College Sports: Score on the Application Process
If you enjoy playing college sports then you know all about competition. Well, welcome to a whole new level of competition - applying to college as a student athlete.
Count to ten and don’t panic. Here is CampusCompare’s guide for the college-bound athlete, to help you cross the finish line without losing your breath!
Off to Bat
Before even stepping up to the plate, it’s important to keep your GPA high while in high school.
Don’t just pick a school because you like the sports program, team or coach. What happens if you get injured? You won’t be able to play for a team, but you will still be stuck taking courses at the school. So a good strategy for a student athlete is to consider sports as just one of the many characteristics to look for in a college, along with factors like academic programs, location, size, campus environment, special programs, and financial aid opportunities.
First Base
Ask your current coach what level or division he or she thinks you are eligible to play for. Check out CampusCompare’s post on NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA to read up on the collegiate athletic associations, sport programs and their divisions. Also, go to CampusCompare’s College Search page to see which colleges have the athletic and academic program you are interested in. Remember to think about what you want out of your sports experience. For example, if you are on the fence between two divisions, you should decide how much you want to participate. Would you rather be in the starting lineup for four years in Division 3, or have a greater challenge but sit on the bench more often in Division 2? It’s also good to ask your high school coach for advice on prospective colleges, and which ones would be a good match for you based on your sport and skills. Once you have compiled a list, you are ready to slide on to…
Second Base
Next you need to contact the coaches of the schools on your list. Coaches are the ones that can ensure you a spot on the college team and offer you an athletic scholarship. You can get in touch with coaches as early as your junior year. Send them an email during senior year and outline your prospective major, your position, your years of junior varsity and varsity experience, your relevant statistics and awards, your present coach’s full name and contact info, and even a schedule of your upcoming games, a videotape of you playing or any media mentions about you (if you are lucky enough to have some!).
Coaches receive a lot of inquiries, so be patient. If you have not heard from coaches within a month, re-contact them.
You should also contact the admissions offices, not just the coaches. Admissions offices, unlike coaches, are more likely to contact and speak with you at any time and will provide you with information you may not get from the coaches. As well, you will need to apply to the school following the college’s general admissions process.
Third base
Make sure you have the appropriate requirements necessary for the collegiate athletic associations.
Here they are:
- For starters, you need to be an amateur player (which means that you haven’t played for the pros or signed anything stating that you will). Also, all high school athletes wishing to compete in college at Division 1 or Division 2 institutions must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse.)
- You need to make sure that you have taken the appropriate academic course requirements (there are 16 core courses for Division 1 and 14 core courses for Division 2).
- You have to have a minimum grade point average and a minimum grade on your SAT or ACT college admissions tests. Your scores for NCAA Division 1 work on a sliding scale, which means you will need to have a certain ACT or SAT score depending on your grade point average. For NCAA Division 2, there is no sliding scale and you need a minimum grade point average of 2.000, an SAT score of at least 820 (which includes the critical reading and math section), or a sum score of 68 on the ACT (which includes math, reading, science, and English).
Fourth base
Keep your options open. Just because a coach replied to your email and sent you a couple of brochures, it doesn’t mean you’ve crossed the finish line. Until you have been officially accepted by the college and the coach, make sure that you keep other schools that you’re interested in on the horizon.
Home run
Accept your best offer and make sure to think about your academics, as well as your athletics career.
With these tips for the college-bound athlete, you’re sure to be a hit and not strike out!
This entry was posted on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Athletics and Admissions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
