Athletic scholarships are given to those individuals who can demonstrate athletic abilities that could help a college team reach the goals set by the head coach and his or her coaching staff.
Therefore, only the Head Coach and his staff (assistant coaches) can decide who and in which percentage will receive an athletic scholarship.
Other very common type of scholarship a student-athlete can hope to obtain is the academic scholarship which is given to those who demonstrate high academic standards. This kind of scholarship can be added to the athletic scholarship offered by the coaching staff, helping this way to reduce considerably the total expenses of attending college. Academic scholarships are not assigned by the coaching staff but by the university's admissions office.
Academic Eligibility
To be considered for an athletic scholarship however, it is also required to achieve a minimum academic standard; there's a minimum standard to participate in each league (NCAA-DI, NCAA-DII, NAIA) on top of which each school can require more selective standards to be accepted into school and therefore the PSA has to respond to all requirement to finally be able to compete at the collegiate level for that university.
A full athletic scholarship for most schools covers the following items:
- Tuition and fees
- Room and board
- Books
In some very rare cases, some FULL scholarships can also cover medical insurance, but this is generally a expense that students have to pay on their own.
Most scholarships (but this depends mainly on the sport) are partial scholarships and can cover from 20% to 80% of the cost of a full athletic scholarship. This is one of the main reasons why having good grades and test results are important: so that a student can hope to obtain an academic scholarship that could cover some of the expenses the athletic scholarship may not be able to cover.
There are hundreds of scholarships out there for those who want to study abroad. A great place to start your search is Outside Scholarships.
Other related information (registration needed)
- What is a head-count sport and an equivalency sport?
- Can I visit the university before making a decision?
- How long are athletic scholarships assigned for? Can they be renewed?
Sportlinx360 clients only
- What is a verbal commitment?
- What is the National Letter of Intent (NLI)?
- What are the "extra" expenses I will have to pay for once in college?
- Can I work in the USA if I am a student-athlete with a partial or full athletic scholarship?