Why A Sports Scholarship To America
The American College system produces some of the best sporting talent in the world. The facilities, coaching and support networks including sports science, nutrition, physiotherapy and fitness training are all world class. Universities travel the length and breadth of the United States to play each other; it is big business involving, massive corporate sponsorship, fanatical crowds, rich history, and national television coverage. Collegiate sports are as close to a professional environment as it's possible to get. A normal schedule involves one to two training sessions or practices a day plus additional sports specific weights and fitness sessions. All this alongside a full university degree program.
Scholarship funded
sports include Football (Soccer), Golf, Basketball, Tennis,
Field Hockey, American Football, Baseball, Swimming & Diving,
Track and Field, Fencing, Rowing (Crew), Skiing, Gymnastics and
many more.
Academics
America is the only place in the world where you can effectively combine top-level sport with a university degree. In order to maintain scholarship status an athlete has to maintain a C grade average. Because collegiate sports bring in so much revenue it's essential that coaches make sure their scholarship athletes keep up with their studies. Personal tutors, additional classes and regular reviews are all utilized to make sure athletes have all the help they need to make their grades and earn their university degree.
An Unforgettable Experience
Being a student athlete in America is beyond what most people in England can imagine. Sports excellence and supporting your school/ college team is a massive part of the culture. Even 16 year olds regularly experience playing in front of hundreds, even thousands of people. At university the support is incredible, sell out crowds at every game, cheerleaders, hot dog vendors, the works. Imagine a few thousand people chanting your name...
Here are just a few other amazing aspects of being a student athlete in America:
• Free equipment, clothes and shoes from team sponsors like Nike, Adidas and Reebok
• Getting recognized on campus
• The friendship, camaraderie and banter that comes with training and playing every day with your team- mates.
• Making friends with people from all over America and all over the World
• Visiting new friends in places like New York and California during spring break and fall break.
A Backup Plan
Most people, students and parents alike recognize that only a select few make it through the various UK sports development systems to become professional athletes. Anything can happen along the way, injuries at the wrong time, clashes with coaches or selectors, just about anything can derail a career before it's really even taken off. Getting a scholarship to play sport at an American university allows athletes to pursue their dream of a profes- sional sports career while at the same time completing a degree that will serve to increase their confidence, employability and earning potential long after their sports career has finished.
Life After College
After playing 4 years of top-level sport there is the obvious opportunity for athletes to turn professional either through the draft system in the US, or through the more traditional routes in Europe or back in England. Ath- letes USA have excellent links with Sports Management agencies to help this ultimate dream come true. If turn- ing professional isn't an option for whatever reason, a university degree really does enhance your employment opportunities and coupled with the life experience gained by going it alone for 4 years in America makes any CV stand out in the crowd.
The Sport Scholarship System And How It Works
Universities in America charge a tuition fee in order to study at their institution. This fee varies greatly between universities, with the more prestigious establishments like UCLA and North Carolina setting their fees at around $40,000 per student per year. Less prestigious, smaller colleges can be as low as $10,000 per year. There are also costs associated to accommodation and food on campus, which again vary from university to university. Coaches award a scholarship in the form of a sum of money to athletes they would like to add to their program to either completely or partially cover the expense of attending their institution.
A 100% scholarship or "Full Ride" means that all tuition, accommodation and food are paid for. A partial scholarship means that the student and their family will have to contribute some money every year to cover the difference. This amount will vary depending on how prestigious the university is, for example a 90% scholarship at UCLA would probably require the family to contribute more than if they accepted an 70% scholarship to a smaller, less prestigious university.
Expenses that aren't covered by a scholarship are:
• (Books can be bought second hand to save money)
•Spending money whilst you're out there for entertainment- Working off campus is not possible due to the restrictions of the student visa but there are always jobs available on campus that can help with this.
Flights to and from America International Medical Insurance- Approx £500 per year Books and study material- Varies from college to college but allow a couple of hundred dollars
The percentage value of a scholarship awarded to a student is determined by the coach and is affected by the following factors:
How good they feel the athlete is and how valuable they feel they will be to their program How desperate they are at that particular time to fill a certain position How much of a risk an athlete is deemed to be when looking at talent, potential and injury his-
How much money the coach had left in his budget
The Athletes USA Exclusive Service
When an athlete gets in touch with us we will conduct a thorough consultation explaining absolutely everything including full details of the Athletes USA program and how much it costs. Normally we will then speak to the athlete’s parents and answer all their questions to ensure everyone involved fully understands the whole process. It is in the athletes best interests to sign up to our program as early as possible to ensure we can complete a full search, arrange official recruitment visits and negotiate the highest possible scholarship offers. College starts each August and ideally athletes should be signed up to the program 18 months prior, although in exceptional cases we will accept them as late as 7 months prior (January).
A Personal Sports Scholarship Agent will do all of the following and be in regular proactive contact:
We won't stop until we've have found a university and scholarship the athlete is happy with.
Advice and guidance on which scholarship offers to consider based on athletic, academic and cultural fit.
Consultation to establish sporting, academic and scholarship goals Building Sports CV- Playing history, stats, coach contact details etc Editing of Highlight Video from game footage Complete college search, we have links with over 3500 college coaches in America and we
Arranging official recruitment visits to short-list universities SAT training, past papers, advice etc (where applicable) Guidance on obtaining US Student Visa from American Embassy Completion of all the forms including University I20 Comprehensive aftercare service- If the student is not happy once they get over to the States
Free vouches and information from our partners such as, Stuart Morgan, Maximuscle, Karl Morris, Nike and many more.
The Exclusive Program only takes on athletes that we can be sure can earn a scholarship, if we are not sure you will earn a scholarship you wont be accepted to the program.
