Specific college's of interest - When will my 2016 have an idea

Before even thinking about baseball I would figure out what he wants out of college.  I know its a little early but he should have some general direction of what he wants to do with his life which will help drive what degree he pursues.  After that match up the school with the degree. Finally determine what type of school he wants to go to.  Large state school, small prep school, etc.  Then figure out which of those schools have baseball programs he may be a fit for.

Also how are his grades? Does he do well in school? Depending on his Academics that may also help narrow his focus. 

Has he toured many campuses yet? My son was pretty black and white about most of the college tours we took ("yes" or "no"). He wasn't always able to articulate the "why", but it didn't take long to see some patterns developing. We even learned some things while touring schools that we knew for certain he would not attend.

 

I also recommend overnights. After one such trip, 2015 decided that he was ready to get his college career started (this was in the spring of his junior year of high school).

This is exactly why my College Bus Tours have become my passion project.

 

How do you make such important life decision with so little information?

 

Lucky for most, there are not any "bad" colleges.  However I think there are plenty of kids that may make different choices if they are given an opportunity to do some thorough research.

 

Way too many kids/families thinking they've seen a college simply because they've played at a college field.  Last I checked, they don't keep the library in the dugout.

 

I don't want to hijack this thread any more than I already have.  But, Joes87 brings up some good points.

 

If you are interested in learning more about my College Bus Tours visit my website.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Sometimes a respected coach can be a valuable ally at times like this. If one's available for this purpose, go to him, discuss the issue with him, and have the coach reach out to your son to talk about his college playing prospects. That conversation would be an easy one to use to impress your son with the value of investing his effort in his college future,

 

It's amazing how much more effectively a coach (or other respected figure) can be than a parent when talking with a 16-year-old. Meanwhile, I promise that you'll become "smarter"   and much more persuasive when he moves beyond his teens.

 

Good luck!

 

 

I like that approach Prepster. Like many teenagers, he has a short attention span with conversations with mom and dad.

 

Is a very good student 3.65 of 4.0

 

He has toured 3 colleges so far. Of course he loved FGCU. (Toured while at the WWBA championships) Think it gave him a false sense of what to expect, and didn't particularly like the Illinois schools.

 

Rich - I knew you would comment. you're on to something.

Not much to add other than Yes they do. When friends began talking about colleges so did my son. Otherwise it would be the furthest thing from his mind. We're still trying to get the slightest notion of what he might want to study.

If he is actually personally determined to play in college, then he should definitely have his top 3-5 schools in mind by the end of May, so that he can try to get them to come to his summer games to see him play.  Actually I prefer that players get this done by January, but while that's the optimum, there is some lattitude here.

 

I do think that all you can do as a parent is make the point that it's not enough to SAY he wants to play in college.  Deeds, not words, reveal the reality.  So either he does what the process requires of him, or a year from now, he doesn't get to bitch and moan if it doesn't go his way.  If he has the desire, he'll do what's required, all on his own.  If he doesn't do the work, then that means he didn't really want it after all, no matter what words he may speak.

 

I would add that a big problem we have is with players who keep playing travel ball etc., not really appreciating what the collegiate baseball experience is all about, for no reason other than it seemed to be what everyone else was doing or what other people expected of them.  A very high percentage of these guys get to college and end up getting cut or quitting.

 

So my principal advice to you is to let your son find out right now whether he wants it or not.  Stop nagging him.  For good or for ill, it's his future and it's up to him to choose his path.  Tell him, once but only once, that he knows what's required if he truly wants to play in college, so either he does what's required or he should expect not to get to play.  Then sit back, say nothing more, and see what his real preferences are, once they reveal themselves.

Good advice as always from Midlo.

 

But, my fundamental question goes back to How does an average ball player come to generate his Top 3-5 target schools?

 

ESPN?

Older cousin?

Teammate?

School stereotype?

25 year old recruiting coordinator likes their swing?

 

All seem like pretty reactive ways of narrowing down what will end up being an important and expensive decision.

