NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Applying for college financial aid is one of the few things in life that may be even more confusing and complicated than taxes. It involves getting together loads of financial information, learning an alphabet soup of acronyms, and understanding how the financial aid system works.

Athletes that are ready to compete at the college level may be too busy with homework, practice, camps, and workouts to sit down for hours and study every last detail of the financial aid process. But to give yourself the best chance of using athletics to pay for your education and get ahead in life, it is crucial that you have at least a basic understanding of how financial aid works.

That’s why we’ve assembled this handy guide of 7 essential things about the financial aid process and how to get the best possible package to help pay for your education.

1. Good Academics Create Financial Aid Opportunities
A tiny, select group of athletes gets a full ride to college through an athletic scholarship alone (more on this later). But don’t count on it – even if you’re great, it’s unlikely. The better your GPA and standardized test scores, the more financial aid opportunities will be available to you in college. Some may be from the university, some may be from the state, your high school, or even nonprofit organizations. But no matter where you’re looking for scholarships, you’ll have the best chance if your academics are solid. Any scholarship you can’t apply for because you’re not academically qualified is money you threw out the window – don’t do it!

2. Know your EFC
EFC is one of those alphabet soup acronyms we were just talking about. It stands for “expected family contribution,” meaning the amount of money the Department of Education expects your family to pay towards your education. It is determined using a complex formula involving your family’s income and many of their tax details. You can read more about it by clicking here. Make sure to identify any tax exemptions and other financial details that your family qualified for, so you can get the most accurate EFC. If your family has an accountant or financial advisor, you may want to discuss this with them.

3. Complete Your FAFSA on Time
The FAFSA is another mess of letters – it stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid.” Your school will not be able to issue you any financial aid if you do not turn one in. This is another form that you’ll need tax information to fill out – make sure to have your parents’ taxes on hand before you sit down to do your FAFSA. You may also qualify for additional aid based on your FAFSA. Click here to read more about it.

4. Ask the Coaches About Aid in Advance
Once you know that a coach is interested in you, don’t be afraid to ask him or her directly about aid. Financial aid is one of the biggest tools that coaches have to bring student-athletes into their programs, and a coach can be a big help in both navigating the college financial aid jungle and in finding more sources of aid you may not have even known were there. The further in advance you ask, the better – money and scholarships can (and do) run out, so there’s an advantage to thinking ahead.

5. Know Whether Your Sport is Head Count or Equivalency
When it comes to financial aid, there are two types of college sports: “head count” sports, and “equivalency” or “olympic” sports. Head count sports tend to be the ones that generate revenue and you’re more likely to see on TV: in Division I, the head count sports are basketball and football for men, and basketball, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics for women. All other sports are equivalency in Division I – other divisions may have different rules for what is a head count sport and which is an equivalency sport (click here to read more about the differences).

The big difference for athletes: head count athletes get full scholarships. Athletes in equivalency sports may only get partial scholarships. It’s important to create additional financial aid opportunities for yourself, no matter what sport you play (what counts as a “full” scholarship can vary from school to school) – so you should know what kind of scholarships your sport offers as you go forward in the process. You can also talk to the coach about what options they have when it comes to distributing scholarships, how their scholarships are distributed, how many athletes are graduating, whether they can offer you more aid in the future, and so on.

6. Examine and Appeal Your SAR
Congratulations – you’ve gotten to the last of the big college financial aid acronyms! SAR stands for “student aid report.” It’s the document that your school’s financial aid office will create once they’ve processed your FAFSA and the financial aid you qualify for. It is a summary of all the financial aid the school offers you. Often – especially for athletes – you can find some additional aid if you “appeal” your SAR, especially if your coach is helping you with the process. This can be worth thousands of additional dollars.

7. Athletes aren’t limited to “athletic” scholarships
Finally, even if you are getting an athletic scholarship, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your eyes open for other kinds! This is especially important if you are only receiving a partial scholarship, or if you are playing at a division level that does not offer formal athletic scholarships. Athletes can receive need-based, merit-based (academic), or third-party scholarships (from veterans’ organizations, community service groups, unions… the list goes on and on). Qualifying for these scholarships is part of why academic success is so important. You can ask your high school counselor’s office, or use a website like fastweb.com to find lots of scholarships you may be eligible for.

Learning these facts and securing your financial aid accordingly can help save you and your family a lot of money. The financial assistance for your education is one of the most important advantages that sports can bring you in college – make the most of it!

