All college bound students are required to take certain steps in order to complete the college search and application process. However, high school student-athletes face several additional steps if they want to play college level sports.  These are as follows:

Be clear about what level of play you aspire to

It is very important to be clear about your abilities and what division of college is realistic for you to pursue.  Talk to your coach to help you narrow down a list of colleges and choose one that is right for you based upon your skills and experience.

Attend a summer sports camp at your college of interest

Attending a sports camp at a college of interest is extremely important because not only does it expose you to college coaches, it also helps to give you a good feel for the campus.  

Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center

To be eligible to play Division I or II sports, you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, ideally by the beginning of your junior year of high school.  The NCAA recommends that student-athletes register at the beginning of their junior year in high school, but many students register after their junior year. There is no registration deadline, but students must be cleared by the Eligibility Center before they receive athletic scholarships or compete at a Division I or II institution.  Visit the NCAA Eligibility Center website to learn more.

How do you ensure that you get accepted into your college of choice?  At a minimum, it is extremely important that your application is complete, meaning, that you follow all steps required of each college when submitting your application materials.  Unfortunately, even the most qualified students are rejected from colleges each year simply because they did not submit a full application, they did not meet the qualifications required, or some other important reason.  Below are some of the top reasons why college applications do not get accepted along with some helpful tips on submitting the most competitive application possible.

The applicant does not meet the academic threshold – the majority of colleges base their admissions decisions on all parts of a student’s application, not just on grades and test scores alone.   Hence, the types of courses a student takes during high school (of course the most challenging being preferred) and his or her corresponding grades as well as extracurricular activities can greatly influence one’s chances of being admitted.  As provided by a leading U.S. academic institution, “we have a bottom line when it comes to admissions, and if a student does not achieve over a certain number of our admissions factors, it can lead to an overall denial of their application.”

The application is incomplete – as noted above, an incomplete application can lead to a denial of even the most qualified applicant. This means that such things as missing test scores, recommendation letters, personal statements, and other required documentation can delay the review process and even lead to a rejection if they are not received in a timely fashion.  This is why we recommend that you do your homework ahead of time to know what each application requires, and the associated deadlines of each.  Create a schedule to guide you during the process and keep on top of the timelines required for each step of the application. Check off the requirements that have been fulfilled so that you know where each application stands.