<p>The GFG: “For example, athletes are expected to host recruits, which is a time-consuming activity. Also, even though the host is given money to use to take their recruit to dinner or wherever, the other teammates who join them (as they are expected to do when they can, and when it makes sense) have to use their own money for that trip to the ice cream or pizza shop.”</p>
<p>I feel for you & your daughter, GFG and agree that the above is unfair. I can tell you at my kid’s D1 the coach emails the team prior to OVs and asks who can/not host. And don’t NCAA rules restrict what can be spent on a recruit during an OV? Never heard of team members having to pony up. When my kid went through official visits, all the schools were very clear on $ restrictions. One school issued paper tickets coded to the sport for kid’s meals on campus (in dining halls eaten with team members, good way to assess school’s cafs) during the visit. Another had the reknowned coach having all the recruits on that visit to the coach’s home for a home-cooked meal with the team. Nice touch and confirmed the strength of the team’s good relationship with their coaches.</p>
<p>I also agree it must be rough for your daughter to hold down her work-study job tied in with her aid. If I may point out something for recruited athletes to consider, it’s that in Division I if the student is accepting an ATHLETIC scholarship only (as opposed to need-based) the NCAA prohibits work-study as part of the package. Just something to consider. My kid accepted a partial athletic scholarship knowing this and chose to work more hours over breaks. However, if an athlete gets a job not tied in with aid or off campus, I don’t see how the NCAA can protest.</p>
<p>IMHO the current system which was put in place to try to prevent the abuses back in the day which had athletes ditching entire semesters of class and driving sports cars of suspicious origin makes sense. While there may be some wiggle room, our experience has been that top tier schools enforce the academic index and certain admission standards.</p>