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There are many factors that a prospective student athlete should weigh when considering college plans. It is imperative that a prospective student athlete make an informed decision based on research and communication with parents, coaches, teachers, and yes even college coaches. I would recommend that you search for a school that allows you to reach your academic and athletics goals. Make sure that education is your number one priority as your educational training will dictate your quality of life after the lights in the arena dim. This can be a very fun process and those who get stressed out easily might be missing out on a rewarding and exciting journey. Some top recruits will be overwhelmed with letters, publications, media guides and applications but keep in mind that you control your own destiny. Pick a few dream schools, a few ideal schools and a couple of safe schools. The best way to get a feel for an institution is to visit the campus and try to meet with the coaching staff. It is important to keep in mind that coaches have irregular schedules so they might not be available for your campus visit.

Many programs begin the recruiting process as early as freshman year. Most often contact through summer camps is a great way for the student athletes and coaches to meet and start a relationship. I highly recommend that you attend as many camps as possible where there are coaches attending from schools that interest you. Remember coaches cannot write you or email before September 1 of your junior year. Coaches cannot call you or return calls until July 1 after your junior year at the NCAA Division 1 level.

What is the difference between an official and unofficial visit? I can't list how many families I come across who have no idea of the NCAA recruiting rules and regulations. It is important to educate yourself and become familiar with the rules before you start the recruiting process.

An official visit can only occur after the start of your senior year. At Wisconsin we tend to invite our incoming class into Madison to attend a Saturday football game at Camp Randall and a Sunday Badger soccer game. In today's world of major universities the official visit isn't used to attract student-athlete but rather to celebrate their decision to matriculate. With the recent shift of early recruiting and commitments the official visit is generally used to bring in your incoming "committed" class during the same weekend so they can get to know each other before preseason. The official signing date of a binding National Letter of Intent is February 1 of the senior year.

So what happens when you visit a campus on an unofficial visit? Remember you are always free to visit schools at your own expense and it is important to starting doing that during the summer leading up to your junior year. The NCAAs doesn't limit the number of unofficial visits a prospective student athlete can take. Usually an unofficial visit for recruited players will consist of a meeting with the coaching and academic support staff, an athletics facilities tour and a walking our driving tour of campus. Some athletes may elect to stay over in the doors with a current player but remember if you do this you must pay the institutional rate for lodging (Yes the NCAA regulates everything!) In addition, per NCAA rules a student athlete isn't allowed to have any meals provided for them by the college staff. I could go on and on about the logistics of the unofficial visits but I would recommend that you visit 5-10 schools to get a feel for the culture of the campus and soccer program. After this you will become more apparent what places you have an strong interest in attending and also what role the coaching staff sees you playing in their program.

There are a few simple guidelines to use when narrowing down college choices. We believe the five most important criteria are: academics, soccer, location, cost and the campus. The order of importance can vary drastically from school to school, but at Wisconsin academics has to come first. In terms of the soccer program, one needs to consider not only the strengths (coaches, facilities, support and tradition) but also the fit for the student athlete. Position, playing time, number of graduating seniors and coaching philosophy are all good questions. Have a list of questions when you visit a school a coach and expect honest and thorough answers.

Things are starting to come into focus for a lot of players right now. Spring is upon us, admissions letters have been mailed, and college coaches are finalizing their rosters. Except for some top DI teams, who put the finishing touches on their rosters months ago, many coaches are still scrambling to fill roster spots.

I've been getting a lot of email and snail mail of late from players I've never heard from previously. They've been accepted to the University and want to play for us.

This is a difficult position to put a coach in--though it never hurts to ask. It may be that the coach is searching for another player and you have the right pedigree and ability to fill that slot. The tough thing for the coach is that he's never seen you play. Resumes, references and other paperwork can only say so much about a player.

The reality, though, for many players right now is that the window of opportunity is closing. If you find that this is the case at the school you're planning to attend, you need to put yourself in a good position for walk-on tryouts. You have to stay in touch with the coach over the summer and try to get him to see you play at a tournament or college camp.

Even if you're walking on, having the coach see you play this summer is immensely important and can seriously improve your odds--that is, if you're good enough to make the team.

It's pretty hard to get recruited if you are never seen, but what if you want to go to school on the other side of the country and the coaches don't make many trips to your region, or if you get hurt right before the big tournament they were going to watch? What can you do if a school you are really interested in hasn't been able to see you play?

I receive many tapes and DVDs from potential recruits in this kind of situation, and to be honest sometimes the videos are great while other times they are a waste of time and money. Here are some of the problems with the videos I watch:

(1) If you edit and cut up enough clips you can make just about anyone look like the next Mia or Landon, but how realistic is that? Many videos are just highlight tapes and do not really tell the whole story. This is something you can avoid by adding a little context on either side of a highlight. Show 15 seconds or so of footage so the coach knows how the play developed and how it ended. Also consider putting in some longer clips so the coach can really see how you move.

(2) Where on earth are you? Sometimes the camera is so far away that it is impossibly hard to see the numbers or tell which player I'm supposed to watch. Make sure you are clear about what number and jersey color you are in and any other information that can be helpful in picking you out.

(3) There you are, but where is everyone else? Other times the video follows only the recruit so closely that I don't know if the ball she just played connected to her teammate or was turned over to the defender. Without being able to see the other players on the field I don't know if a good decision was made or if there was a better option available.

