If your son or daughter is approaching that time in life when college is just on the horizon, there are no doubt countless questions running through your mind. How do you help them pick the right school? What will the application process be like? How are you going to fund their degree?
All these questions and more are sure sources of stress for you and your child. If your son or daughter is hoping to land a spot on an athletic team at their university of choice, things can get a lot more complicated very quickly.
While there are a number of athletic scholarships available to students looking to attend college in the United States, earning one isn’t an easy task. Here are a few things that you should know as you begin this long and complex process.
Minimum Requirements
If your child is hoping to land an athletic scholarship to attend either a Division 1 or Division 2 school, he or she must meet the minimum requirements set out by the NCAA. In addition to being on track to have the right course work completed before entering college, those students who wish to qualify for a scholarship need to demonstrate a higher level of academic achievement.
It is important to know that there is no blanket GPA or SAT score that your child needs to beat in order to earn an athletic scholarship, since each institution has different standards. That being said, the main goal should be for your child to be able to demonstrate that their academics are a top priority. College coaches are meant to keep standards high when it comes to the academic performance of their athletes.
If you do wish to have a specific target for your child to aim for, then you need to reach out to an athletic academic advisor or college coach from the university that he or she wants to play for.
Eligibility
The NCAA has a system called the Eligibility Center (formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse) that is designed to verify and track a student athlete’s eligibility to participate in university athletics. Only true amateurs are allowed to play sports for a college team.
There are a number of things that might impact your child’s amateur status. If he or she has ever received money or payment of any kind as compensation for sporting events or for participating on a team, then the NCAA would regard them as a professional athlete. Furthermore, if they have endorsed or promoted a product, then they must also forfeit their amateur status.
With so many rules in place and requirements that must be met, it can be difficult to successfully see your child earn their place on a college sports team. If you still feel in the dark about all that needs to be done, asmscholarships.com is a great resource for students and parents looking to take their best shot at landing a college athletic scholarship.
Tammie~