Dear Parents of Evanston Baseball Players-

 

The decision of which college your son will attend is a big one and the process may seem overwhelming at times.  Certainly making visits to school that your son is interested in is an important and essential piece of the process.  Visiting the campus is important because of the following reasons:

·         Gives your son the opportunity to get a feel for what it will be like to live at the school where he may be spending four or more years of his life

·         Gives your son the opportunity to understand/experience what academics will be like at the school (class size, professors, etc.)

·         If your son is interested in playing baseball for the school, campus visits give your son the opportunity to meet baseball coaches and players in baseball program face-to-face

Given that the purpose of college visits is to gather more information in order to make a decision where your son will be happy and will succeed academically, it is important to keep in mind that academics are going to be a large part of the college experience.  The daily routine, Monday thru Thursday, in college are going to be the bulk of the experience and that the weekend party life may play a role, but shouldn’t be the driving factor in your son’s decision about which school to attend.  With this in mind, we have the following recommendations concerning college visits:

·         Try to schedule college visits during the week when the normal daily life of the college is occurring.  If possible, accompany your son to his visit.  Colleges have programs where high school students can stay overnight with a current student during the week.  Take advantage of these programs.  See if your son can attend a class and meet with professors and academic advisors that can give him and idea about what academics will be like at the school.

 

·         If your son is going to visit a school on the weekend, make sure that you communicate with him about expectations about his behavior especially if you are not accompanying him on the visit.  It is tempting to make weekend visits to colleges and stay with older friends and teammates who attended ETHS, but this can not only give your son an unrealistic look at what college is really like, but also could be detrimental their high school experience.  The ETHS student athletic code is holds for our student athletes always.  Remember that your son is a high school student who is entering a college environment with older students who may not realize the consequences of exposing and encouraging behavior that is not for high school students.  Overall, though, communication and awareness are the keys.  Make sure any visit is to gather information about the school and not just to visit old friends and teammates

 

·         Do not schedule visits during the baseball season if at all possible outside of the dates designated for college visits.  Once the season begins, your son has made a commitment to the program and they are relying on him for that commitment.

 

We understand that college is a big decision for your son and your family.  We also realize that the process of finding the right fit can be challenging and a stressful period for your son and family.  Please feel free to use us as a resource throughout this process.

 

Sincerely,

Evanston Varsity Baseball Coaches