Making the Right College Choice
Strategies for Soccer in College and Funding For Education
By Andy Walker
former Beach FC Director of Club Development
Outline:
- Interesting facts:
- There are nearly one million high school football players and about 500,000 basketball players. Of that number, about 150 make it to the NFL and 50 make an NBA team
- Less than 3 percent of college seniors will play one year in professional basketball
- The odds of a high school football player making it to the pros at all, are about 6,000 to 1; The odds for a high school basketball player are 10,000 to 1
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association
- Founded in 1906
- Made up of 964 schools classified in three divisions
- NCAA Division I – 310 schools
- NCAA Division II – 267 schools
- NCAA Division III – 387 schools
- NAIA – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (separate rules and regulations from the NCAA)
- NCAA Clearinghouse
- A central clearinghouse will certify your athletics eligibility for Division I and II
- No bearing on admission to a DI or DII institution
- Register after your junior year is complete
- Standardized test scores, official transcripts, and an application fee
- You can mark on the SAT or ACT 9999 to have scores automatically sent
- The schools that you apply can request a copy of your NCAA Clearinghouse results
- Criteria for choosing a good match:
- Academic programs
- Location
- Size
- Campus life
- Academic resources for student athletes
- Soccer should NOT be the determining factor
- Consider the unexpected:
- Injury
- Burn out
- Change in interests
- Consider the unexpected:
- Prospective Student Athlete Timeline:
- Sophomore year
- Research familiar colleges on the web
- Attend local college fairs
- PSAT
- Junior year “fall”
- Begin to narrow search
- Apply to the NCAA clearinghouse
- Attend local college fairs
- Visit local colleges
- Sat/act
- Junior year “spring/summer”
- Pick “3-3-3”
- Write letters to coaches
- College visits
- Sat/PSAT
- Senior year “fall”
- Submit applications
- “Early Decision” applications
- “Official and “Unofficial” visits
- Final SAT/PSAT
- Senior year “spring”
- “Signing Day – Nat’l Letter of Intent”
- Make final visit to top choice
- Senior year “summer”
- Get Fit!!!!!
- Sophomore year