For many high schoolers, the college admissions cycle is in full swing. However, some students are going a different route than most.

Committing to college can be a daunting task and athletes that commit are dedicating themselves to a college and a sport. However, recruitment for athletes offers a sense of security and comfort.

Senior Jacques Baldwin plays on the boys varsity soccer team and he could not believe it when he got the recruitment email from Northeastern University. Baldwin said that Northeastern first noticed him during his sophomore year. When he became a junior, they reached out to him about committing to the school.

“They offered me the most money, most playing time guaranteed and then just other stuff certain schools couldn’t offer me, like choices on dorms, priority picking of classes and stuff like that,” Baldwin said.

He had not been expecting to be contacted by a school with such academic prestige, especially one so close to home.

Soccer player junior Serena Sink was contacted by Wesleyan University after going to a camp there over the summer. While open to the idea, Sink said she was unsure if she wanted to commit right away, and continued looking at other schools.

“I felt like it was a big decision. You’re making a decision about two years in the future,” Sink said. “I don’t know what will happen, and it just feels like a big step that you don’t really know if it’s going to be good or not, but you kind of have to wait to find out in another few years.”

Baldwin had similar thoughts when going through the process. He said he feared he might not make the right choice among the schools that were recruiting him.

“There were so many options and I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a place that I didn’t truly love and with money involved and careers after college. It’s a big decision that my family wanted to make sure I got it right,” Baldwin said.

Senior William McCormick, a member of the cross country team, is in the process of applying early decision after being recruited by Williams College. As a junior, McCormick reached out to coaches across the country, and, among others, Williams College showed interest in him.

Along with McCormick’s race times, he also provided grades and test scores. For Division III schools, athletic ability is not the only consideration.

“Obviously in Division I recruitment they still look at your test scores and they look at your grades; you can’t be a bad student. I’d say in Division III, it’s more of a holistic approach so that you have to be a good athlete and a good student as well,” McCormick said.

Although McCormick is not guaranteed to get in, he said being recruited has helped his chances and given him some comfort. The recruitment process has given him a course of action and helped put him at ease.

Baldwin said he feels a similar sense of security because of the recruiting process.

“I kind of know that I’m walking into a situation where I have total control, which is great. It puts my mind at complete ease, which is nice,” Baldwin said.

Ultimately, Baldwin offered some advice to those in the recruiting process.

“For kids that are in the process, don’t overthink it, don’t get too nervous, don’t get too crazy about it,” Baldwin said. “Cherish all the steps and have fun with it because it’s supposed to be one of the most fun times of your life.”