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Ask the college counselor: Applying for sports scholarships |
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Welcome back to school! Seniors will be starting to work on their college applications in a few weeks, and while this should not dominate the most important business of the day — doing well in senior year — it should not be left to the last moment. Here’s the first question of the 2009-2010 school year.
My son is starting his senior year and I am concerned about how to start applying for scholarships. He plays soccer and I would like to know how to approach coaches so they can see him play. Also, my son’s school will not have a college counselor this year. So who in the school can I contact about helping my son with his applications?
Even though your son’s high school may not have a designated college counselor, every high school should have guidance counselors whose job it is to assist him. They can answer questions about colleges, help with application questions, and advise about scholarships — and not just athletic scholarships. Scholarship organizations send out information each fall to high school guidance offices, and this information should be posted for students to read. Your son should make an appointment with his guidance counselor early! This is especially important if there are a lot of students who are going to approach them for help — don’t wait until the application deadlines are near.
There are many procedures and rules governing athletic recruitment for college. The website of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) outlines all the regulations. In general, it is not the student or the parent who approaches the college coaches — this is usually done coach-to-coach. Your son needs to speak with his soccer coach soon and ask him to reach out to college coaches.
There are things your son can do on his own. A great place to start is the NCAA Eligibility Center website — this lists, by sport, all the colleges with teams. These are listed by Division (I, II, or III). Schools are in a certain division according to how big the school is, how many students are involved in sports, how many tournaments are played, and other factors. When your son visits the athletic department on college websites, he may find a place where prospective student-athletes, can register their interest. Once he submits this information, college coaches may contact him or his coach. Not every college website will have this option, but he ought to check it out.
Your son will need to investigate which colleges have soccer programs, where he might be eligible to play, and which actually offer athletic scholarships. Then he has to get the word out, through his high school coach or athletic office. He should create a resume outlining his specific athletic skills and accomplishments to send to all the colleges where he is applying. Some high school athletes send videotapes of themselves playing, or they arrange to play in tournaments where college coaches are present. Remember that the athletics department of a college does not make offers of admission — only the admissions office can do that. But the two offices do talk to each other when each is aware of an applicant with a specific skill in sports.
Be aware that big sports programs with lots of money to give out are rare. The competition for sports scholarships is intense. Yes, there are highly-publicized stories about student-athletes who get great offers from famous schools with big revenue-producing teams, such as Division I football and basketball teams. But of all the high school students around the nation who are playing those sports, a very small number actually get scholarships. In addition, there is no such thing as a really free ride. College sport teams, especially in the big league schools, expect the student-athletes to perform — a lot. If your son is recruited and he manages to win a scholarship, he will have to spend a good deal of time on the sports — intense practices, many games, travel to other colleges for competitions, and so forth. This almost becomes a full-time job at some schools, and it’s not easy to balance that kind of demanding schedule with maintaining academics.
Your son may prefer to go to a smaller or less famous college on his own academic strength, and play soccer on an intramural or club team. This is something that you and he, together, might want to explore with his soccer coach. Also consider the CUNY colleges - many have strong sports teams and the tuition is much lower than at private colleges and universities.
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I would like to underscore with a big red highlighter the end of Jane’s article. I teach at a NCAA Division II University with a number of Division 1 teams and Jane’s comment that being an athlete on scholarship can become a full time job is on the mark. In fact, I go a step further and say that for many students it’s a form of indentured servitude crippling rather than aiding their academic performance.
Parents think of athletic scholarships as nirvana, the answer to their college tuition problems but they don’t understand that athletic scholarships carry commitments that can undermine a student’s academic career. Too often I find myself counseling weeping students who cannot juggle the reading and writing requirements of their other professors with the 5 am. weight lifting sessions and 7 pm. practices demanded by a coach. Besides requiring team play these athletic scholarships also require that students carry a certain grade point average and that they remain healthy. Woe to the student who fails any courses or who is hurt while playing.
Do your child a favor: Encourage them to make sports secondary. If they have the grades and an otherwise strong academic record, they should shoot for a merit scholarship. This will free them up to study (which is the full time job they should be doing while in college) and get the grades that will insure a good GPA and entrance into a good job or good graduate study program. That’s the key to long term success.
Comment by history professor — September 8, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
I agree with both the counselor and the comment. Other forms of financial assistance should be prioritized over athletic scholarships (such as need-based financial aide, academic scholarships). I was on full scholarship at Georgia Tech in track and coached track for two years at a Division I institution. Parents and students consider an athletic scholarship to be a badge of honor more than any thing else. When I direct students and parents to need-based financial aide - which offers more in some cases - they sometimes they prefer the prestige of an athletic scholarship. I think they should prefer a lesser cost of education. For solid, top athletes, of course the athletic scholarship is a wonderful thing especially when it’s 100%. But for the marginal athletes who are fighting to get a 50% sports scholarship, it’s best to consider other options as well.
Comment by Derrick Adkins — September 10, 2009 @ 11:54 am