How do you move from a visit to an OV?

Official visits can include room and board for player and parents but not for transportation. I think if you drive then you will be reimbursed for transporting him ( unless that has changed).

These days coaches reserve OV for committed players. It's usually on a football weekend in fall or baseball game in spring.

Attending out of state is very expensive, make sure this would fit your budget, and be honest, why not send your son there on his own for his unofficial visit.

Some states have a waiver of out of state tuition based on standardized test scores/grades. I have seen it for states bordering Texas. Public schools, in particular. Available to all students, not just athletes. 

TPM is correct.  Son's college had all the committed players, and their parents, come one football weekend.  I think the OV can only be 24 hours, include meals and hotel for the player and parents only.  Meals were a catered taco tailgate before the football game, Italian dinner at a restaurant, and breakfast in a private room in the dining hall. Son stayed the night with a player. Families had to pay for meals for extra family members.  Transportation:  I am not sure since we drove, but we were not reimbursed for gas/transportation expenses.

Son also went to an unofficial visit the fall of his junior year.  Stayed with a senior player, and no meals were provided.   (There is a very candid, sometimes comical, thread on drinking on official/unofficial visits.   Look under Golden Threads.   Highly recommend reading it.  Son was asked it he wanted to go to a party on his UV, he said he didn't drink (wise statement since he was 17), so they played video games that Saturday night lol.)

IMO a verbal offer (....and it's a good one ) for a 2018 warrants a visit asap. And yes this stuff gets expensive but the clock is ticking on 2018's .

Nowadays, NCAA 'Official Visits' for Men's Baseball is mostly just a get together for the committed incoming class. As was mentioned earlier, The kid will stay with the players. Parents in a hotel Paid for by the baseball dept. There is no reimbursement for Air or car travel .

I live in Los Angeles and my son goes to school and plays in South Carolina, so i get it. It's expensive . But if the offer is on the table, gotta find a way to make it work. Personally , I still have some credit card debt from all that stuff.

You could send him on his own. But that may prove to be penny wise and pound foolish. Your role on a unofficial visit is to hand him over to the baseball dept , then go directly to the financial aid building and get a read on the costs of attending school there. What is the 'net gap' you gotta pay? Meet the people and ask questions. A very well respected long time member on this site gave me that advise and it served me well on several of these unofficial visits . Trying to get net gap information out of a 17 year old recruit is madness and a waste of time. If your paying the bills you gotta speak directly with the schools admissions / financial aid people .

~Anything I write here is just my opinion based on my experience ~

Hmmm. . . the idea of sending my 17-year-old out of state by himself for any reason, let alone to consider a decision that will financially impact all of us for at least the next four years gives me the heebie jeebies.

Thank you for the clarification on the OV portion. That makes a lot of sense. We have visits scheduled to another D1 and a D2 in August — and we're still playing HS baseball. Substate starts in Iowa on Friday, so I think the scheduling felt a little overwhelming for awhile, but we'll make it work.

Thanks all.

Like SO my son went to school in a different state, TX. (we're in CA) If you plan far enough in advance you can get cheaper tickets, hotels and cars. It is something you have to take into account when selecting a school. He will be travelling back and forth, and there are parent weekends, move ins/outs, and in season we tried to go at least once a month. If it a good program then you have conference tournaments, Regionals, and if you are lucky CWS. These all add up to a big budget item that you should consider. To help control costs my wife would go on some visits and I went on others. I got really good at finding cheap tickets, hotels and cars. (for another thread) 

BOF posted:

Like SO my son went to school in a different state, TX. (we're in CA) If you plan far enough in advance you can get cheaper tickets, hotels and cars. It is something you have to take into account when selecting a school. He will be travelling back and forth, and there are parent weekends, move ins/outs, and in season we tried to go at least once a month. If it a good program then you have conference tournaments, Regionals, and if you are lucky CWS. These all add up to a big budget item that you should consider. To help control costs my wife would go on some visits and I went on others. I got really good at finding cheap tickets, hotels and cars. (for another thread) 

I hope he would get to play at Omaha someday, it's easy for me to get to. All the rest of it, not so much. 