 

I'll urge any parent that will listen, remove baseball as the top priority and approach the process like you would any other $100,000 to $200,000 investment.  If you let a 25 year old make those decisions for your with no hesitation or research on your end then please call me because I would to be your Financial Planner.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com  <---Bus Tours ON SALE until Jan 1.

I agree with Midlo as college baseball is HARD, really HARD, if he is not committed to it, understands the commitment required,  then he will never make it. 

 

However this has to become part of your family DNA right now, dinner conversations, really before you get to baseball, what are you interested in doing with your life, where do you want to live, what interests you, what career, obviously a 16YO is not going to really know, but having these conversations will help him form some opinions. This then leads into schools that fit what he is interested in doing, which leads to size, locations, and way too many questions for here.  This all started  the process of making a list of schools for my son that fit his profile, and then we ended up doing a number of "vacations" where we included school visits with travel. These were great times to have "life talks" and really think through what was important for him, without baseball, and of course baseball gets all blended into it. We purchased the Princeton books, the US News, dug into College board, and spent hundreds of hours discussing it, and his list. Once you add in the research required to really understand a baseball program, it is a huge task that has to become part of the everyday/week/month activity for a year and a half. If he, and you are not doing this then I have to say the results are not going to be very good and your son will be one of the 50% that either transfer, or much greater % that drop it.  

 

I do like Rich's program (although never participated, but I know fenwaysouth son did) So if those schools fit then I would certainly look into one of his trips.

 

Now you can help him get started and have to help him, but if he is not active, talking about it and helping drive the conversation, forget it, he will never make it. 

No, what I'm saying is, lots of HS guys continue on in travel ball for their 15u, 16u and 17u years, supposedly pursuing college baseball opportunities, without really understanding what it is they are saying they are after.  Then they get to college and find out, hey, this is HARD!  They look at the college experience that non-players have -- fraternities, missing class when you feel like sleeping in, afternoon naps, etc. -- and start to think, why am I doing all this?  It can especially hit hard for those on the 35-man roster who find that they spend a lot of their time helping shag flies and keeping charts, without seeing a lot of game action.

 

I do think that parents should engage their kids in discussions that prod them to think about their futures.  But in baseball, even for those who play in college, only a small percentage move on to any kind of post-college playing.  So we're not talking about whether they want to be a doctor, a lawyer or an astronaut.  We're only talking about what they want their four-year experience to look like.  And those four years go by fast. 

 

I would urge parents to allow their sons possibly to come to the realization that they actually may not be into everything that's entailed with college baseball.  If they aren't, then losing a year or two of their college time doing things they turn out not to enjoy is unfortunate.

 

And whether or not parents want to admit it, allowing your son to fail is not only OK, it's REQUIRED, if you want him ultimately to succeed as an adult.  So if he isn't willing to do what it takes to be a college recruit, let him fail at that.  Let it be a lesson to him that his parents won't save him from all his mistakes, procrastination or even laziness.  The sooner he learns that, the better.  And the more painful the loss, the more likely it is that the lesson gets driven home.

 

That is a more healthy approach than thinking you can prevent all life disappointments if you just spend a lot of dinner table time nagging them to death.  In the end, the more you nag, the more they will tune you out anyway.  Or even resist just to assert their own independence.  

 

One way or the other, the parents are going to end up much less of a factor in the final outcome than they imagine.  The sooner they embrace that reality, the more smoothly things will go. 

Tremendous post, Midlo Dad!

 

I have seen a number of kids that were capable of playing college baseball at some level not play in college because they wanted to have a "regular" college experience.  Or they wanted to go to a big school and knew they wouldn't be able to play baseball there.  

 

I can only imagine that there are plenty of kids that go somewhere to play baseball and decide later that they are not happy with the experience and move on.  

 

In my son's 3 years of college baseball, I have seen many kids transfer or quit because they were not happy.  I have seen many kids go to JUCO with the hopes of attending a 4 year school in the future, only to have that not work out.  I have seen one case in which a kid went to Clemson just as a student, then decided he missed baseball and transferred to a JUCO to play again.  He is in his 2nd year there.

