Rank order priorities in recruiting

[fromthesideline]

In looking at the recruiting process how would you rank order your priorities in choosing a school:
1. Right choice of major
2. Location of campus
3. Coaches
4. Winning program
5. Financial support
6. Available playing time
7. Classroom support

I may have left some out - add your own.
For those who have been through the process, what worked for you?

[WHEELAX2]

I think the number one thing should be whether or not you can last at the school for 4 years. this includes; appropriate major, atmosphere, class size, school size, location, proximity to your home, etc..

the school experience is the #1 most important thing that a lot of people don't seem to take much time to consider.

that's why a lot of people end up transferring, or dropping out completely.

it's hard to "know" that the school will be right for you, but if you take the time to seriously get to know the school, etc. you'll give yourself a much better chance of having a good experience.

that being said, lacrosse should be the last thing you consider about a school.

[fromthesideline]

I only applied to one school and got in for early acceptance. With all the opportunities available to students these days, how did you know a school was the right match? I may want to rephrase my question and ask - What is the biggest pitfall to not enjoying a Div I lax experience with a full academic load?

[dram183]

i think you need to add the academic quality of the school

[somrandomguy]

1. Academic Quality in my major(s)
2. "Feel/Fit" of School/lax program
3. Financial Aid
4. Coaching
5. Playing Time
6. Winning Program
7. Location

That's how I'm looking at the process. So right now I've pretty much narrowed things down to a couple schools, both of which have already accepted me. (Hurray for rolling admissions!)

[laxstar003]

hmm

1. academic reputation of school
2. atmosphere of school
3. size of school
4. how i got along with team
5. level of lacrosse (division, rank)
6. financial support
7. coaches
8. location of campus

i think those were the major ones for me

[lilaxgurl23]

This is challenging, I didn't really look at schools this way. I broke it up into three groups: Academics, Lacrosse and Social life (in that order).

Basically academics were most important to me. The school had to have a decent reputation and for me, lots of majors (I choose a major/program, but I am still very much undecided as to what I'll end up studying). I also wanted to have ample academic support because as a student-athlete, I know I'm going to need help especially with all of the time constraints. Having mandatory study sessions and the availability of tutors is important. I also took into consideration the class size (although I swear for the most part their all the same), how easy it was to switch majors or colleges within the University and all of that good stuff. Basically anything that could affect my grades, I plugged into this category. I think the most important in the academic side was the reputation, selection of majors and the academic support.

Next for lacrosse I looked first at just the competitiveness of the program and whether or not I thought I would make an impact there. I really didn't want to go to a program where my team would come in last place every year because the team/coach/school whatever wasn't motivated to win. I also wanted to have a shot at playing early on in my career. I asked the coaches straight up what their expectations were and how they planned to achieve them and also where they saw me fit into their team as a player. After that I took my future teammates into heavy consideration. I really did not want to hate lacrosse for four years, part of loving the game is the camaraderie between the players and there is no way I could go through my first few years and hate the people on the team. I also looked for a certain kind of coach who I thought would push me hard to succeed, but also be fair and have other certain qualities. Last, I definitely looked at the support the school gave the program. It’s really hard to be a good team when your school isn't even rooting for you, and so I looked for a school that was into its lacrosse. Also I jokingly looked for a school that was sponsored by the companies that I liked (I would have gone anywhere regardless of the kind of equipment they received, if any).

Last, socially I looked at where the school was located. I didn't really have a preference besides that it had to be somewhat cold at one point during the year. I looked at if the school was in the middle of a city or out in the middle of no where or whether it was a big or small school. I checked out the night life while on my OVs, but it wasn't exceptionally important to me. I wanted a place to hang, but there is no way I'm going to be out every night of the week though. I didn't really focus on this one too much to be honest though, I know that when it comes down to it this is going to be the least important factor.

Financial aspects weren't a huge factor for me either. It is definitely something to think about, but my parents have been planning since before I was born, so I was one of the lucky ones who really didn't have to worry too much about this. For some people it's definitely an issue though, so I should put financials in here somewhere.

So, a synopsis of what I look for:

- Academic reputation
- Selection of majors
- Academic support
- Class size
- Restrictions to switching majors/schools
- Competitiveness of lax program
- Ability to make impact on the team
- Support from school (for athletics)
- Future teammates
- Future Coach
- Financials
- Location of school
- Size of school
- Social life of school

[DukeLax2]

go to smslacrosse.com and there is a guide on how to approach recruiting and what you should each year and when. its really beneficial if u need help being recruitted look at it

[lilaxgurl23]

go to smslacrosse.com and there is a guide on how to approach recruiting and what you should each year and when. its really beneficial if u need help being recruitted look at it

That's a good link, however this thread really isn't about being seen, it's more about what do you, as a player, look for when looking at schools? Basically what is important to you when considering a school?

[LAXRecruiting]

If you have 10 items on your list the first 7 or 8 should all be academics. Remember all players are one injury away from the last time on a lacrosse field so you have to like the school you select for academics and it's social life outside of lacrosse.

You listed coach as #3, keep in mind that coaches can change at any time don't base your decision on this.

[crazzyD]

1. academics
2. lax program
3. has to be near a mountain (i love riding)
4. coach
5. players
6. playing time
7. competition playing against

[Krash9]

1.money
2.Lax team
3.Social Life
4.Academics
I dont know how you guys can afford the thousands of dollars a year that it costs for tuition to go to school in the states. Its ridiculous by the time you figure everything out it costs something like 25 000 dollars a year just to go to school if your not on financial aid and the average person only gets around 5000 dollars in financial aid/scholarships/Bursaries. You gotta be really really good to get the big money which for most of us is unrealistic. I for one I dont feel like paying off student loans for the rest of my life just so that I can go to a school that has the major that I want or the Lax program that I wanna play for. Yeah you might be going to Harvard or Brown but your gonna be paying for it for the next ten years unless your parents are loaded. And if you are gonna pay that much to go to school I'd be a little bit more concerned about the social life of the school because if your not having fun while your there your marks will suffer.

[bklax22]

girls
partying
quality of lax
and some school i guess

[EHSLAX12]

money
team quality
academics
campus
social/campus life
coach
roster

[Isles19]

When I went throught the process my priorities were:
1- Quality of education in my field of interest (reputation of the program)
2- Location from home (I used about a 5 hour driving radius as a guide)
3- Campus community (Look of the school, facilities, student body, etc.)
4- Money
5- Lax Program ( Players, system, Athletic department, coach)
6- Financial Aid (Athletic, Academic, Other: I would look into this a lot of schools have money available to people who apply for the aid and it is not necessarily for the best students or the best athletes. I actually got money for all the volunteer work I did in HS and continued to do in college.) I was lucky enough to have this decision with a couple schools. I actually didn't go to the school that was giving me the most money but I wouldn't change my decision for anything in the world.

[tomtom]

1. Academics in my Major
2. Academics in other areas
3. ROTC/financial aid available
4. Size, Location, and campus
5. Other Sports available