Maybe we need a thread for Interesting Official Visit Stories.  Ours are fairly tame, but  I'm sure there are some doozies.  Son was assigned 2 Soph. players to entertain him.   Most of his evening was fairly tame, 1 player putting $2500 on dad's credit card for a scooter, etc.   Then he gets awoken in the middle of the night by the player he was supposed to be rooming with.  "Dude, you gotta get out.  I got some girls coming over."  Son staggers down the hall, finds another empty bed in the apt./suite, and crashes there.  Not sure whether the experience was a positive or negative from a recruiting perspective.  Nevertheless, he adapted. 

When my son hosted a recruit that he played travel ball with in HS , they went to the mall and pierced his ears. Jack Leggett was NOT happy with either of them!

My son went on 2 OV,  back then they went before they signed  and he felt overwhelmed with invites, you can only have 5 and the school allowed 25. So I think that is the reason why they now only give out OVs to committs or signees.

I might add that on both visits he slept all the way home. UF was overwhelming and the smaller up state away from the big city was a perfect match. Less distractions.

I am not understanding 20 or 30 UVs. Things are different now, players start early. But to each his own. 

TPM posted:

 

I am not understanding 20 or 30 UVs. Things are different now, players start early. But to each his own. 

TPM - I'm going to respectfully disagree and I can't understand NOT doing 20+ OVs if it is available to a recruit.  This is the best possible way to learn about recruiting, the schools, facilities, baseball programs, academic programs and a recruits place in the vast baseball world.  If this is done over 2 to 2.5 years (and well planned and coordinated) this is an outstanding way to separate what a recruit wants/doesn't want, and find out who is truly interested in offering him.   For example, my oldest son had opportunities ranging from D1 to D3.  It was essential to visit these schools to get context for baseball and academincs.   You and I rarely disagree, but this is one of those rare exceptions.  ;-)

fenwaysouth posted:

 I can't understand NOT doing 20+ OVs if it is available to a recruit.  This is the best possible way to learn about recruiting, the schools, facilities, baseball programs, academic programs and a recruits place in the vast baseball world.  If this is done over 2 to 2.5 years (and well planned and coordinated) this is an outstanding way to separate what a recruit wants/doesn't want, and find out who is truly interested in offering him.  

 

This is a great thread and I appreciate all the opinions and info.   I have a question about the bolded portion above please:  2 to 2.5 years starting when?  The summer before Sophomore year?

I think that you meant unofficial not official.

I never said I disagreed, just didnt understand why the amount. But thank you for your explanation. 

3and2Fastball ,

My bad.  I was referring to un-OVs.  Yes, start doing these as soon as possible.  un-OVs can be through the athletics dept as well as through admissions/academic.   Son's travel team had many showcases at colleges.   We'd tour the school and all nearby schools whenever possible.  We started Fall of sophomore year.

For others reading, TPM and Fenway both had pitcher sons.  Pitchers are coveted, the cat's meow.   They took different paths to get to their goal.  Both are right.

As for 20-30 visits, many players get to see that many campuses playing the travel circuit.  Some can get a visit in then to see the facilities.  I know when keewartson played at an ACC school, some players were immediately asked to do a UV that day.  

I would think if you are playing varsity, that would be the time to start visits.  

I feel like 20 would be overwhelming as well. My son will end up somewhere around 10. We started out with a Goldilocks approach — a big school, a medium school, a small school. Also, a D1, D2 and D3.  We learned from that we are looking for someplace with about 6,000 to 12,000 enrollment, and a few other must haves. My main hope is that he find a school he falls in love with.

keewart posted:

For others reading, TPM and Fenway both had pitcher sons.  Pitchers are coveted, the cat's meow.   They took different paths to get to their goal.  Both are right.

As for 20-30 visits, many players get to see that many campuses playing the travel circuit.  Some can get a visit in then to see the facilities.  I know when keewartson played at an ACC school, some players were immediately asked to do a UV that day.  

I would think if you are playing varsity, that would be the time to start visits.  

 

This scenerio playing on campuses, then a tour, talking to coaches, was what son did and I didnt count that as unofficial visits.

TPM posted:

keewart posted:

For others reading, TPM and Fenway both had pitcher sons.  Pitchers are coveted, the cat's meow.   They took different paths to get to their goal.  Both are right.

As for 20-30 visits, many players get to see that many campuses playing the travel circuit.  Some can get a visit in then to see the facilities.  I know when keewartson played at an ACC school, some players were immediately asked to do a UV that day.  

