there is a limit and coaches are expected to function within those guidelines. If they don't, they are typically shown the door. Simply put, some schools have more money (a lot, in some cases) to recruit than others. And yes, some of the schools with a lot of money seem to have unlimited resources, but they do
Beyond a financial budget for recruiting there definitely are limits to the time budgeted for recruiting. All of us have the same amount of time (i.e. 24 hours a day/7 days a week, etc.); how we choose to spend that time on say recruiting, is up to us.
**Not that this poster is implying that ALL D2 schools have low academic standards, some do and some do not - but if a person wants to know the academic rating of a particular school (or compare schools), they can look up the Carnegie Classification
http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/lookup.php
and see how that fits with their academic goals through understanding the context of that schools's Carnegie Classification
http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/definitions.php
It is also important to note that although some schools may have a higher or lower Carnegie Classification; these are OVERALL school ratings. Individual programs could be much stronger (or weaker) as compared to their Carnegie Classification. For example, there are some Ivies that do not offer certain undergraduate degrees. While they may be highly rated in the Carnegie Classification, if they don't have your major but a D2 school does (and it is a reputable program), the D2 school with a lower Carnegie Classification would be the "better" school in this context.