Being a college athlete comes with a lot of benefits: competing in your sport at the next level, showing off your skills in front of hundreds—sometimes thousands—of fans, and receiving an athletic scholarship. However, the path to an athletic scholarship can be long and complicated.
Many athletes fail to achieve their goal of competing in college because they don’t understand how the recruiting process works. Here are five steps you take to stay on track for an athletic scholarship.
One of the most difficult parts of the recruiting process is understanding what division level is best for you. NCAA Division I athletics aren’t for everyone—in fact, only a select few athletes compete at D-I schools! To better understand where you fall, get evaluated by a third-party, or attend camps that attract other college-bound athletes to see how you compare.
After you’ve gained a better understanding of the division levels that are right for you, start researching schools you’re interested in. Organizations, such as the Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), typically recommend compiling an initial list of about fifty schools, which you will narrow down throughout your recruiting process. Consider a school’s location, academics, athletics, and culture as you’re creating your college list.
Before you start reaching out to college coaches, compile the following information into an athletic resume:
From there you will need to research and put together the numbers and email addresses of the head coaches, assistant coaches, and recruiting coordinators on your initial list of best fit schools. During this phase of your recruiting process, also check all your social media accounts to ensure that you don’t have any inappropriate content. Coaches (not to mention admissions officers) will look at all your social media!
NSCA recommends beginning your outreach by emailing coaches. Remember: Coaches get hundreds of emails each week, so yours really needs to stand out to get their attention:
After about two weeks, call the coach to express interest in their program: Avoid creating a mass email including every coach’s contact information on it. Instead, individually craft each email and, if possible, specifically state why you’re interested in that programMake sure you plan ahead so you know what to say if the coach picks up the phone—or if you are sent to their voicemail. Some student-athletes prefer to create a script and go from that. As you’re preparing, research some key facts about the school, the team’s past season and why you’re interested in that program.
As you’re reaching out and developing relationships with coaches at different schools, there are a few key actions you should be taking to keep your recruiting process moving forward:
By this point in the recruiting process, you’re getting ready to lock down your offer and negotiate your scholarship amount. To get your best offer, compare the financial aid packages available at each of the schools that have extended you an offer. If a program doesn’t have the budget to provide a huge athletic scholarship, the school will often try to make up the difference with merit-based, academic, or other types of scholarships. Make sure you don’t discount other types of scholarships as you’re making your final decision.
As you’re going through each of these steps, remember that the recruiting process is very different for each individual student-athlete. If you need personal assistance from a recruiting expert, Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), a college athlete recruiting network, offers services that can help. The NCSA staff of more than 600 former college athletes and coaches has been through this process thousands of times—and they have countless insider tips for helping athletes find their best college match.
The Princeton Review has partnered with Next College Student Athlete which provides college-bound athletes with an online recruiting profile for all of your necessary information as well as many other tools to help you easily manage your recruiting journey.
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