I would think if you are playing varsity, that would be the time to start visits.  

 

This scenerio playing on campuses, then a tour, talking to coaches, was what son did and I didnt count that as unofficial visits.

 

Basically same here...where ever the team was playing, time was made to visit a campus or 2...sometimes run into a coach, or other personnel, sometimes not. But I wouldn't refer to these as Unofficial visits...Just visits...helped him see differences & figure out what mattered & what was fluff. 

He went on 2 official, & pretty familiar with programs, school, coaches...

With regard to these visits, what is a common itinerary?

• Attend one or more classes?
• Attend a baseball practice?
• View a baseball team lifting session?
• Meet with the coaches? (of course)?
• Tour the athletic facilities with the coaches?
• Meet with the academic support (athletic) director?
• Attend a football or basketball game?

Is two days/one night fairly standard?

Thanks in advance.

An Official visit and an unofficial visit is going to different . Nowadays with NCAA Baseball, official visits are done after NLI's are signed and are attended by the committed 2018 class. Usually done over a weekend during homecoming. So, no classes . Player stays with baseball players in dorm. Attends practice or scrimmage as observer . But can sit dugout . Hang out. The official visit schedule is strictly outlined in NCAA rule book. Drop off and pick up times . Etc. And the coaches are militant in following stated guidelines . Baseball Dept will pick up cost of 1 hotel room from parents . But do not reimburse ground / air travel costs .

Unofficial visits vary from school to school but the ones my son did where done during the week. No sleepover . Early morning call to meet HC or RC on campus, hand off to current player to attend class. Lunch w/ HC and staff then attend / observe afternoon practice.

Your role here as a parent is to hand off your son and head over to the financial aid building and began asking questions. Began the due diligence process to establish the net gap / costs you and your family will incur

Rules are different between sports I guess.  Daughter just had #1 official visit for Rhode Island.  They flew her in on a Thursday and she flew back home on a saturday.  She has two more at East Carolina and Umass this month yet. 

The second itinerary is out for this weekend and it closely mirrors the first visit:

Arrives Thursday afternoon.  Attends some classes and practices..Campus Tour...Sat has her breakfast with hosts....killing more time and then a lunch time cook out at Coach's house.  Then late afternoon departure back home.

She also has an academic meeting Friday and a scheduled team activity Friday night.  Was concerned hosts would take her to a party and she would have to play that by ear if they did. She watches two practices and has at least one class with a freshman swimmer, a class that has to do with her preferred major if possible....

Again...Only going through this with daughter now and hopefully with my son in a few years....

And these are OFFICIAL visits, travel paid for by the school (Parents did NOT attend) and she has NOT signed a NLI yet nor verbally committed.  She may also hold out till she gets some updated times in Oct and Nov to see if some of her other choices increase their interest. 

I understand that kids need to take lead on these visits, but son did one official visit. I went too. We had dinner with coaches, then he went to dorm with a host player and learned that even baseball players drink, went to 6 a.m. workout with the team, while I went to college-paid hotel room and enjoyed a remote control to myself.

Next morning, we did academic tour (two coaches tagged along because they hadn't seen the major son was interested in — we all learned a lot), and then son and I had lunch with the head coach before heading out.

In all cases, I sat quietly most of the time, but had my list of questions. If they weren't answered by the end of the visit, I asked them. Coaches seemed fine with it.

I've never heard of a baseball OV before a kid was committed.  My son's OV was the fall of his Senior year of HS.....showed up on Friday afternoon, met with coaches, dinner with other recruits/parents.  Son went to the dorm with his host player....parents went to a sports bar and watched football.  Next morning, tailgate party at the baseball field with coaches, recruits, parents and a few of the current players before heading to a football game.  Everyone just kind of scattered after halftime as the weather turned ugly.

I don't understand the OP's thinking.

You say you have a solid offer in hand.  At the D-1 level, it has to be at least 25%.  That means you have literally tens of thousands of dollars of potential contributions to your son's educational expenses on the line here.

And you're putting that at risk over $1,000?  Penny wise and pound foolish, my friend.  Even if money is tight, it'll get a whole lot tighter in about 10 months when the college bill comes, if you don't get that scholarship in there whittling down the bottom line.

Yes, as a 2018 your son is eligible for an "official visit," i.e., with expenses paid.  But that doesn't mean the program has tons of free cash lying around.  Be grateful for the offer, and GO.