 

In terms of the OP, my son really didn't know where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do with his life post baseball.  He still doesn't really know, honestly.  For him, he went to a good D2 school that gave him pretty good money to play baseball and he is happy there.  He has said that if it weren't for baseball, he probably would not have picked this school, mostly since he didn't know anyone that went there.  But, he has developed himself a baseball family there.  The guys all get along very well and he is happy.

 

Not all kids know what they want to do "when they grow up".  Heck, some adults don't know.  I think those that do are blessed.  But, if your son visits some campuses, feels comfortable there, and is loved by the coaches, then maybe that could be his home.  Sometimes it just takes some trial and error - in terms of visiting campuses and talking to coaches.  He may not know where he wants to go off the top of his head.  But it may be a case of "I'll know it when I see it".

Midlo that is one of the most realistic posts I have seen on this site.

i plan to copy and paste it for him.

I may even frame it

Wow!

 

Sounds like he likes FGCU if I read correctly.

 

Just for the record, I have run across lots of baseball players that heavily consider academics and many other things in determining the right school.  However, I can't think of a single player that made a list of colleges or chose a college with no regard for the baseball there.

 

So how does one pick a school based on not playing baseball there?  Wouldn't baseball be a very important ingredient In making a choice.  In fact, many end up at a college they wouldn't be at if it weren't for the baseball there and they end up being very happy.

 

I prefer choosing the school that wants you the most provided everything meets your needs. Of course, if a player would be happy without baseball, then baseball isn't that important and shouldn't be involved in the decision.

I must say that the opinions in all of these posts are very spot on. If someone were asking me my opinion for their son, I would certainly start with make good grades, look into schools from the non-baseball side, etc. But, truthfully, we very much narrowed our list based on baseball. As PG stated, baseball was/is #1 important with my son. We started the process with a wide net when he was a sophomore, mainly because we didn't know where he could play. As he developed and matured, his baseball skills started to drive the process more. Once he found that his baseball skills started to match his "dream" and reach schools, that is where he focused. That is what drove and motivated him. He wanted to play for one specific school and he did everything in his power to make that dream become a reality. As a dad, one of my biggest concerns was, who was the pitching coach and what was his track record for success, but more important injury rates. I know all programs have injuries, but you can find a pattern in some cases. Luckily for us, everything matched and he now has a chance to play exactly where he dreamed of. I tell him constantly that the hard work has just begun. It never ends as long as you strive to move to the "next" level. You can never be content. Yes I do think kids have to decide if they would be comfortable at a big state school vs a small private college or warm climate vs cold climate. Some will have to decide because of their major. In our case, my son knows he wants to be in baseball. Hopefully that is at the ultimate level in MLB. If not, there is all kinds of opportunities in training, scouting, instructing, etc. Maybe he will realize, down the road, he should not have put all his eggs in one basket, but I don't know any other way to reach your dreams. If you aren't completely sold on your dream, how can you ever expect to reach it?  So I, as his dad, encourage him to chase his MLB dream as far as it takes him. When that dream ends, I will encourage him to chase the next dream, whatever that is.

"I prefer choosing the school that wants you the most provided everything meets your needs."

 

But HOW are kids determining what their "needs" are?

 

Baseball is a unique situation compared to football & basketball.  Seems to me the buyer (aka the family) is in the power position because they will be asked to PAY in most circumstance 75%+.  

 

I think your logic is great for a football player getting 100% scholarship.  But being left with a bill of 75%+ would make want to put a little more thought into the process than just "going to the school that wants me the most".

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Everyday Dad

Im in IL as well.  To say the least my oldest son was underwhelmed with the schools in IL.  He always planned to give up his baseball career when he went to college.  We were looking at them from a purely academic / best fit for him perspective without factoring in baseball.  I would highly suggest getting him to some colleges in other states.  Depending where you are in IL; Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, MSU and UofM would be good places to take him for a campus tour.  These may not be the best fit for him athletically/academically/socially but they all offer traditional college campuses that have a great college feel.  I would suggest trying to take him there on a Saturday when there is a football game going on (or possibly during basketball season).  There is a buzz on these campuses,on game day, that is infectious.  Hopefully that will jump start his feelings towards colleges. 

