In life, making decisions is something we all face, whether it’s a simple choice or a significant life-altering one. Regardless of your age, every decision can impact your future, and the results can be either positive or negative. Naturally, we all hope to make the right choice, especially in high-pressure situations like selecting the best school or university. 

Everyone is going to have their own path going into college, whether they’re choosing a school based on the school’s academic program, their clubs, or its athletics, but you will be going for a reason. Here’s my opinion on how you could give yourself the best shot at choosing the school for you when it comes to athletic scholarships.

Most athletes who want to play sports in college or high school probably want to take their game to the next level and begin to get paid to play professionally. To do that, you should go to a program where you can display your skills fairly and develop into an even better prospect. You also want to find a place where you can bond with teammates and everyone feels like family, especially coaches. 

You must build relationships with coaches before even thinking about going to visit the school. This allows you to actually get to know each other because it’s deeper than sports at the end of the day. It should never just be player to coach; you have to be able to look past that and be family. Communicating with them is also imperative because it shows how badly they want you. It’s one thing to go to a school that you like, but it’s another to go to a school where you’re wanted. 

What I mean by that is you could end up somewhere just because you like that school and it’s an option, even though that feeling may not be mutual. You don’t want to go to a program where coaches may not be that concerned if you don’t end up going to that specific school, and if you do, you may not have the best chance at showing your skills nationally. But if you’re going to a school that makes it clear that they want you, it makes your life a lot easier. Not saying that you would have anything guaranteed, but you want to be around those kinds of people because they want to make you better, and they feel they can help you get to that next level. 

Making the decision is going to be extremely difficult when you have a lot of options, but you should be evaluating out schools little by little over time, so when it comes time to make that decision, you aren’t completely stressed out. 

After asking sophomore Maliha Gordon what is something that’ll play a big part in how you make your college decision, she answered, “Something that will play a big part is probably how affordable it is or the opportunities that are there.”

We asked junior Niani Morales the same question, and she responded with “Being far away from the only parent I’m close to.”

To sum it all up, when you get to a school that meets your standards, where you’re wanted, where you can develop to the next level, and where everyone feels like family, that’s the place where you should make your new home.