Click here to join the network. If you’re already in the network, you can get more information about recruiting, or claim a free scouting evaluation by calling our College Scouts directly at 866-579-6272 – or click here to set a time to talk.

Dear Coach Taylor, what does it mean if a college coach is calling me once or twice a month?

Do you need more help in the recruiting process? Call 866-577-6272 or click here to get started!

Dear Coach Taylor, If a coach leaves his number in a recruiting letter should I call him? Why isn’t he calling me?

Do you need more help in the recruiting process? Call 866-577-6272 or click here to get started!

To be a college athlete takes many things, but you can boil them down to three “big qualities.” We will start with the championship work ethic.  Many young people get “work ethic” to a degree, but often don’t grasp the high level of dedication to development that is required. The Masters golf tournament included Kyle Stanley, who played college golf at Clemson. Stanley told the Associated Press that there was a lighted driving range at Clemson and that he stayed up as late as 3 in the morning working on his golf game. He said his motto never changed and that his last shot had to be the best one of the entire session. Stanley said there were times he would get to his car, shake his head, and go back and hit more until he was satisfied.

Basketball Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley had a work ethic that was legendary in his playing days. When he was at Notre Dame, he would knock on the doors of his teammates to see if they wanted to go play at the campus intramural gym — AFTER they had just finished a D1 regular season game.  That would be like battling Syracuse from 7 to 9 pm, and then playing four or five more pickup games from 10 to midnight.

Rick Mount, one of the greatest shooters in basketball history, was once taking a date out to eat. They happened to drive by the local basketball courts and he saw some really good players had come up from the local big city. He immediately drove his date to her house and basically told her the date was over so that he could work on his game against that elite competition.

Now, some people look at that and go, ‘That’s ridiculous!” That’s simply how some peak performers are wired. If you relate to the mindsets and work habits of the likes of Adrian Dantley and Kyle Stanley, not only do you have the chance to play at a high level of college athletics on scholarship…you also have a chance to be great.

Think about it. Kyle Stanley played in The Masters, a tournament 99,9 % of us can only dream of playing in. Staying out until 3 in the morning working on his short game was a reason he eventually qualifed for the Major Championship. Adrian Dantley reached the Basketball Hall of Fame even though he was not a very tall player. He simply developed an array of moves and practiced them over and over until they became unstoppable. Rick Mount became such a good shooter that in 1966 he became the first High School athlete ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Besides work ethic, another area of emphasis is character. Kentucky proved they were the best team in D1 men’s basketball in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Coach John Calipari has assembled massive talent by targeting players that will most likely go pro after one season with the Wildcats. But, if you watched how well they played together during the tourney, you see that he didn’t take players of questionable character. Calipari was quoted recently as saying that when he makes a home visit to a recruit, if the recruit is not respectful or doesn’t listen to their parent, step parent or grand parent, he leaves and does not recruit them. “If they don’t listen to their parents, they won’t listen to me,” says Calipari.

Work ethic. Character, and the big one: Academics.

The national power UConn men’s basketball team has been banned from next year’s postseason because of past academic problems. UConn faces a postseason ban because of several years of low scores on the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate.

The NCAA means business about raising academic rates. What this means is that more than ever College coaches will look at grades first before seriously recruiting an athlete. Many Coaches at the D1 level are under pressure to make the NCAA Tournament. They are not about to sign a talented athlete whose grades are so suspect that the athlete may not stay eligible, or that hurts their APR so bad that they miss the Big Dance. That means you better take care of business in the classroom and quit thinking just because you run a scorching 40 yard dash that you will play college ball.

Charlie Adams encourages young people to understand Athleadership and the Recruiting Process

If anything, you want to be respected, and the only truly respected College athlete is the true student-athlete. I covered thousands of College games during 23 years as a sportscaster. The media and the public usually were aware who was slacking off in the classroom and who was dedicated to academic success. I can remember being in press boxes for D1 football games and watching as a talented running back would find his way into the end zone. “Wonder if he can find a class room?” some media member would say, aware that the athlete was not dedicated academically. What’s sad is that in many cases this athlete thinks they are going pro so a degree isn’t that important. Then they go into the Draft and find themselves a late round pick or not even drafted; then they are sitting there without much of an education. Others play a few years in the pros but are out on the streets at age 26.

Yes, for some of those Kentucky basketball players, and others gifted with pro bodies, skill sets, and mindsets, the pro level is a realistic dream. But for 99% of you, this is about using your athletic abilities to get a college education at a highly respected college and becoming an Athleader.