 

Depending on his grades you may find that going out of state to some of these schools will be similar pricing to going to an instate college her in IL.  Many of them offer reduced out of state tuition rates for grades above a 3.5 or kids with a high ACT score.  If you are looking at UofI some of these may even be cheaper.

While none of this has anything to do with baseball I think your first challenge maybe getting him excited about going away to college. 

I know for myself way way back in the day the decision was 95% about football. However like Rich mentioned that was for 100% scholarship. If I didn't like it or it didn't work out it didn't cost me anything. As for my son. I think it will come down to his skill level. If he's mid 80's the decision will be much more about the education. If he's mid 90's baseball would carry a lot more weight. I think the probability of baseball after school would determine how much baseball is made in the decision. But that's my opinion and the decision will be my sons so we will see.

As for the OP. Find a way to push him and don't stop. My sister had picked out her college by age 12. I still didn't know my senior year. Luckily my parents kept pushing and I'm very glad they did. I work in manufacturing management and every factory I've been in is full of people who were unmotivated 16 year olds that turned into unmotivated 20 year olds that really regret it.

And there is the crux of the OP's problem, and many!

 

Great advice from Scotty 83:

"Find a way to push him and don't stop. My sister had picked out her college by age 12. I still didn't know my senior year. Luckily my parents kept pushing and I'm very glad they did. I work in manufacturing management and every factory I've been in is full of people who were unmotivated 16 year olds that turned into unmotivated 20 year olds that really regret it."

 

Great advice from Midlo Dad:

"whether or not parents want to admit it, allowing your son to fail is not only OK, it's REQUIRED, if you want him ultimately to succeed as an adult.  So if he isn't willing to do what it takes to be a college recruit, let him fail at that.  Let it be a lesson to him that his parents won't save him from all his mistakes, procrastination or even laziness.  The sooner he learns that, the better.  And the more painful the loss, the more likely it is that the lesson gets driven home."

 

Both passionate responses that ring true, and contradict each other in every way!

BOF made a great point, and Baseball  is most definitely part of our family DNA.  For my oldest, baseball was THE main factor in his decision, as that his intended major (for now) was not school dependent.  He has the fire, drive and desire to ride his talent as far as it will take him, and let his talent pay for schooling. Now, for his younger brother(2017), I brought the topic of schools up to him with this thread in mind.  When I posed the question of "what schools are you interested in?" I got the "Whaaaaaat" response and the 1000 yard stare.  Seem like the only thing on his mind when it comes to his future is what's for dinner tonight.  It's a completely different mindset for righthook as compared to lefthook.  We have our work cut out for sure.  Fortunately, LH is able to provide a lot of great input when it comes to the demands of baseball and college life, even though it's only JUCO, and how important grades are.

I can say for my son, He had a profile of the type of school he wanted. Not so much at 16, but it started developing around that time. At 16 he knew he wanted to play baseball in college and that was his number 1 priority. If the school fit his profile but was not interested in him for baseball then he marked it off his list. As he got older and he visited some colleges that were showing interest he decided further that he wanted a Liberal Arts college that was strong in the sciences. His passions outside of baseball were Math and Chemistry. So that narrowed the list further but baseball was still the number one priority. After a while it was clear that he was probably going to go D3, because those were the schools that were showing the most interest.

So it was more important than ever that the school he went to had  connections to Good Summer teams and leagues, and they placed kids in those leagues on a regular bases, AND those young men received playing time on those teams. 

So baseball was a requirement but he did have others. He would not have been happy at any school if baseball was not part of it. 

Midlo is right on when he discusses how HARD sports are in college.  I've posted similar things before but looking at this from someone who played college sports many kids don't know what they are getting into.  

