The official e-newsletter of The Equestrian College Advisor.

From the blog:

Passion is a word that gets thrown around a lot.

People are told over and over again to “follow their passion” in order to live their best life. Parents contact me with the directive that I assist their high school seniors in the pursuit of a college degree at a school where they may continue to “pursue their deep-seeded passion” for equestrian sport. And I’ve read more than a few essays where well-meaning counselors, teachers, and family members have encouraged students to describe themselves as “passionate equestrians.”

(Note to readers: No teenager on the face of the planet will ever – ever – describe herself as a passionate equestrian in her college essay unless the adults in her life suggest it. But authenticity in essay writing – without the help of others – is another blog entry for another day.)

But there’s a problem with the concept of passion as we commonly use the term. Read More

"Ask Andrew Huang, a 2018 graduate of tiny Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. He chose Gordon for its sense of community, close student-faculty ties and proximity to Boston. But he aspired to work in finance—a competitive field where many firms recruit interns and employees from a cadre of elite target schools." 

Read More

"Working while in college is risky. A 

2018 Georgetown University study

 found that students who worked had lower grades and were more likely to drop out. The risk was especially high for low-income students. Other studies have found the same. The conventional advice to students is to try to work under 15 hours a week if they want to finish their degrees.

This remains true but it isn’t the whole story. A new study from a Rutgers research center also finds that students who work while in college earn higher salaries afterwards. The more a student earns during his college years, the bigger the bump in adult earnings." Read More

Navigating the NCAA Recruiting ProcessFor students who intend to continue their athletic careers in college as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the recruitment process is, in many ways, just as complex as the traditional college application process. In order to navigate life as an athletic recruit successfully, students and parents must be aware of the following:

• Athletes must be eligible. The first step of the athletic recruitment process for athletes at the Division I or II level is to declare themselves academically eligible. To do so, students must create a profile at the NCAA’s Eligibility Center online and have their high school counseling office submit official transcripts to verify their academic standing. The cost of registration is $75. 

• Athletes must take standardized tests. Even if the school a student will apply to offers test-optional admissions, athletes must take either the ACT or SAT and submit the scores directly to the NCAA (as well as to the college admissions office at time of application). 

• Athletes must be amateurs. “Amateur” in the context of college athletics doesn’t refer to beginners, but instead references the amount of remuneration (in the form of prizes and monetary awards) students may legally receive while competing at their sport before they risk becoming professionals. Activities such as playing for or practicing with professional league teams or having sponsor support can impact a student’s amateur status, so prospective college athletes must be cautious. 

• Athletes must adhere to communication guidelines. College coaches are only allowed to reach out to recruits at certain times during their high school careers and using certain channels. Different sports adhere to different athletic recruiting calendars so students must refer directly to the one that applies to their sport and division in order to be compliant. 

• Athletes must meet continuing eligibility standards each year they are enrolled in college. Academic and amateur eligibility for all NCAA athletes is re-evaluated on a regular basis, so any student who has not met one or both requirements upon review is at risk of losing not only scholarship dollars, but also a place on the team.

Students should also bear in mind that, just because Division I and II colleges and universities are allowed to offer athletic scholarships to their student-athletes doesn’t mean that they do. (In fact, 75 percent of Division III athletes receive academic scholarships and grants, in contrast to just over 50 percent of Division I and II students receiving athletic money.) Students and parents must thoroughly investigate both the costs of the institutions they’re considering and the realistic possibility for the student to receive scholarship money, not just as a freshman, but for all four years of study.

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