The following article appeared in several Shore Publishing newspapers.

College Prospects in the News

 

COLLEGE PROSPECTS

Cutline: Clinton resident Steve Karp has been the Connecticut Director of College Prospects of America for the past eight years. The organization, which is located in 40 states and 12 foreign countries, helps high school athletes through the collegiate recruiting process by getting them in contact with and marketing them to schools that best fits their academic and athletic skills. Photo courtesy of Steve Karp

 

Adding to an Athlete’s Appeal

 

College Prospects of America Helps Students Get Recruited

 

By Chris Piccirillo

 

Senior Shore Publishing Sports Writer

 

According to NCAA statistics, the chance of a high school athlete getting a college roster spot as a freshman is about 5 percent. That means there will be 20 athletes who don’t make it onto a team for each one that does. And while many of these people are all-state selections, National Honor Society members, or even their team’s Most Valuable Player, there will always be more athletes than available roster spots, which means some of them are not going to be as heavily recruited as their accomplishments merit.

 

Consequently, most student-athletes simply can’t afford to sit around waiting for the phone to ring with hopes that a college coach will be on the other end guaranteeing them a position and scholarship money. Instead, they have to actively contact coaches and inform them of their achievements, both on the field and in the classroom. But then again, the busy nature of a high school student’s schedule, and that of their parents, doesn’t always allow them the time to do this. And as much as coaches contribute by writing recommendation letters, they too have constraints. Sure, every coach wants to help their athletes, but it’s not as if they have a budget exclusively set aside for marketing them, which get can pricey when factoring the cost of things along the recruitment path like postage, meals, and gas mileage.

 

That’s where College Prospects of America comes in. The organization specializes in helping high school athletes through the recruiting process by getting them in contact with and then marketing them to schools that best fit their qualifications with an aim to use athletics to help defray the cost of college and/or enroll them in a better school academically. Since its inception in 1986, CPOA, which is the world’s largest marketing service for high school students as it’s represented in 40 states and 12 foreign countries, has helped more than 40,000 student-athletes get exposure to colleges. Over 90 percent of them have received an offer to play with either scholarship money or some sort of financial aid attached.

 

Steve Karp has been the Connecticut Director of CPOA for eight years and attends a variety of games in all sports to seek out people who are interested in such a service. He also stays informed through the state’s media outlets and by word of mouth from speaking with those involved in the athletic high school scene. And if people wish to contact Karp, they can email him at steve@collegeprospectsofct.com, or call his home office in Clinton at 860-664-0424.

 

“Our goal is to not let athletes fall through the cracks,” said Karp, who grew up as a hurdler in Brooklyn before running track at New York University. “College coaches tend to recruit athletes they know and so if you’re looking to go to a school outside of the immediate area, you often have to get in front of the coaches in order for them to notice you. The worst thing an athlete can do is to wait for that to happen because it usually won’t. There’s a narrow window of opportunity and once you miss it, it’s gone.

 

“So you have to reach out to coaches and let them know that their school and team will be a stronger environment with you than without you. You have to let them know what separates you from the other athletes they’ll see. And you have to start the process earlier rather than later. We allow student-athletes to start with us as early as their freshman year.”

 

Karp added that despite the amount of talented people in the state, Connecticut athletes are often overlooked due to the state’s small size.

 

“They are at a disadvantage on a nationwide basis,” he said. “Even the largest schools in Connecticut are small in comparison to many of the ones in states like New York, Florida, Texas, and California. And so college coaches typically don’t look at Connecticut in the same way as they do those larger states. And when they do, they don’t see a large number of athletes at a given school, which makes it harder for the players to be noticed.”

 

That’s why CPOA helps get exposure for those who wish to further their athletic careers. They offer a variety of marketing packages at different rates of cost, all of which can be found on their website: www.collegeprospectsofct.com.

 

Once contact is made, the process involves Karp finding out which schools they would be a good fit at academically. He then determines what level of competition they’d be best suited for based on conversations with their coaches and/or athletic director. A list of prospective schools is then formulated—which Karp said is typically around several hundred—after which he sends each coach a profile that details the student’s academic and athletic accolades as well as their extracurricular activities.