 

I ran track in college.  While not baseball there is still a very similar commitment.  Our "official" season ran from October through the first weekend of June normally.  During the season our practice schedule was 3:00pm to 5:30pm.  This meant that you were on the track ready to go at 3:00pm, not just walking up.  If you needed to go to the trainer (which many kids do, tape jobs, extra stretching, etc) that was on your own time.  As the training room was filled prior to 3:00pm you needed to get there at 2:00pm or so to get out and get through the locker room in time to make it to practice at 3:00pm.  In addition weight lifting was on your own, for many that meant after practice.  Figure an hour or so in the weight room.  So practice really runs from 2:00pm to 6:30pm.  This did not include speciality training. I was a high jumper.  Our coach had an additional job as well so we practice from 6:00am to 7:30am 3 days a week.  Based on this practice was a 25 to 30 hour a week commitment  

 

This did not include meets or time to get to the meets.  Many schools do not have the budget to be flying teams around so you bus to most of the meets.  For local meets, we usually left the school around 7:00am and would return around 11pm.  So figure about 16 hours a week for meets.  

 

This put the total time commitment for athletics at about 40 hours.  At this point you have not even attended class.  Normally you carry about 12 (ncaa minimum) hours during your season and about 18 outside of your competitive season.  If you figure you spend 2 hours outside of class for every hour you spend in class your looking at 36 hours of academics in season and 54 hours out of season.  Which puts your total academic and athletic commitment at 75 or so hours in season.

 

Your schedule leaves little time for much outside of class.  Normally we had a 10pm curfew the two days before meets.  Which meant in bed by 10pm on Thursday and Friday, two of the biggest party nights of the college week.  In addition we did not return until late on meet days as well.  There is a lot of sacrificing of the social life to play college athletics.  

 

There are plenty of team rules that need to be followed as well, mostly no drinking, drugs, smoking, etc.  Kinda eliminates a lot of the college "fun".  I will say that most of the kids ignored no drinking and some ignored the no drugs rules.  For the most part you got away with it, and the coaches looked the other way, but if it lead to something else (campus disturbance, arrest, sealing crab legs, etc) then you would need to deal with the consequences of your actions. 

 

None of this is even dealing with the athletic performance issues.  You are there and they are paying for some of your education so you are expected to perform.  To you its "cool" to be a college athlete.  To the coaches its their job and a business.  If you don't perform you are out.  They will find someone to replace you.  BTW, no missing practices.  If your sick you better be in the doctors office.  If your injured you better be in the training room rehabbing, lifting weights, or in the pool doing some type of aerobic work.  

 

All the above said, I would not have changed my college experience for anything.  Sure I missed out on a lot of stuff when I was there but some of my teammates have become life long friends.  Even those I do not talk to regularly I still have a very close bond with.  We may go years without seeing each other but when we do catch up its like we never missed out.

Joes87, great points.   Most of the bordering IL states offer a tuition reciprocity for many schools, making it easier to get in-state tuition.  Since your son has worked hard academically, he will most likely have alot of options (a blessing and a curse for harder choices!).  

 

One thing that I do with my students when he/she really has no clue for choosing schools is to take academics and extra-curriculars out of the equation. Start basic.  I always ask a kid to think about these 2 questions first:

 

1. How far away do I see myself going from home?

2. How big or small of a school do I think I would be comfortable at?

 

Once you can answer those two questions convincingly, you will be surprised how much it can possibly narrow down the college search.  

 

From there, you will want to obviously take your financial situation in to consideration, and then start plugging away at possible majors, career paths, and visit campuses.  

 

Regarding visits- I would also, if possible, try to visit some campuses on a regular random school day.  Really get a feeling for what the campus is like MOST of the time.  If you visit on open house days or big football games most likely the school is going to roll out the red carpet to make it look awesome.  And I'm not saying don't go on these days because they can be important too.  But sometimes you may want to go on a random weekday with nothing going on to see what life is like when there isn't crazy events happening. 

I'm glad I don't have that problem.  According to my kids facebook page he is already at Stanford. 

