subject: College Sports Scholarships: Crucial Information For Talented Athletes [print this page] If you are aiming to get one of the many athletic scholarships offered in various colleges, there are some important things that you need to know to aid you in your quest. One is that only a mere 3% of athletes in high school are able to qualify for sports scholarships at the college level. To help you to reach your goal of getting at least one of these worthy college sports scholarships, you will need to narrow the playing field by knowing these crucial facts.
Don't concentrate your efforts only on the big schools. While these schools normally offer a good number of college athletic scholarships, you might also want to take a look at smaller schools all over the country that offer scholarship grants to student athletes. Look for an athletic recruiting college near your area that fall under the categories of lower Division I and II schools. In some schools under the Division III category, you may not be able to avail of sports scholarships, but get access to financial aid for student athletes.
You will also want to consider that a majority of college athletic scholarships are only partial scholarships. Many athletes may labor under the delusion that these are equivalent to full-ride scholarships. This is not the case. Most of these sports scholarships grants in many colleges only pay a portion of student athletes' tuition fees. It is rare for student athletes to be awarded a full-ride scholarship, and only if they are in the elite top level of their sport.
Another thing you need to remember is that any athletic recruiting college will give out athletic scholarships only on an annual basis. You will not find a four-year college sports scholarship. It doesn't exist. Instead you will be given a tuition grant or financial aid for the first year, which is renewable for the next. If you perform poorly at your sport or are unable to make the required grade point average for the year, your sports scholarship is unlikely to be renewed for the following year.
The thing about college athletic scholarships is that student athletes are first and foremost students. Many people may lead you to believe that maintaining high grades isn't an important part of retaining your scholarship, but nothing can be further from the truth. A majority of coaches in any athletic recruiting college will first take a look at a potential grantee's classroom performance before deciding which one to recommend a scholarship award to.
While big schools can afford to send recruiters to various high schools to find the most likely players to win over, smaller schools need players, too. They may not have as big a budget to afford recruiting coaches; however, they will not turn away applications from potential student athletes who are eager to avail of scholarship grants in return for playing excellent sports. These small college coaches are waiting to hear from you. Don't discount this possibility when you are looking for college sports scholarships to apply to.
