Transfer from JUCO to D1.. who's done it?

Sounds like you understand where you are at. It is pretty much up to what your son does his freshman year and the juco coach does for the second 2 years. Our son was at a juco, did well and was recruited by several D1 colleges in fall of sophomore year (then you have some input, though not a lot because they usually just bring in player for visits, not parents). Overall, the JUCO route has done well for our son and have not regretted this route.

Momamdcpa:

My son went to a D1 JUCO and then to a 4-year D1. I agree that the baseball stuff should be handled by your son and his coach.

However, I found that my role was to oversee the academic side of the equation. I don't know how your son's JUCO works, but make sure that every course he takes is one that will transfer easily to a 4-year. Don't let them put your son in "one-off" courses. For instance: to satisfy one of the JUCO's gen ed requirements, he could have taken "Human Sexuality," and was told that "all the athletes take it - it's fine." We encouraged him to take instead Sociology 101, which is on the gen ed list at almost any school in the country. He was very glad he did, because the Human Sexuality course wouldn't have transferred as a gen ed course to the 4-year.

During his 2 years at the JUCO, I spent a lot of time on the internet researching schools he might be interested in going to, gathering information about their gen ed requirements, requirements in my son's prospective major, etc. Also, I would look at baseball rosters and note where the players came from, what positions they were heavy or light in at my son's year, and whether or not the coach seems to be taking in JUCO players in order to surmise if the school might be a good fit or not. It helped down the line when he talked to his JUCO coach about next steps, etc.

But for sure, your job is now totally behind the scenes, if at all. It's tough to get used to at first, but it's necessary for everyone at this stage of the game.

Good luck with the season. Exciting times!!

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"all the athletes take it - it's fine."

That can be translated as "unlikely to transfer".

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However, I found that my role was to oversee the academic side of the equation. I don't know how your son's JUCO works, but make sure that every course he takes is one that will transfer easily to a 4-year. Don't let them put your son in "one-off" courses. For instance: to satisfy one of the JUCO's gen ed requirements, he could have taken "Human Sexuality," and was told that "all the athletes take it - it's fine." We encouraged him to take instead Sociology 101, which is on the gen ed list at almost any school in the country. He was very glad he did, because the Human Sexuality course wouldn't have transferred as a gen ed course to the 4-year.

During his 2 years at the JUCO, I spent a lot of time on the internet researching schools he might be interested in going to, gathering information about their gen ed requirements, requirements in my son's prospective major, etc. Also, I would look at baseball rosters and note where the players came from, what positions they were heavy or light in at my son's year, and whether or not the coach seems to be taking in JUCO players in order to surmise if the school might be a good fit or not. It helped down the line when he talked to his JUCO coach about next steps, etc.

Great stuff...

...Don't forget that your son is looking for the best baseball...

AND

...academic, social, geographic, financial, emotional fit. Players and coaches in some cases see only a piece of the pie. And while I believe in players taking charge of their own process whenever they can, I am also clear that parents are often the best at seeing ALL the factors involved...

The key as mentioned above is when and how to be involved.

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Still hoping that my son goes to a D1 school eventually... and gets a 4 year degree eventually!

Just to give you a little hope: Mine did indeed go to a 4-year and just graduated this spring. And, I might mention, he graduated in 4 total years (2 at JUCO, 2 at 4-year) AND he played baseball all 4 years. It can be done!

It sounds like his coach is genuinely concerned about the next steps for his players. That's great! It means you can probably relax a little bit and let the whole thing play out. Good luck to both your son and to you. Keep us posted!

momandcpa,
I was working on this very thing today. From what I can tell, most schools have something like the information from Baylor's website (see link below) that shows which courses are transferrable. In speaking with the NCAA, it seems that in order to transfer at the end of your freshman year, you have to have:

24 hours completed that will transfer to the university your son wants to attend (thus the chart)

Must have a GPA of 2.0 or greater (if mine doesn't have a 3.0 or better, his car is coming home)

HOWEVER, each school has different requirements. For example, LSU requires 30 hours. I have been told to contact the academic advisors at each school that my son is interested in attending and send them his schedule for confirmation.

If you want to discuss this further, send me a PM and we can arrange to discuss this.

Your Uncle,
Ethan

http://www.baylor.edu/admissions/index.php?id=18058

quote:

"all the athletes take it - it's fine."

ha ha I think that's the same line that got bonds into trouble............but on a different note good luck with your whole situation