 

But I agree with James G.  First two questions are how far and what size?  Then you can go from there.

You mean like when they are studying and taking tests and stuff?  

Once again, I understand the logic behind choosing a school based on everything other than baseball.  However, baseball is extremely important for most kids that play.

 

The first question would be... Would you want to go to a college and not play baseball? Would you be happy at that school?  If the answer is no, why would a parent want anything different? If the answer is yes, the decision making becomes much easier.

 

It's just a matter of how important baseball is to the young man.  Nothing wrong either way IMO.  If a mistake is made, either way, make the adjustment.

What's being considered when evaluating school size? I didn't attend college but I'm encouraging my son to.

PGStaff, Im not saying don't factor in baseball but figure out what you want to do and what you want from a college and let that guide you to what schools you would choose.  After figuring that out factor in baseball.  For example a family member of ours has a kid that wants to go into geological engineering he chose to attend a school that does not have an geological engineering program.  He is halfway through his second year.  He is either going to have to transfer out after this year or pursue a degree in a different field then he wants.  He knew going in that he wanted to go into geological engineering but let factors other then his long term goals factor into his college choice.

Lots of factors here.  Will they thrive in an environment where there are 300 kids in a class or do they need smaller classes.  Is the class taught by a professor or a TA.  Can they deal with public transportation across a large campus or do they need to be walking distance to class.  

 

While large colleges (15,000+) offer lots of diversity in programs and activities many students do not fare well in such a large environment.

joes87,

 

I understand that and agree with that approach.  Just saying that most baseball players that actually want to play at the next level are going to consider baseball in their decision.  Not many are going to ignore baseball in that decision, it will be important to them.

Some Colleges are in what are called College towns...these are towns that are only truly alive when the college is in session.  They usually have 2-3 pizza places that have a $5 pizza, 3-4 bars (way more than an average town would need), 2-3 used book stores, 2-3 tattoo parlors, and other shops that are geared towards college students and not a normal town.  Those colleges usually have about 3-8 thousand students, the dorms are on one side of campus clustered together near the real cafeteria, and the furthest class is 15 minutes walking distance, with some sort of college hub in the middle of the class buildings, such as a student union building that has food and maybe a book store. 

 

There are what some people call urban schools which may utilize class buildings miles from each other and set in the middle of a metropolis, such as Georgia Tech is in the heart of Atlanta.  The dorms are far away from all classes and whether school is in session or not the neighborhood thrives.

 

My best advice would be to ask your son what he pictures college life to be.  Is he hanging out in the dorms with his buddies and then walking his girlfriend to class then grabbing a bite at the cafeteria before hitting the gym?  Does he see himself still living at home?  Does he see himself living off campus immediately (My school had a provision that I had to live in the dorms for at least 1 year)?  Does he have a roommate in this vision? When he thinks of "College" ask him to paint the picture for you that he sees in his head, that should help narrow down things a LOT!

We discussed baseball as much as we discussed academics, and as you would expect the target list of schools is big when you start and then gets whittled down as you go though the process figuring in both baseball, academics, wants/needs and financial issues. 

 

There is no question that my son would not be at his school without baseball, and frankly because of baseball and going there it has opened up life changing opportunities for him.  

Lot of eye opening things to consider. Appreciate the responses.

 

 

The above continues to stick out to me as a starting point.and has been mentioned by a few.

Fact is we are talking baseball and it has to be part of this thought process.

He certainly can play at this level and would be negligent on our part, to not have it as one of our priorities.

BUT

As midlo points out, we need to find out if he REALLY wants to continue playing baseball at the next level for the love of the game and a dream, and NOT because of expectations.

Honestly, not sure I,(Dad) have ever posed this question with a good observation of his answer.

Probably got the generic "sure I want to play".

Guess I need to ask it again.

 

One we get this answer, my thoughts to approach this going forward, will be specific questions (mentioned on posts above) instead of the general vanilla "Have any ideas where you want to go?" 

