Sample Sunday: Play2Pay Chapter 1

The following is an excerpt from Play2Pay: How to Market Your College Bound Student-Athlete for Scholarship Money, by Beth Walker, Founder of College Funding Coaching, and Honoree Corder, Personal Transformation Expert.

This guide is designed for families who want to send their student’s to college without going broke and view partial athletic scholarship money as part of their overall funding strategy.

You can order through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Chapter 1: The Playing Field

College today is expensive, expected, and misunderstood.  Other than that it’s the single biggest source of stress between parents and teenagers in most U.S. households today. 

Let us explain…

In terms of cost, nothing we pay for in terms of products or services has risen as sharply as the cost of college.  College costs have risen 539% over the last 20 years as compared to the 251% increase in medical care over the same time frame (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, NCPPE, US Census Bureau, Wall Street Journal).

And the rate of inflation related to the cost of college isn’t the only financial burden faced by families today – most families have not saved or planned for the expenses related to college and find themselves amassing debt in their efforts to finance post secondary education…

·    61.6% of undergraduate students borrowed money for funding their education in the form of student loans and their average cumulative debt amounted to $17,878; 13.5% of parents borrowed to fund their children’s education, amassing an average PLUS loan debt of $23,298. (Note: These figures were calculated using the data analysis system for the 2007-2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics at the US Department of Education.)

Despite the costs, most kids today will tell you they plan to go to college.  Press them as to why and they’ll tell you they know they need to go to get a good job and that’s what their parents expect.

Beyond that, most students can’t tell you what or where they want to study … which leads us to yet another incredible statistic regarding college today – most kids are taking 6 years to get a four year degree.  

In fact, according to the most recent Dept. of Education report, about half of students who started college in 2003 had managed to graduate within six years.  Another 15% were still attending college and more than a third had dropped out.

But don’t despair…

As the parent of a student-athlete, you can be much more optimistic about your student’s prospect for going to college at a reduced price, finishing in a timely manner, and graduating with less debt. Find more information here: http://www.finaid.org/educators/20110505athleticscholarships.pdf.

But, you also have to be realistic about the role an athletic scholarship will play in your overall college funding strategy.

While it’s true there is a lot of money in college athletic scholarships – over $1.1 billion dollars worth – the percentage of high school athletes that actually supports is relatively small – 1.4%. Source: http://www.finaid.org/educators/20110505athleticscholarships.pdf.   

In fact, the typical N.C.A.A. athletic scholarship awarded, excluding football and men’s basketball, is only $ 8,707 (Source: Expectations Lost to Reality of Sports Scholarships, NY Times, by Bill Pennington (3/10/2008).  With the average public university costing $19,640 per year and private colleges requiring $40,493 per year (Source: College Board), an athletic scholarship that must be renewed each year is not insignificant but will not solve the funding challenge in and of itself.

Most families wait too long to market their student-athletes, believing that getting in front of college coaches in the junior and senior year of high school will result in meaningful scholarship offers.  The fact is, 75% of college coaches are tracking athletes for recruiting purposes by their sophomore year. (Source: How To Market Your Student Athlete for Athletic Scholarships by Chuck Moore.)

To read the rest, order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Play2Pay: How to Market Your Student-Athlete for Scholarship Money

New guide for Student Athletes to help them find the right school, pay the right price, and let the student play instead of pay the full retail price for a college education.

The power team of Beth Walker, Founder of College Funding Coaches, and Honoree Corder, Personal Transformation Expert, have created a guide designed for families who want to send their students to college without going broke, Play2Pay: How to Market Your Student-Athlete for Scholarship Money.

"Parents who view partial athletic scholarship money as part of their overall funding strategy for their student athlete's education don't always know how to make that happen," said Beth Walker, "The athletes who most likely aren't going to get a full ride still have a lot of opportunities, but they have to market themselves strategically in order to get those dollars."

Play2Pay is a how-to guide for college-bound athletes who desire an education that is partially paid for by participating in athletics and that is, in fact, their Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, Gold Medal, Wimbledon, or World Cup. The real pay off being a fabulous education at a fraction of the price, with the bonus by-product being they get to participate in a sport they love at the collegiate level.

"Your son or daughter can play instead of pay for their college education, but the odds are this is one piece of the funding puzzle, not the entire solution for the challenges you face in paying for today’s increasingly expensive college education," says Beth, "and, this is a marketing challenge above all else."

The statistics are grim: 61.6% of undergraduate students borrowed money for funding their education in the form of student loans and their average cumulative debt amounted to $17,878; 13.5% of parents borrowed to fund their children’s education, amassing an average PLUS loan debt of $23,298. With a plan to get money up front, student athletes and their parents can borrow less money and therefore not have that debt (and the interest that goes with it) after college.

"Parents and their student-athletes must think strategically and act intentionally with regard to their college education," Honoree Corder shares, "If they don't, the cost may be devastating. A solid marketing plan dramatically increases the student-athlete's chances of securing available monies, and also provides skills they will need later in life to market their professional skills."

Play2Pay is a step-by-step guide that includes templates for marketing to coaches, including sample cover letters, a resume, email campaign, talking points and much more! It's available in multi-digital format through Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94454, and on your Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Play2Pay-Market-Student-Athlete-Sc ....