 

After the initial contact, Karp sends yearly updates that track the person’s progress. He also puts together an athlete’s highlight video, which can be directly streamed to the computer in a coach’s office so they can take a firsthand look at their potential player. Karp additionally helps breaks down the financial situation of a particular school with each family and gives them a manual that goes over specific things a student-athlete can do through various stages of their high school career that will increase their appeal. And when coaches are interested in athletes and send them questionnaires, Karp wants them to let him know which ones have been in touch.

 

“Most of the parents I know have more than one child and don’t have time to do these things,” Karp said. “Plus, it’s a learning process and if you haven’t done it before, you need someone to learn it from. So they outsource it to me. I’ve yet to have someone say the process was a waste of time. Most people tell me they’re wowed by it and are happy with the results.”

 

Evidently, there’s no reason for them to not be happy. After all, Karp said he had one girl recently go from being “severely under-recruited” to getting 200 questionnaires from coaches based on the effort of his service.

 

“I didn’t make her a better student or a better athlete. I just got the word out,” he said. “It’s a rewarding feeling to help send someone on a path that they wouldn’t have gone on otherwise.”

 

What Athletes Say

What Parents Say

"Hi Steve
It was nice speaking with you today, at the conclusion of this college application process.  You have been a pleasure to work with and you have answered many questions for us along the way.  As I mentioned, working with you and your company proved to be an important component in our daughter's college application process, as well as the connection with the school that she ultimately chose to attend.  My wife and I are delighted with her college choice, in both academics and athletics and financial assistance. Thank you.  Our small investment in 'marketing' our daughter paid off 100 fold, both financially and in our satisfaction with her college choice. Working with you has truly been a win:win situation.

As we met many months ago, at our home, I recall wondering whether College Prospects would be worth the investment, and what tangible results and benefits we 1would see from your program.  I am pleased to share that the results have been stellar and, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have hesitated for a moment to get started with you and your company.  It was our goal to have our daughter play soccer and be in a nurturing and challenging academic environment.  With your help, we have achieved and surpassed this goal.

From the bio information that you helped us assemble and distribute, our daughter heard from over 40 colleges, both locally and in other regions of the US.  These came in the form of letters from athletic departments, calls from coaches and both letters and many phone calls from students at these schools.  As you mentioned, many were not the right fit, either in size or region, but the college application process shifted from feeling small and alone in a bewildering sea of choices; to sifting and sorting through the offers and feeling very much in demand and sought after.  She focused her applications on 6 schools, and the local coaches all visited her games and established a personal relationship with her by phone and email.  As you know, our daughter does not have a stellar academic ranking, and only average SAT scores. Although the published mean academic and SAT scores for these schools exceeded her own achievements, she was accepted at all 6 schools and received generous financial packages from all.    She was recruited by, and will attend a school that offered a 'dream' financial package of scholarships and grants, and the opportunity to play soccer at the D-3 level with an established team, and an opportunity to join an academic community of students who will challenge and support her in her chosen field of Sports Management.

The process that you and your company have developed has helped make the college application process a welcoming one, and through your services, we have found a terrific fit for our daughter's college education.  The modest investment in your program, compared with the huge influx of scholarship and grant offers that we received, made your program a 'no-brainer.'  We couldn't be happier!! Thank you for your valuable help. 

Feel free to share this with any parents who might be exploring using College Prospects for their son or daughter. "

Best regards,

Arnie Davidson
East Hampton,  CT

 

Subject: COLLEGE MARKETING SERVICE FOR ATHLETES-AJAX PLAYERS
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 14:09:09 +0000

"At our meeting last night with Leszek, many of you were inquiring about the process for college planning in regards to sports.

Amy and I did a lot of research last year and found a national company with a state office and representative in Connecticut.  The company is called College Prospects of America. 

