Thursday, January 24, 2019

Athletic Scholarships in College



For many students, athletic activities rival the work done in the classroom. Flexible educational opportunities such as virtual schooling exists now that allow students more time to focus on their training. Many students see their athletic ability as a way to potentially pay for college and therefore the time and costs associated with a sport can be considered an investment with the return being reduced tuition bills. While this is true, it’s important to note these scholarships are very competitive and limited. There are also some important differences in the different tiers of college athletics. Students and parents should be familiar with these as they make decisions about high school and their athletic opportunities.

Most people are familiar with Division 1 college athletics.
These are the schools that play college football on TV on Saturdays or
basketball in March. There are around 8 million students who play high school athletics
but only around 175,000 play Division 1 sports at any given time. So, these are
the most competitive scholarships. However, if you’re able to land one they can
be quite lucrative and cover tuition, housing, and meals. Nevertheless, if you
are talented enough to have the opportunity to play Division 1 sports, there is
still no guarantee you’ll receive scholarship money. This is particularly true
if you play a “non-revenue” sport which is often everything except football and
men’s basketball.

Division 2 schools give some athletic scholarships
as well. However, these schools are often smaller, and the demands of the
athletic program might be less intense than what is found at Division 1
schools. Student athletes might have more of an opportunity to be a bigger fish
in a smaller pond.

Division 3 schools do not offer athletic
scholarships. This is a very important line that is drawn at this tier and one
that many students and parents are unaware of it. Most Division 3 athletes will
qualify for some financial aid but that will be in the form of academic or
need-based scholarships. It won’t come from the athletic department. As a
result, the demands of the athletic programs might be less intense still than
Division 2 programs.

The same is true for colleges that compete in the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or NAIA. These colleges are
generally on par with Division 3 schools and also do not offer athletic
scholarships. However, they will also give most of their athletes some
financial aid through other avenues.



Any high school athlete who aspires to play at the
next level should register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. There are strict
academic standards a student-athlete must meet in order to qualify for college
athletics. These qualifications vary by the tier of the athletic program but
registering with the NCAA can get your foot in the door for each division.
Students and parents should be aware of financial implications of being a
student athlete and how different colleges and individual sports at individual
schools treat financial aid. There is no one-size-fits-all answer for anything
related to college athletic scholarships so it’s crucial to ask lots of
questions to recruiters and do your own research.

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