College Prospects of America?

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>Anyone used this franchise to market themselves to college coaches? </p>

<p>A guy in our area hung a shingle, and is contacting local athletes. I have no idea if this is legit, and parents are asking ME if I know anything. The national website indicates they’ve been in business since the late 80’s. I’d love to know if they get good results, if they are respected by colleges and universities, and if their fees are in line with any services they might provide. There is mention of creating a resume and film, and preparing finaid forms. Of course, lots of us have done all these things without paying anyone, so I’m skeptical.</p>

<p>The BBB gives them an A- so I don’t think they’re completely ripping people off, but I’d love to know more.</p>

2

<p>hey
well the website looks alright, but you are right to be skeptical about paying someone to do the things you are more than capable of doing yourself, my friend has joined with that website and said it was good, i didn’t join with this website. However I did join up to a website that is very much like this one that claims to help you(berecruited.com) as several friends recommended it, i paid the fee i thought it couldn’t hurt any. Although I didn’t use it to create a resume etc… I was able to send an email to coaches to get them to look at the profile I made on the website and over 45 coaches looked at my profile on the website and most of them contacted me and i was able to decide whether the college suited what i wanted or not.</p>

<p>I live in australia so it’s a little harder to contact over there but through the website i am now going on 3 official visits starting next week to three different schools who are all going to offer me full scholarships. So although its not helpful for stuff you can’t do yourself, the websites make it easier to get in contact with potential coaches you couldn’t have gotten in contact with before!</p>

<p>Most of these websites are respected by colleges and coaches, with most of them having a profile on the website… but it depends on your athletic ability and whether or not they believe you are a good fit for the team.</p>

<p>goodluck and not sure if this helps.</p>

3

<p>Riverrunner–
Like you–we did all of the communications/resume etc etc ourselves–
I dont see any real value added here…except maybe for internationals who have a harder time being at events etc here in the US where they would be seen…
That said, athletes for sports like squash are heavily recruited from overseas with no problem</p>

4

<p>They come to a ton of track meets in Canada (my sport and my country)… but I have yet to hear of anyone getting any success with them.</p>

5

<p>This is one of the biggest decisions and efforts my son/family had to deal with. As most of you know, there are many moving parts. I’m fairly skeptical that College Prospects of America (or any firm like them) could get better results than my son, wife and I can do on our own. The recruiting process is organizational and communication intensive. I would not want someone between us and a college or a coach regardless of what service they are providing. Sorry, I like my life simple and under our control.</p>

<p>This had been one of the best bonding & learning experiences of my son’s life. Some of our many stories, college visits, coaches meetings are so incredibly unique & memorable because we did it ourselves from the ground up. He matured alot during this process, and learned how the adult world works. It has prepared him to know how to look for a job when he is ready. I would not oursource his recruiting experience for anything.</p>

6

<p>@fenway - that sums up my thoughts exactly, right down to the “we”, meaning student/athlete, mom, and dad.</p>

<p>That’s one area where I disagree a bit with the conventional wisdom on this board, the “let the student drive the bus” philosophy.</p>

<p>2-3 years ago S was so busy between school, sports, and community service that he was never available to call coaches during their office hours and had little time for or experience with researching colleges, scheduling visits, etc., etc., etc., so W and I helped.</p>

<p>Three years ago we knew that H was H, but didn’t know a thing about the rest of the Ivies, including what schools comprised the league.</p>

<p>So I helped S with the process. I researched schools, talked with the coaches, and basically learned how to “market” S. This was before CC had this forum, so we were more on our own.</p>

<p>No regrets. As Fenway states, it was a great bonding and learning experience for all of us.</p>

<p>Now, second time around, with D, we know a lot more and we have this forum for support. With that background, D has been more able to “drive her own bus”. It’s been a different bonding and learning experience, but still a good one, and there is no way I could subcontract it out to a third party.</p>

7

I personally used them because I was very serious about being recruited for college. Let me tell you, I was really upset with the service, and frankly, they did not help me a lot. They did not fulfill their promises or their supposed business service. The regional representative met with me once, where I paid him over $2,000 and then set up two phone calls with me. That was it. After the second phone call, we never talked again. The guy had also scammed me into paying $300 for a video service that he never did. He was supposed to come to my games and film me, but he never fulfilled his promise. I tried reaching him to set up another appointment, but there was no reply. I then called the headquarters to find out why he hasn’t answered, only to know that he left the company. They will not give me a refund. So I basically paid $2,300+ for two phone calls.

8

I think pre-internet (back in the 80s!!!) there was probably value in hiring a firm like this to help with recruiting, but now they can’t do anything that a motivated parent/athlete with internet and email can do for much less.

9

I know a lot of kids here (in the west) use an agent, but it is part of the organization of the club team they play for. The coaches/trainers/CEO etc. are all former college players from the big programs in the east. They go to the national conventions, talk to their old friends and coaches who are still coaches or AD’s, their kids go to multiple camps and tournaments. Could they do it themselves? Probably, but many are happy to pay extra for the help.