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I often speak in front of large groups of athletes and parents. Afterwards, many parents will come up to me to tell me what they are doing. They hope that I will validate that what they are doing is correct, when in fact it is often flat wrong. If I suggest they might be wrong, rather than searching out the right path they withdraw from the discussion to continue down the same path. Their outcome becomes quite predictable. But that doesn’t have to be you.

“Fallacy”- an error in reasoning that renders an argument logically invalid.

When it comes to being a recruited athlete and playing college sports, there are eight common fallacies derailing well intentioned athletes and parents.

1. Exposure to dozens of college coaches will get you recruited.Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that planned evaluations by known coaches will get you recruited, not random exposure to coaches who don’t know of your child in advance. Exposure is out, evaluations are in. Why?

Exposure often leads to interest of assistant coaches from colleges outside of your interest in them, thereby yielding to little value. Whereas, evaluations come from coaches who specifically evaluate known-players of interest, delivering great value. It might seem like semantics, but it represents a big difference in results.

1. Email blasts to dozens of college coaches will get interest of coaches. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that email blasts represent a pure “reactive-based strategy” generating interest of coaches from colleges that don’t necessarily match your child’s interests or qualifications. However, it works well for attracting camp invitations.

If you want more out of this than camp invitations, then it’s your child’s job to target coaches from colleges that specifically match their qualifications and interests.

1. Recruiting begins on the playing field. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that real recruiting interest begins in the coach’s office with meaningful discussions, while establishing credentials and building value. It is at this time in which a coach’s interest will rise for allocating more time and effort to your recruiting.

 4.  Non-response to emails sent to college coaches means they don’t have an interest in the sender. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that spending time reading and responding to emails is low on the coach’s priority list. What it means is that they don’t know your child well enough yet to spend time on them.

Coaches receive dozens of emails every day. Relate it to yourself, do you respond to every email you receive? Probably not, neither do coaches. However, coaches will respond to emails of prospect’s who have established value worthy of the coach’s time and effort.

1. Being an all-conference high school player combined with playing on travel teams is your ticket to becoming a collegiate student-athlete. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that your child’s ticket is secured by connecting with coaches in a personal level. Sure, it helps to be recognized as a top quality player and it’s good to play in top competitive events. But in today’s times, there are a lot of kids doing that.

The job of the student-athlete is to distinguish themselves from the pack of qualifiers by contacting coaches with an effective email marketing package and having quality visits. Odds are greatly improved this way and it has nothing to do with having all-conference status or playing on expensive travel teams.

1. Trail-blazing a path of showcase events and college camps is your best strategy for being recruited. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that showcases and college camps can be useful when strategically planned as a supplemental piece to the recruiting strategy, but attending these events cannot be the strategy. For too many parents, this becomes a desperation strategy resorted to when things don’t seem to be going their way.

The value of showcases comes from having known coaches in attendance for the purpose of your evaluation. Otherwise, they are a sign-up and pay, show-up and play, go home and pray strategy; not the kind of strategy we like to endorse. 

1. Winning is the college coach’s top priority and recruiting is their daily objective. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is keeping their job is the coach’s top priority. Taking care of the current team of players is the coach’s daily objective.

College coaches love their jobs and they all like to win. But getting fired will result in a quick jettison from the world of college coaching. They will not risk that. Therefore, they pay close attention to managing their program and coaching their players.

1. I don’t have to worry about the admission process, the coach will take care of that for me. Invalid.

What every mom and dad should know is that while it would be nice and convenient to believe this, every one attending college needs to work the admission and application process. This means connecting and building value with the college admission counselors by- having the ability to express a vision and interests for college study; having good grades and top SAT/ ACT scores; having a quality-written application essay with timely submitted and completed applications.

For athletes, this is a dual-path process rewarding those who work both paths. Ignoring the admissions component is a big mistake. Two contrasting examples:

Meet Alex, a quality athlete who received a $25,000 athletic scholarship. Upon receiving his admission acceptance, he also earned a $20,000 merit award. Ignoring the admission process would have cost him $20,000 for four years, that’s $80,000 in total.

Meet Jason, a quality athlete who signed a November Letter of Intent and then submitted an incomplete application as an afterthought, was denied admissions. This resulted in the college revoking his NLI and leaving Jason without a college.

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The college process is complex with many delicate intricacies. For athletes and their parents, it’s even more complicated. Understanding the common fallacies and managing the process to avoid their pitfalls will make for a much more desirable outcome.

To learn how we do it, click here- CollegeLogic

To read all about it in our new book, click here- The Inside Secrets to Playing College Sports, What Every Mom and Dad Must Know

Hans Founder and CEO, CollegeLogic Office # 203.470.3704

Making the college choice: There are seven primary factors involved in making the right college choice for achieving success and satisfaction-

1. Academic level and educational standard-  the college should match the student’s level of academics and family’s standard for a college education; offering a relative degree of academic challenge commensurate with the student’s overall academic level
2. Cultural compatibility– the student population should fit within the cultural make-up of the student, related to the student’s upbringing, heritage, sophistication, religious preferences (if any), and community setting
3. Social interests– the college needs to offer a mix of on-campus social activities common with the student’s personal interests and should also include proximity to preferred towns or cities for off-campus activities
4. Job opportunity– the college should offer career-related activities to interested students, such as research projects, community events, internships, study abroad, and cooperative education; we call this- connecting with the academic community of the college for enhancing job opportunity
5. Geographical preference– the college should be located in an area of the country that appeals to the student while providing suitable access of the parents
6. Affordability– the college must be affordable to the parents for it to qualify as a good college fit
7. For athletes, a real opportunity for playing college sports– there must be trust and confidence that the athlete will be given a fair chance to make a team and have success when given playing opportunity

The final decision: The college process is designed for a decision to be made in April, with all known information and expectations considered as we described above. An enrollment deposit will then be due by May 1.