(4) There is no competition. Of course you want to send in a tape of a game in which you played well, but avoid sending in a game where the opponents are so weak you can walk all over them. That doesn't tell me how you will do at the next level against college athletes.

What I do like to see is about half of an unedited and competitive game. Ideally the camera would show a good chunk of the field so I can look at your decision making, positioning and runs off the ball, and overall just have a better picture of what is going on in the game. Although coaches would rather see you play in person, if done right, a video could be the next best thing.

Eternal questions. Do I wear the blue shoes, the orange button down, or the pink tiara? Should I apply to Emory or Vermont or both? But what about CalPoly? But there's always Trinity. Oh, and I can't forget Fort Lewis.

Uh yeah, so figuring out which colleges you're going to apply to is a bit intimidating. How do you, one person in Sandstoneville, determine which 10 of 3,000 colleges you should approach as a student and soccer player? Here's our cookbook-5 steps to glory.

1. Think about what you want as a student. Do you want the academic rigor of an elite school? Are you looking for a specific major? Do you want a broad base--ie liberal arts--or something specific like engineering?

2. Think about the perfect college environment. Are you participating in other campus activities like student government, performing arts, fraternity/sorority life? Is the student body politically active? Are there interesting speakers and bands that come to campus?

3. Do a little self-eval. Be totally frank with yourself about how good you are as a player. If you've been playing at a high level for a while, you should have a sense of where you fit in. That may not intuitively translate to specific schools, but it should give you a sense of where you fit in.

4. Talk to your coaches. Talk to your high school and club coaches about what they think is right for you. Ask them to be frank and see if they have any specific suggestions about schools you should check out.

5. Go on a treasure hunt. Armed with the information you've collected above, talk to counselors, parents, friends of the family about which colleges might fit the bill. Go online and hunt around. Dedicate an hour or two this weekend to surf the web and check out colleges that interest you. You'll be surprised at how far you get.

This is our cookbook. Unfortunately, there's no cookie cutter that can simply tell you where to go to college. But that's also the beauty of the process: there are so many interesting, vibrant colleges that you'll no doubt be able to find a handful. Rock on Chicago.

College soccer camps offer both the players and the coaches an extraordinary opportunity to evaluate one another. As you know, getting seen by coaches is one of the biggest steps in the recruitment process. By attending camp you give the coaches of the host school (and other local college coaches who are working the camp) a whole week to watch you display your ability. And unlike recruiting at a tournament or showcase, the coaches can see how you train, how you take instruction, and how you implement topics you have worked on into the evening games.

At the same time, you, as a recruit, learn first-hand about the school and soccer program. You get to know the coaches and their coaching styles and also meet current players to see how you might fit into the program. For the week while sleeping in the dorm, eating in the dining hall, and training at the school's athletic facilities you will know what life is like on campus.

Over the years at Northwestern a number of our players attended camp when they were younger and attribute part of their decision to attend NU to their camp experience. This past summer we even had a camper who was going to attend Northwestern in the fall, who we had never seen play before, impress us enough during camp that she became a member of our team just a month later.

So if a school on the top of your list is offering camp this summer I would encourage you to sign up. At the end of camp you will have a much better idea of whether or not that is the right school for you and the coaches will have had the opportunity to evaluate your potential to make the team.

Posted 1/26/06 by Brittany Oliveira, Assistant Women's Coach, Northwestern University

Though it's, like, four degrees outside, there's plenty of soccer to be had. The Champions League is heating up with the much anticipated Chelsea-Barcelona grudge match dominating the headlines. On this side of the pond, the MLS and college seasons may be over, so coaches are occupying their time with other pursuits, mostly tiddy-winks mixed in with a little recruiting on the side.

As coaches look out onto the frozen tundra that was once a soccer field, they're thinking about summer. Specifically, many coaches are making plans for their summer college soccer camp circuit. You should be doing this too. If you're serious about playing in college, now is a great time to look into some camps. Take your top schools and see if they run camps. The key is early registration, as some camps fill up by February.

Camps are a sweet venue to show your game. You get a lot of personal attention from coaches, who are there for the same reasons: they love the game and are looking for their next crop of players. At camp you get to talk to coaches, learn a lot from them, and get a sense of whether they want you on their teams. Since they have a full week to evaluate you, coaches will be able to make more informed decisions. And so will you! If you find that a coach is a tyrant on the field, you can say adios. The likelihood, though, is that you'll have a very positive experience and meet a bunch of different coaches.

So it's December of your junior year in high school. You might be getting a little nervous about college applications. But fear not! You have plenty of time to get this college thing sorted out in an organized fashion.

If you watch The World's Strongest Man - as we do religiously - you know that when you want to pull a fire truck, the hardest thing is getting started. Once the truck starts to roll, it's much easier. It's the same with college recruiting. It takes a little legwork to get it going, but once you've got the recruiting process thing moving, it becomes much easier.

Winter break during your junior year is a great time to get started. In between marathon, 12-hour X-Box 360 sessions, squeeze in an hour or two to start researching colleges. Go down to the bookstore and thumb through some college profile books. Check out schools on the internet. Use a college search engine like Destination-U.com.

The point is to start thinking about where you might want to go to school. So go out and get that fire truck rolling. Let us know how it goes!