It takes hard work, character, and academics. Plus, you have to know the recruiting game. Don’t be a 39 year-old down at the local park saying, “I could have played college ball….” Make it happen! Make sure you are in the NCSA database so that college coaches can learn about you. When they do, make sure they know they are getting a hard working, academically sound athlete who has high character and is involved in the community.

Charlie Adams

Do you have the athletics, academics, and character to play college sports? Find out! Click here to get a free evaluation with a College Scout.

Speaker Charlie Adams is the author of Stoke the Fire Within. He has been speaking on Peak Performance and the College Athletics Recruiting process for years. His oldest child is currently an NCAA student-athlete.

The first signing period of 2012 has ended. For some, so has the Division I Delusion.

What does that mean to you? And what is the Division I Delusion?

If you’re an unsigned senior football player, it means you will not be signing with a Division I/II school (football players – click here to learn about recruiting in Division III and NAIA, who may still have space available for you).

Different sports’ signing periods end at different times. However – just because your sport’s signing period hasn’t ended, or because you’re not a senior, doesn’t mean that this doesn’t affect you. Just the opposite: it’s the athletes who can still sign that have the most to gain.

Division I is the level we hear the most about, and it seems like the “best” level you can play in. It’s tempting to keep telling yourself that a DI offer is “just around the corner.” Guaranteed some football players with that mentality are very disappointed right now. The last thing you want to do is coast on high hopes until it’s too late to turn your recruiting situation around. The Division I Delusion is when you think you’re going to Division I even when there’s no evidence that you will.

So – are you DI material or not? Here’s 3 reality checks:

1. Most major Division I prospects get offers by the end of their junior year
So seniors, no matter what sport you play – if you’re not sitting on a DI offer, it’s time to move on. Right now, today. Juniors – get your name out there as much as you can, but you don’t have as long as you think. Freshman and sophomores – you are in a good place to position yourself to hopefully get that DI offer, but even if you are getting a lot of interest from DI, reach out to all divisions. It may be a good bargaining chip with DI programs, and if it turns out you’re not as in demand as you may have thought, you won’t be left with nothing.

2. You don’t need to wonder if coaches are interested in you
If you are on coaches radar and they want to recruit you, you will start receiving written correspondence and seeing college coaches at your games/meets freshman year (in most sports). If that’s not happening, it is because your recruiting level is light-to-none. This doesn’t mean you’re a bad athlete, but it does mean you may need to get realistic and proactive about recruiting.

3. Read the signs
The number one sign of a coach’s interest should be no surprise: a full scholarship offer, in writing. After that, a verbal full scholarship offer, a partial offer in writing, and then a partial verbal offer are the best indicators. The biggest sign of interest shy of a scholarship offer is an offer to take an official visit, and after that are personal phone calls and letters from a coach (assistant is good, head coach is better; typed is good, handwritten is better). Other signs of interests include an athletic application with a fee waiver, an invitation to an unofficial visit or summer camp, request for a highlight video, or questionnaire. But no matter what kind of attention you’re getting, remember – until you sign on that dotted line, everything is just practice.

Today marked the end of the Divsion I Delusion for some players – hopefully most of them will find a place at some of the excellent schools outside of Division I. And for those who haven’t reached crunch time yet – work your behind off, and expect the best, but prepare for the worst. Pursue the school of your dreams in Division I – but write those letters to the DII and DIII coaches, too.

Not sure what level is the best fit for you? Wondering how to get started, or how to get on coaches’ radar? Call 866-579-6272 or click here for a free evaluation with an NCSA College Scout. Our scouts have helped connect over 50,000 student athletes with college coaches.

Coach Taylor:

I didn’t receive the offer to my dream school at the division one level, what is recruiting like at the DIII and NAIA Level?

For Help With Recruiting Get Started Here

Or Call NCSA at 866-577-6272

Dear Coach Taylor,

I have been hearing a lot about unofficial visits, should I be taking them? Are they important in the recruiting process?

For help with recruiting get started HERE!

