6 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a College

The end of August always sneaks up on us too quickly, doesn’t it? Some of you may have already started your school year, and the rest of you will probably be going back to school sometime within the next couple of weeks. If you’re a high school senior, you’ll be sending in your college applications, and if you’re a junior, you should start visiting colleges if you haven’t already. Choosing a college can be an overwhelming process, and playing college softball can be even more complicated. For the vast majority of junior and senior softball players who will be walking onto a college team, or even younger players who may be recruited but have not yet committed to a school, here are some critical questions you should be asking.

Questions You Should Be Asking Before You Choose a College Softball Program

1. What is the time commitment?

If you’re going to college as a recruited athlete to a top division 1 school, you already know you’re going to be committing a tremendous amount of time to softball. This, however, only applies to a small percentage of college softball players. The majority of you will have a wide array of softball programs to choose from. Some will travel very locally and require a commitment similar to a serious high school team, while some, regardless of division, may require the same time commitment as the top D1 programs.

Be honest and ask yourself what you want out of your total college experience. Do you want to spend time with friends outside your team? Do you want to be able to participate in clubs, join a sorority, or take part in other activities besides softball? Consider time spent traveling in addition to time spent on games, practices, and workouts, and assess your personal needs. For example, the girls on the team may tell you they have no trouble getting their homework done, but you may find out that they all do it on long bus rides. Ask yourself: CAN you bring your homework on a bus, or will your major require you to be in a lab, art studio, etc? Can you read and write on a bus without getting motion sickness? Get in touch with coaches and players before you commit to a school and don’t be afraid to tell them about yourself and ask for honest advice.

Ask if you’ll be expected to stay on campus over holiday breaks, whether you can study abroad, and what happens if you get an internship.

2. What kind of academic support will you get as a student athlete?

You’ve been in school since you were 5 years old or younger, so by this point you should have some idea of what kind of student you are. Do you understand things easily, or do you need extra time to study? Are you the kind of person who can stay up late and get work done? Will you be totally lost if you miss a class and need to catch up on your own? Almost all college softball programs will require you to miss class for games. Ask if they will expect you to miss class for practices and workouts as well.

Find out what kind of support is available. Will the team hook you up with a tutor if you need one, and will that cost you more money? Will the team or school make arrangements for you to make up tests without penalty? Will the team provide a fairly regular schedule and stick to it, and will the school help you build your class schedule around the softball schedule?

3. Are certain majors not compatible with athletics?

Since college will be the end of the serious softball road for almost all of you, you’ll want to think twice before sacrificing an academic program that really excites you to play softball. If you already have a particular course of study in mind, find out from the school’s academic advisers what is required of students in that major. Will you need to work in a lab that closes at a certain hour? Will you have to do a lot of collaborative projects that may result in your partners being penalized if you’re absent? Will you be taken off campus at some point to work in real-life situations (especially applicable to medical majors)? Are you interested in a performing or visual art subject that, as I mentioned before, may make it impossible for you to take your work with you on road trips?

4. What injury support does the school offer?

Serious injuries are never planned, but it’s important to be prepared to handle them. Find out what kind of support the school provides for assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, and academic aid in the event of a serious injury. If you cannot get treatment or rehab on campus, find out of the school or team will provide reliable transportation to your medical facility whenever you need it. If you have scholarship money, find out if you’re guaranteed to keep it in the event of a serious injury that prevents you from playing for a long time, and what your responsibilities to the team are during that time.

5. What are the eligibility rules for students in college longer than 4 years?

There are certain majors and special compound degree programs out there that may require you take 5 or more years to earn your degree. Or, you may decide to take on the minimum class load in order to play softball, and thus take more than 4 years to graduate. Find out what eligibility rules apply to student athletes who are around longer than 4 years. If you completely miss a year due to injury, absence from school, study abroad, internship, etc, find out how it affects your eligibility.

6. If you’re a pitcher, ask the coach how pitchers are handled.

Is it important to you to be able to play other positions if you’re not pitching, and bat whenever you’re in the game? Many coaches won’t let you do that. Be sure to ask. You may also want to know how many pitchers are on the team, and whether the coach uses a rotation or relies on a single pitcher with the others providing backup.

Fastpitch Power Bonus Tips

If you decide to play softball in college, the quality of your experience on the team will greatly affect the overall quality of your college experience, no matter what school or type of program you choose. Before you commit, go online, find last year’s roster, and try to get contact information for a few players who have graduated. Get in touch with them and see if they’d be willing to give you some inside info. You can find out the answers to questions you can’t ask, like whether the coach is a jerk, whether the school is really helpful with managing your academics or if they just tell you that when you visit, etc. Especially if you’re being recruited, you may not get honest answers from the coaches and current players if they want you badly enough. Talking to a graduate who has nothing at stake anymore is a great way to get honest answers. Most college graduates will be very happy to help out someone who is considering their alma mater.

Don’t show up to the first practice and meet the coach for the first time. Get in touch with coaches before you apply to schools, and try to have them see you play if possible. If they like you and need someone at your position, they may be the difference between you getting into your top choice or being rejected. Even if it’s a school that doesn’t recruit, the coach can still put in a good word for you at the admissions office, and help get you chosen over a comparable candidate.

Research scholarship opportunities. If you haven’t been recruited with scholarship money, even if you’re walking on to a small D3 team, there may be scholarship opportunities available. Ask the coach and an admissions officer at the school, but also ask your high school guidance counselor and look around your home community for scholarship opportunities for student athletes. Many high schools offer some award money, so find out how you can get it.

Finally, remember that if you end up with a season or career-ending injury, can’t manage your time, or just decide that you’d rather do something else besides continue playing softball, you still have to be happy at your school. Even if you have a full college softball experience, you’ll still have to move on to something else when you graduate. Make your academics and general comfort level on campus the highest priority when choosing a college.

Got specific questions of your own? Leave them in the comments!