How finding a mentor can change your college trajectory

Read our personal stories of how mentors helped support and ultimately changed these CTK team members college experience.

This week’s blog post covers common questions our team receives from parents of high school student athletes interested in continuing their sports in college.

• When can I start talking with college coaches under the NCAA rules? 

• How does the recent Supreme Court ruling about NIL affect college recruiting for my sport?

• Should I work with a sports recruiting broker to help me reach out to college coaches?

• What should I say when I talk to a college coach? 

• Does attending recruiting camps/events at colleges help me get recruited?

• How do my grades and test scores affect whether I can be recruited for my sport?

What Happened to Starting College on a Main Campus in the Fall?

The traditional on-campus freshman start in September seems to be going the way of the slide rule and cursive writing, at least for some students. More and more colleges are sending students to satellite campuses, summer start, spring start, and international programs, staggering start times across dates and locations to enroll as many students as possible while still having enough room in classes and in student housing.

It’s the best thing EVER when you are admitted to your Early Decision school. You are done with applications (except in some cases) and ready to attend your dream school next year. Similarly, Early Action results present you with admissions decisions before the regular decision pool of applicants so that you can begin to breathe a bit easier and start narrowing your focus. But if you are deferred or denied, you have some decisions to make.

What should high school students do in the summer? What if I need a break this summer? What if I need to work or take care of family members this summer? Should I pay for a pre-college summer program? Does it matter that the school offering the program is “elite?” How do I demonstrate my interest/experience in a particular academic subject?

What’s a good PSAT Score? What are the PSAT Score Ranges? Does the PSAT predict how well I will do on the SAT? Is the scoring scale the same between the PSAT and SAT exams? How does the PSAT help me become a National Merit Scholar (NMS) Finalist or Semi-Finalist? The PSAT is offered to juniors as part of the National Merit Scholar (NMS) search process.