Or call 866-577-6272

One of my objectives here is to share stories of families that have gone through the recruiting process, and ask them to share their insights with you so that you can learn from them. Sean O’Neill (pictured below) has made his decision and committed to Ohio Northern University!  Their Men’s Swim team was ranked 11^th in D3 this year, and the school is ranked among the best in the country for academics. I asked his Dad Mike to share their experience from the recruiting trail:

“We signed up for NCSA after hearing Charlie Adams speak at Elkhart Central High School in December of 2009.  Our first unofficial visit to see a school and meet with a coach was in March of 2010 to Ohio Northern University.  ONU had looked at Sean on NCSA and head coach Peggy Ewald had responded to Sean’s email thanking her for checking out his profile.  At ONU we took a tour and then met with Coach Ewald for lunch.   Over the course of the next two years Sean had communication with many schools and coaches through NCSA introductions.  By the fall of 2011 Sean had been invited to over 40 overnight recruiting visits.  In all we must have visited a dozen schools and Sean attended overnights at 4 different schools.   We all find it funny his choice ended up being the first school he actually visited.”

As we made our way into 2012 (his senior year) we worked with Sean to narrow down his choices.  This was an amazingly hard process.  There are simply put many, many wonderful schools to choose from and just as many fantastic coaches at those establishments.  Sean’s Mother and I could relate with Sean on how hard a decision it was.  After almost every visit I was so impressed I would say to Sean ‘Boy, we sure should keep this school on the list.’

Sean was recruited by schools at the D1, D2 and D3 levels. He won the Sectional in the 100 Butterfly and qualified for State with a time of 53.17. For Big Ten schools to look at him, he would have to be at 50 or 51 seconds. Sean also tied the Elkhart Central record in the backstroke at 54.49. Mid to low level D1 schools recruited him as did D2′s but we felt more comfortable with the D3′s. There are tremendous athletes at that level (D3 Kenyon College men’s swimmer Zachary Turk recently qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races with respective times of 22.86 and 50.87). Ohio Northern can beat a number of D1 and D2 teams. I’m not talking about Big Ten programs or Notre Dame, but others.

When it came down to it Sean really thought long and hard about his decision.  He is going to major in Chemistry and felt that ONU was a really strong school for his major especially since they have a Pharmacy PHD program.  During a visit last summer Coach Ewald knowing that Sean planned to major in Chemistry set up a meeting for Sean and Sean’s Mom with one of ONU’s Chemistry professors.  The professor spent over an hour with Sean talking to him about the program and what Sean should look at post bachelors degree.   Sean then took a official recruiting visit to ONU in the fall and really felt a high comfort level with both the team and the school. In the past year, ONU has been ranked number 2 among Midwest Regional Colleges by U.S. News & World Report.

As the school financial packages started to come in this March I consulted with Joyce Wellhoefer of NCSA on what we were seeing and what would be reasonable to be added to those packages.  I really appreciated Joyce’s advice and experience in this area.  ONU had already given Sean their Trustee’s scholarship and after speaking with the coach and admissions rep they were willing and able to add more to his scholarship package.

Ohio Northern is a 3 hour drive from our home in Elkhart. He had good offers from excellent schools all over, but the way we looked at it was if it’s in, say, New York, a 14 hour drive or a flight, and if it is not better than a school in nearby Ohio or here in Indiana, is it worth going that route?

If there is one thing I think students and parents underestimate is the importance of grades.  Grades = the real scholarship money.  Had it not been for Sean’s grades (GPA over 4.0 and ranked among top students in senior class of over 400) and test scores he would not be attending a private college no matter what his athletic talent was.  The academic scholarships made it possible for Sean to have the wide choice of where he was going to go to school and swim and our ability to afford that.

The other thing that we constantly heard from families was ‘did he get a full ride?’ People have no idea how few full rides there are at any level especially in sports like swimming. When some of them realize they are not getting a full ride they are terribly disappointed.

Thank you, Mr. O’Neill, for taking us behind the scenes on the recruiting journey of Sean. As he states, there are outstanding athletes at all levels of college sports. I attended a D3 track meet near Chicago this past week where the top  performers in the men’s 5K were Sean Hasenstein of Wisconsin-Stevents Point with a time of 14 minutes and 56 seconds. Pablo Ramirez of Harper College was 2nd at 14 minutes and 59 seconds.

That’s ‘small College,’ D3. I’ll say it until I am blue in the face. If you have the God given ability and commitment to play D1 then go for it, but be open to all levels. There is serious competition at all levels. I assure you that 90% of the High School athletes in your area would have a hard time getting significant playing time at D2 schools like Grand Valley State or the University of Indianapolis. And if you want to really play at the high NAIA level, you had best be All Conference in High School at least one year and probably two years.