Our student and athlete-families are comfortable in their college situation knowing they have secured quality options. The parents are busy negotiating and appealing for improved financial awards while their students are considering college study programs.

Our students and athletes go on to enjoy success and satisfaction in college. Our parents live their life knowing they did well for their child.

To learn how we do it, click here- CollegeLogic

Or call us to see how we can help you get college right.

Hans
Founder and CEO, CollegeLogic
Office # 203.470.3704

        15 minutes just might save you $50,000

2016 high school graduates will take on $70 billion in student loans through the Federal Stafford Loan program. Their parents will take on an estimated $205 billion in third-party loans to finance college. That's a combined total of $275 billion in student loans that the families of this year's graduating class will incur...simply astonishing.

What's more astonishing is the willingness of parents to go down this path of financial disorder and distress.

If you are considering student-loans, then click below, calculate your repayment schedule, rethink your strategy, and contact us to learn how to avoid this trap by saving thousands on college costs in advance. Now that seems College-Logical.

Student Loan Calculator

Have a plan to avoid Student-loans. Click on our website to get your copy of our eBook- 10 Steps to Saving $50,000 on College Costs

Hans

hans@mycollegelogic.com

Office # 203.470.3704

CollegeLogic

College admission and financial aid offices report to me that few parents appeal for a larger award, leaving substantial money on the table.

Sure, college costs too much. They hear about it every year at this time as Financial Award Letters are received to the sticker shock of many unsuspecting parents. Since costs are known in advance, why the shock? Five reasons-

1. The reality of college cost finally sets in when they see a line stating- Amount Due
2. Parents are typically not prepared financially or emotionally to deal with the cost of college
3. Parents find themselves paralyzed at the magnitude of the cost knowing it will recur and increase for years to come
4. Parents don’t know what to do about it, realizing they waited too long to work on it
5. Parents mistakenly expect to receive higher awards than they get, particularly regarding Financial Aid

The common response then is to call the Financial Aid Office to complain- “Your college costs too much. I can’t afford it.” They hear this repeatedly.

To most parents, their senses are validated- the reality check is real; they are not prepared financially or emotionally; they become paralyzed by the sticker price; they don’t know what to do; and, their expectation for higher awards was false.

But that doesn’t have to be your story. Rather, download your free eBook- 10 Steps to Saving $50,000 on College Costs by visiting our website- CollegeLogic

There are a couple of references to “Appeals” in our eBook. If you don’t know the appeal process, then you may leave thousands of dollars to other recipients, as college offices indicate to us. 

The first thing to know is there are two distinctly different appeals, one made with the Admission Office and one made with the Financial Aid Office; that’s knowing the authority over the subject.

The Admission Office Appeal is designed to increase merit scholarship awards based on receiving larger scholarships or a lower net cost from comparable colleges. If you don’t have these options secured, then you won’t have a basis for an appeal. Just wanting more will not be good enough. But if you have quality options secured as we plan for throughout the process, then a successful appeal will result in a larger scholarship award and a repeated four-year savings.

The Financial Aid Office Appeal is designed to increase the University financial aid award based on not receiving the fair share in the initial package, as determined by the numbers. In short, when the college’s net cost exceeds your EFC, you become a qualifier for University need-based aid. Your award should be proportionate to their reported percentage met. Often times, the college’s financial aid offer falls short and only through an official appeal can it be increased. It’s not good enough to call up and complain about costs being too high. Rather, you have to know the numbers and apply them in a formal Appeal process.

Appealing for larger scholarships and financial aid is a normal part of our strategic plan to save on college costs. We are here to help you lower your college costs. It all starts with a simple, free, no obligation, phone call- 203.470.3704.

Next week, we will discuss what to consider in making the right college decision. Until then, take 15 minutes and give us a call.

Hans Hanson, Founder and CEO of CollegeLogic

"Either you know the college perspective, or you will overpay."- Hans

March is the month that Financial Award Letters arrive in the mail from the colleges in which students and athletes received acceptances. And in most cases, it will cause anxiety, confusion, and even madness- madness at the system; madness in that the colleges own the system; madness in that you don't know the system; madness in that you feel vulnerable to the system; and madness in knowing this will go on for several more years.

In our world of work and passion, we call this "March Madness." No, it's not the basketball tournament that everyone will be watching for the next couple of weeks. That's actually very exciting and fun, hardly maddening. Rather, this is the Big Business Machine of College kicking into high gear. This is the one place in America in which people apply to be a customer, worry and pray for customer acceptance, and then be all too willing to accept the service provider's cost package. And of course, when the price goes up 5% each of the following years, people readily accept the increases. With that comes financial anxiety, personal hardship, and often times more madness.

It doesn't have to be that way. There are many things you can do to mitigate the damages. In fact, you have more control over it than you might think, But not by waiting until March of the senior year.

College costs are considered negotiable, but not by parents calling up and complaining about the high cost. Rather, negotiations begin figuratively long before applications are submitted. They begin by building relationships with the key-decision makers at least a year in advance of applications. They continue in building value amongst those relationships. They continue further by creating leverage in securing quality options.

For you, we have a free eBook, 10 Steps to Saving $50,000 on College Costsavailable at your fingertips by visiting our website- www.mycollegelogic.com and downloading the book. This eBook saves people tens of thousands of dollars, and just may do the same for you.

Next week, we will discuss the Appeal process...stay tuned for more savings strategies!

Would you like to schedule a call to see how you can save thousands on college costs? Let me know if you do.

CollegeLogic Founder- Hans Hanson