 

That all being said, I neglected to mention one reason for my OP is we, as many get numerous college camp invites.

However without an idea of his preference, we have only gone to one.

I think it is important to go to more this year and thus asked the question.

Obviously we want to go to the schools he may be interested in.

Think they are a great way to see the coaches and players up close.

 

By invites do you mean personal invites or something along the line of "Register Now for XXX colleges winter camp/showcase" or "xxxx university is announcing this years showcase and space is limited"  If its the later two they may just be money grab attempts by the colleges.  

 

My 2017 receives 5 to 10 of these a week from various schools.  As he is a 2017 this, and requests for questionnaires, are the only way the colleges can attempt contact with kids.  I'm finding its difficult to tell the money grabs apart from the ones with real interest.  Thanks to the help of folks on this board it appears that the ones with phone numbers (especially cell numbers) are legitimate attempts at contact and the others are money grabs.  My son is starting to follow up on the ones with phone numbers to attempt to gauge the schools real interest.  

Many seem to be personal, with numbers and direct email addresses.

We do not follow up too much at this point, if there is no interest on his part at this time.

Don't care to be disingenuous in our interest.

I think most, if not all, are revenue generating for the program.You can call them what you want, and I'm sure some are just that.

Although this subject would be for another thread.

I think there are three general sizes.  The large mega schools -- think Big 10 -- with 30,000+ kids.  These have the big time major ESPN "college" sports -- football, basket ball, etc.  This creates "events" -- Ohio State vs. Michigan.  There are a lot of educational and entertainment options.  But you're the small fish in big pond -- it's a cattle call.  If baseball is an option, then it shrinks that pond. 

 

Then there are the medium sized schools - 10,000-15,000 or so kids.  Think ISU, SIU, Northern Ill, etc.  Kind of a blend to between mega and small.  Still a lot of opportunities.

 

Finally, the small school -- 5000 kids.  Think Bradley or Benedictine.  They would provide a more intimate learning experience.  But will have less of a choice in opportunities.  Kind of like going to a large high school. 

 

Then you have location.  Urban (think DePaul), Suburban (Northwestern), Rural (NIU), and "college town" (Carbondale?).  Obviously it depends on what you're used to.  A city kid may be lost in a rural setting and the farmer is out of sorts in the city. 

 

Here is my take from my experience.  I had to choose between a small/med. high academic div. 3 school where I could play football and a western Pac 10 party school.  I had almost no guidance from my parents.  At 18, I didn't realize the educational opportunity at the div 3 school that football would help me to get in to.  The girls where ugly.  I made my decision based on snow and girls (isn't that was 18 year olds do?).  I went to the Pac 10 party school.  I ended up transferring to a Big 10 school in the Midwest -- a much better fit for me. 

 

So the best thing you can do for your kid is provide guidance -- don't let him make a decision based on girls/weather.  Focus him on location, size, educational opportunity, and if available baseball.  If I where you, I would start with the conferences close to home and branch out from there.  Look at Big "Ten", MAC, and some of the division 3s in IL/Wisconsin.  With the internet today, you can review a few dozen of those schools and see if anything fits.  Good luck.

Everyday Dad,

 

Take Joes87 post and read it to your son. He is pretty much spot on as far as the time commitment required. My son routinely goes to bed between 2-3 AM, as he does not have an early lifting, but I think during the week he functions on 5-6 hours sleep. Quite often on a Friday night he will be up in engineering lab working on a project. 

 

That said he does go to parties from time to time. His team has a "baseball house" and they hang there sometimes. His "fraternity" is the team. He has a girlfriend who is also an athlete and they seem to find time for their path's to cross.   In addition to what Joe pointed out you also have the commitment to summer baseball, so your son will likely only be home for the holidays and for a week or two between summer ball and back to school. It is both a grind and a unbelievable experience and he would (and most who really love the game) would not change for the world. A lot drop out during the process and my son lives with an ex player who dropped in his Jr year as he was not playing and had other priorities.

 

Good luck and I think it will help your son read through some of the posts in this thread.