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Choosing a college is never an easy task. When you throw athletics into the equation, the selection process becomes even more difficult. Whether you're one of the fortunate few who is gifted enough to earn a full athletic scholarship, or if you're like thousands of others who will walk on, you'll want to start planning as early as possible.

For college athlete hopefuls, your work starts the moment you enter high school. "If you haven't done the work in the classroom, you can forget about competing at the Division I level," says University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY) Assistant Track and Field Coach Erin Tucker. "We won't even waste our time recruiting an athlete who doesn't have the grades to get accepted to school."

Once you have your academics in check, you can start putting extra focus toward your on-the-field performance. The only surefire way of getting noticed by college coaches is to excel in your sport.

"If you're competing at a high level, we will take notice," says Tucker. "We can't recruit everyone, so we do miss some athletes. It does help when athletes contact me."

You heard correctly. If you don't have college coaches beating down your door, contact the coach directly, or hire a recruiting service to promote yourself. There are hundreds of recruiting services available to high school athletes who aspire to play college sports. Some of the services can be quite costly, though, and there's no guarantee that your chances of getting noticed will be improved.

"I would save your money and start with contacting the coach personally," says Tucker. "I would rather recruit kids who I can develop a relationship with, instead of getting information from a recruiting service."

No matter which route you chooses, you still need to play by the rules. Follow this timeline and head toward the goal line:

JUNIOR YEAR
• Take the SAT or ACT in the fall or spring.
• Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. This is required of all students wishing to attend a NCAA Division I or II college and participate in sports. Registration can be done online.
• Create a résumé. Much like a job résumé, it should include the accomplishments in your sport and in the classroom.
• Start to contact college coaches by mail or e-mail, fill out questionnaires, and request information about the programs you're interested in.
• Make unofficial visits to colleges. You can take as many unofficial visits as you would like; however, you pay all expenses on unofficial visits.

SENIOR YEAR
• Weekly telephone calls from coaches and in-person contacts are allowed after July 1 prior to the start of your senior year.
• Meet with your high school counselor to make sure you have taken all the required classes to be eligible to compete in college athletics.
• Obtain applications for the colleges that interest you, and fill them out by the deadline.
• Apply for financial aid, even if you are hoping for an athletic scholarship. You may need the financial aid to supplement an athletic scholarship or as a backup if you don't get the scholarship you on which you planned.
• Keep up with your studies. A slip during your final year could hurt your chances of getting into the school of your choice.
• You can take up to five official visits during your senior year, so choose carefully. Official visits are paid for by the program and give you an up-close-and-personal look at the school and team to help narrow your choices.
• Choose the college that best fits both your academic and athletic goals.

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