And if he accepts, he'll probably get an "official visit" over a later football weekend, or perhaps to a basketball game over the winter.

As to anyone taking 20-30 unofficial visits, that would be someone who enjoys attention, and who hasn't put in the time to think seriously about what he wants out of his collegiate experience.  Anyone who does their homework should be able to come up with a short list that makes the process far more manageable and hugely less expensive.

Midlo Dad posted:

As to anyone taking 20-30 unofficial visits, that would be someone who enjoys attention, and who hasn't put in the time to think seriously about what he wants out of his collegiate experience.  Anyone who does their homework should be able to come up with a short list that makes the process far more manageable and hugely less expensive.

20 - 30 visits would be pretty boring, and in most cases, a waste of time.

StrainedOblique posted:

An Official visit and an unofficial visit is going to different . Nowadays with NCAA Baseball, official visits are done after NLI's are signed and are attended by the committed 2018 class. Usually done over a weekend during homecoming. So, no classes . Player stays with baseball players in dorm. Attends practice or scrimmage as observer . But can sit dugout . Hang out. The official visit schedule is strictly outlined in NCAA rule book. Drop off and pick up times . Etc. And the coaches are militant in following stated guidelines . Baseball Dept will pick up cost of 1 hotel room from parents . But do not reimburse ground / air travel costs .

Unofficial visits vary from school to school but the ones my son did where done during the week. No sleepover . Early morning call to meet HC or RC on campus, hand off to current player to attend class. Lunch w/ HC and staff then attend / observe afternoon practice.

Your role here as a parent is to hand off your son and head over to the financial aid building and began asking questions. Began the due diligence process to establish the net gap / costs you and your family will incur

My son had OV's prior to an NLI signing.  (West Virginia, Kansas, Richmond, Nevada, Purdue, and several other offers to do so.)  I have heard of players taking OV's after signing, but in my son's case, he did OV's prior to signing.  

Midlo Dad posted:

I don't understand the OP's thinking.

You say you have a solid offer in hand.  At the D-1 level, it has to be at least 25%.  That means you have literally tens of thousands of dollars of potential contributions to your son's educational expenses on the line here.

And you're putting that at risk over $1,000?  Penny wise and pound foolish, my friend.  Even if money is tight, it'll get a whole lot tighter in about 10 months when the college bill comes, if you don't get that scholarship in there whittling down the bottom line.

Yes, as a 2018 your son is eligible for an "official visit," i.e., with expenses paid.  But that doesn't mean the program has tons of free cash lying around.  Be grateful for the offer, and GO.

And if he accepts, he'll probably get an "official visit" over a later football weekend, or perhaps to a basketball game over the winter.

We went. It was one of many offers he had, and the most expensive for us to figure out it wasn't the right fit, although a great school with many positives. We are and were grateful for the opportunity, but wanted to know truly how UV versus OV worked. And we found out.

Midlo Dad posted:

As to anyone taking 20-30 unofficial visits, that would be someone who enjoys attention, and who hasn't put in the time to think seriously about what he wants out of his collegiate experience.  Anyone who does their homework should be able to come up with a short list that makes the process far more manageable and hugely less expensive.

We didn't do 20 to 30 unofficial, but we visited in one way or another probably 15 or so. I asked son just before his last one if he regretted the list of schools and he said no — he had a list of what he thought he wanted and what he thought mattered, but as time, as visits, built up, he learned that having good coaching mattered more than nice dorms, having football mattered more than he realized and being in the right program outweighed having to take another year of foreign language. What made sense to both of us when we "researched" a program suddenly didn't when he confronted the reality of it. And that's okay. I wouldn't change much of anything about son's search.

Maybe it's semantics, or I'm thinking of it the wrong way, but I hadn't thought of a visit on our own initiative as an "Unofficial Visit" or having a baseball game on the campus as an Unofficial Visit. I thought of an Unofficial Visit as a visit where the baseball coaches specifically invited the kid, the head coach met with him in his office, gave him a tour of the facilities, etc., etc.  A recruiting trip, in other words, albeit at the kid's expense.

I mean, my kid has visited UCLA but Coach Savage didn't invite him! LOL

I could see having visited 20 or even 30 schools -- sometimes kids will tour a number of schools in a geographic area -- but that many UVs seems like a lot.