If at a certain moment your son indicates that he might want to study in the USA, and in our case also play baseball, you might think this is a trajectory that seems easy. The reality is it is long, difficult, sometimes irritating and in many cases very bureaucratic. You can choose to do everything yourself, and especially if you are familiar with the language and the bureaucracy of the United States, this might seem a great option. We also thought we could do this ourselves but are glad we were advised by other parents who have gone through this process with their children to seek help from UStudy. Now that our son Julian is somewhat “settled” at San Jacinto College in Houston Texas, we can also speak from experience and tell any other parents that help from a specialized company is an absolute must to make this process easy and smooth. This is especially true when choices have to be made between schools, different offers are received, a junior college or a 4-year college, and playing in a Division I or II NCAA college. In addition, you have the administration process that every college requires, and which for Dutch people feels very bureaucratic, a waste of time, and sometimes laughably annoying but which must be done VERY seriously and where absolutely NO shortcuts are possible. In order to do everything properly guidance from a company such as UStudy is absolutely necessary. UStudy certainly cannot do all the work for you, there are things you must do yourself (especially because the US schools require this) but Marina, Mark, and Amy will help you with all the forms, obligations and questions that arise from the process. UStudy brings more experience every year and therefore becomes sharper every year in helping parents and players. Don’t think lightly about the entire application process, allow a lot of time to get it right, expect little help from the US colleges and be prepared for a lot of bureaucratic actions. UStudy was a great help to us in the process of getting our son into the right college for both his education and in our case his ability to play baseball. Onno and Paula Rip, parents of Julian.
