Getting It Right the First Time – Part 2

Kelly Kulina: Your Link to the Colleges

Last week, I began discussing criteria to consider when evaluating the schools on your college list. The first two areas to consider were Academics and Location. This week we will take a look at three more points of interest when narrowing down your choices:

• Size – As I mentioned last week, bigger schools are not for everyone. Larger schools generally have much larger classes and less chance for face time with the professor. If you come from a small high school, you need to consider how moving to a larger school will change your experience in the classroom.

• College Environment – One of the biggest mistakes people make in the process is falling in love with a school before they’ve had a chance to see the campus in person. Players must spend time on campus and get a feel for the student environment. It is important to project how this environment will factor into the next four years of your life. Just by walking around campus, you can get a feel for what it is like to try to get around, especially during classes. Just like a coach won’t make a final decision based on what he sees in a video, you can’t make a decision based on what you’ve seen online!

• Cost – Every year, there are always players that find themselves at the end of the process without options because they failed to put down on paper what they can afford for college. It does no good to look at schools that realistically you will not be able to afford. Even if you excel in the classroom and on the field, there’s no guarantee that the bottom line is going to be manageable for all the schools on your target list. Be proactive and research different avenues with financial assistance, whether it’s academic grants or outside scholarships. You cannot rely on baseball to pay for your education. There are simply not enough scholarships available at any level to think otherwise!

Next week we will take a look at the criteria to consider when evaluating the baseball program.

Kulina is a former Associate Head Coach and recruiting coordinator with the University of Maryland. As a former recruiting coordinator for ten years in the ACC, Kulina has vast contacts and is widely respected throughout the nation. From 1989 to 2000, Kulina coached 46 players who were selected in the MLB draft.