The competitive level of college tennis in the United States is higher than at any other time in history. Academies full of experienced and knowledgeable coaches are providing student athletes with the resources and individual attention they need to improve their games. The junior tennis circuit allows players still in high school to gain valuable competitive match experience, and to get a jump on their collegiate careers. Combine all of this with the influx of international players being recruited to schools across the country, and you will see why the recruiting process has become ultra competitive.

What does that mean for you? Simple. Whether you're ranked top ten or top 1000, you're going to need a game plan to find the school that will be the best fit for you. Here are three questions you should ask to help you navigate the recruiting process and choose a school that is the best fit for you academically, socially, and athletically.

Know the Differences

It can be easy to be swayed by the reputation and image of a well-known school and let that cloud your overall judgment of what you want from a college experience and tennis program. Similarly, it's easy to overlook a school you've heard very little about when it could offer the blend of social, academic and athletic criteria that would match your needs perfectly. There are literally thousands of schools out there, so the first step in selecting a school and program has to be understanding their differences and what sets them apart.

1) What are the differences between my top five schools academically, environmentally, and athletically?

No two schools are the same: each will offer a different experience both on and off the court. Location, geography and weather are often overlooked too: is a school on the opposite coast to home making it difficult and expensive for family and friends to watch you play? Is it a warm weather location or will seasonal weather patterns affect training, travel and the overall experience? An athlete should also figure out what kind of school personality best suits them: small liberal arts campus, busy state school, Ivy League?

There is a simple way to start this difficult selection process; making a list of all the criteria that you feel would provide the perfect college experience for you. What size school would you feel comfortable at? How far from home are you willing to go? What do you want to study? Once you have answered those questions, it is time to list all of the schools that match what you are looking for. Once you've determined if the academic and social life at a school will fit your needs, it's a lot easier to accurately assess the things that make or break a tennis program: the reputation and abilities of the coaching staff, the school's facilities, the strength of the program's schedule and player development - plus, of course, whether they offer scholarships or any other kind of financial aid.

Decide your criteria - what is important to you - and then rank schools by how many of your "must haves" each school meets. It will be surprising how clear this makes the big picture.

Know Your Market Value

So you've got your short list made - but so have hundreds of other students. And many of them have selected the same schools. It's crucial as early as possible to figure out if the coach would be interested in recruiting a student-athlete of your caliber.

2) What is my market value at my top five schools?

Start calculating your market value by first comparing your player ranking against the current players on the team. Research what the players from the previous years' recruiting class were ranked when they were juniors. They should be close, or within shooting distance to yours, to give you the best chance of starting in the lineup or at least working your way up quickly. If you have played against members of the collegiate teams while they were in juniors, then you should have a clear idea of what the talent level is at that college.

It's important to study the school selections of other players too. Are there a lot of more talented, higher ranked players above you applying to the same school? Have a lot of other players at your level registered their interest in the school? What kind of a playing field are you looking at?

If you haven't been talking with the coaches of the schools on your short list, you need to do that. It's important to be on the radar as early as possible and know whether you're that coach's first, fifth, tenth or 30th choice.

Contact Coaches

Once you know your schools and where you stand in the competitive set for each, it's even more important to ask the third and final question in the school and scholarship search process:

3) What am I doing right now to separate myself from the competition?

Making yourself stand out is a process that can't start soon enough. Write detailed letters of interest to the coaches of the schools on your short list: tell them why you want to be part of their program at their school. Keep them updated as to what tournaments you will be playing, and invite them to your matches. In short, you need to open up a regular communication channel with your schools of interest. It's time consuming but critical. Consulting firms such as Scholarship for Athletes can help you answer these three questions and find a school that will be a perfect fit.

Ultimately, many kids in the wrong programs at the wrong schools can end up quitting or transferring because they didn't educate themselves or make smart choices. If you do your homework and have realistic expectations, you will find a school where you can succeed academically, enjoy your college experience, and have the opportunity to play the sport you love.