Their website is www.collegeprospectsofct.com and the CT representative is Steve Karp.  This service worked wonders for us and Tyler giving him many options for next year.  He had inquiries from over 70 college coaches with 6 coming to see him play this past year. 

Without this service and the contact with coaches, Tyler would not have the opportunities he now has which is choices of schools and soccer programs.  This program will also help the player who doesn't have the grades possibly get into a school if they want them for their program which was the case with Tyler.

I would encourage you to at least investigate the service and what it has to offer and if you have any questions to please email me.  The process needs to start now for those that will be seniors next year because there is a window of time that will pass by and and it will be too late."

R.J. Gregory- Tyler's dad

"We liked how honest our CPOA representative was, how they never once promised us the 'golden goose', but rather explained the recruitment process to us and what we needed to do to help the process.  As you well know we did sign, and it was without a doubt the best decision we ever made."
Mr. & Mrs. B. Hicks, IN

"I have been a high school coach for five years now and have seen the recruiting process up close.  I have now experienced it as a parent.  I firmly believe that if it were not for CPOA's efforts, my son would not have had as many choices and scholarship opportunities."
Coach S. Heck, OH

"It's all about marketing and credibility of having a third party present an athlete for consideration vs. the perceived self-serving or biases of an individual parent or family. The exposure the athlete receives is what makes it work."
Mr. G. Plummer, MN

"We just had to thank everyone at College Prospects of America for all the help you gave us and our son, Joseph, throughout the recruiting process. As you know, Joe has committed to play football at Harvard University this fall."
Mr. & Mrs. B. Kawczenski, PA

"Rarely does a player sit out his senior year in high school and still get a scholarship offer. The fee that I paid was a great investment. For several hundred dollars, you helped my son get a scholarship worth over $40,000. Thanks again."
Mr. M. Musil, TX

"Thank you for your personal attention and assistance...We were contacted by 20 different colleges in the D-1 and D-2 level.  We really appreciated your advice and experience."
Mr. J. Fill, VA

"Thank you for the diligent and persistent effort you provided Bo during
the recruiting season. As a father, it is reassuring to know you had
his best interest in mind throughout the process. Candidly, I can only
imagine what the results might have been had we not made the commitment to College Prospects of America."
Mr. Steve Davis, Tulsa, OK (Former Oklahoma Univ. All-America QB)

What Coaches Say

We have hundreds of letters on file from college coaches who have used our services, however, NCAA rules prohibit us from listing their names and the names of their colleges and universities.

"The exposure your male and female athletes receive from College Prospects of America is invaluable. College recruiters trust and respect the outstanding job CPOA has done in evaluating and marketing high school athletes."
- An NCAA Division I-A Assistant Football Coach

"Each player that we are made aware of through your organization is a player that might otherwise have been overlooked."
- An NCAA Division I Head Women's Soccer Coach

"College Prospects of America has been an invaluable recruiting tool..."
- An NCAA Division I Head Tennis Coach

"Collegiate recruiting is an exhausting, never-ending task as you know and College Prospects of America is clearly a valuable resource in this essential aspect of a coach's job."
- An NCAA Division II, Head Men's & Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Coach

"In four years, CPOA has helped me enroll four student-athletes at our college, one making All-American as a junior. Without your service, I would not have been able to sign any of these woman athletes."
- An NCAA Division II Head Softball Coach

 

What the Media Says 

"Athletes are the folk-heroes of our time and college is the ticket to the big time. But if your son or daughter is a gifted athlete, how do they get noticed in the ever widening arena of great athletes.  Small schools don't have big budgets to send scouts around the country to recruit high school students so they are eager to hear about college prospects.  They (College Prospects of America) guarantee exposure, not admission or financial aid."

-NBC Nightly News

 

"College Prospects of America's expert guidance assures those families who use their program, that they will better understand the recruiting process and how to make it work in their favor.  CPOA helps families from beginning to end."

-ESPN Regional Coverage

 

College Prospects of America 
  Steve Karp
PO Box 71
Clinton, CT 06413
Phone: 860-664-0424
Email: steve@collegeprospectsofct.com