It all starts with a thorough evaluation. The O’Neill’s did it with College Scout Jim Sak of NCSA. To get into the data base College coaches use to help develop their Lists of prospects, and to see if you qualify for an Evaluation with a College Scout click here

Charlie Adams

Professional Speaker Charlie Adams is the author of the sports motivational book Stoke the Fire Within. One of his most passionate speaking topics is about helping families find success in recruiting, and motivating athletes to become Athleaders in life. Adams is the father of a current NCAA student-athlete and has a 10th grade daughter that plans to be a College swimmer. During a 23 year sportscasting career, Adams interviewed thousands of athletes and coaches  about the recruiting process and finding the right fit at the next level. He has written dozens of articles on recruiting, and delivered talks on the subject at High Schools, Camps and Combines around the world.

You read last week about the importance of technology in the recruiting process. It’s an important part of getting found by coaches, but where do you go from there?

Here we’ll show how you can use technology to improve your recruiting prospects offline.

#1 Know Your Competition
Go to the websites of colleges you are interested in and check out the members of the team you want to play on. How tall are the players? How much do they weigh? How do you stack up? A few years ago this wouldn’t have been possible without sneaking into the locker room, but now most college athletic teams list statistics and awards from high school (here’s an example of an All-American hoops player – scroll down to see his high school stuff). This will give you a good idea both about the expectations of the college and what kind of competition you’re up against.

#2 Find Camps
The days of going to whatever camps you hear about are over. There are now sophisticated online tools to locate camps in your area for almost any sport. Remember that camps themselves won’t get you noticed by coaches – that’s one of the most common myths in recruiting – but they do offer a place for you to improve your skills and play against elite competition.

#3 Get Educated
There is a crazy amount of free recruiting information online, which is good, because most recruits know next to nothing about how the process works (which is okay – if there’s one thing athletes know, it’s that you start humble and work hard ‘til you’re an expert). 20 years ago, none of this stuff was out there. NCSA has an entire video library dedicated to answering any and every question you have about recruiting (click here to check it out). Knowing the process won’t make coaches start beating down your door, but understanding the process is one of the first things any serious prospect should do. Click here to check out our new recruiting roadmap, customized for your sport (free signup required). Once you learn this stuff online – it will help you in all kinds of ways once you’re out there trying to get recruited. Seriously.

By the way – if you’ve got any recruiting questions you don’t see in the video library, just email our man Randy Taylor at askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org. He was a college coach for 30 years, so he pretty much knows this stuff, and his email address even has “ask” in the name, so you know he’s up for answering your questions.

As always, if you want to start your recruiting process and find out where you stand, call our College Scouts at 866-579-6272 or click here.

Gunner Kiel was one of the most coveted football recruits in the country over the past few years. As a quarterback at Columbus East High School (not too far from Indianapolis) the 6-4, 215-pound Kiel threw for more than 2,500 yards and ran for nearly 500 more in his senior season. He threw 28 touchdowns and ran for 11 more. Everyone basically wanted him, from National Champions Alabama on down.

He recently talked to the media about the recruiting experience and how stressful it was for him. Kiel originally committed to Indiana University, but changed his mind. Then he announced he would sign with LSU. On Signing Day he  changed his mind again. He signed with Notre Dame.

Kiel enrolled at Notre Dame in January so he could go through Spring Practice and have a head start on competing for the starting quarterback job. He spoke with the media for the first time since January, and shared candid insights on recruiting.

“For me, I think I just struggled with recruiting. I think I put so much stress on myself and overanalyzed everything that it just kept pushing back my decision. And I just kept freaking out whenever I wanted to get into something and whenever I would settle, and I would just have one foot in instead of jumping in. I would just freak out at the last minute, I guess. I just stressed myself out and got overwhelmed a little bit.”

There is stress in recruiting and making a college choice, no matter if you are Gunner Kiel or someone that is far from being rated one of the Top 100 recruits in your sport. This is one of the biggest decisions a young person will make in their lifetime. The key is to keep it in perspective and not let the stress get to you like it did to Kiel. You can get paralysis by analysis if you constantly scrutinize every factor. You need to have a list of the most important things to you such as:

* Does the school have your major or area of academic interest?

* Do you want to stay close to home or do you want to get away?

* What are the playing time chances for you with the team?

* What kind of coach do you best play for – intense or more encouraging?

* Do you want to be a part of an established winning college team or be that recruit that helps turn an average program into a winner?

* Big school or smaller school? Big city or a campus out in a small town in the country?

* Do they really want you? In an interesting comparison, NBA player David West recently said that when he became a free agent last year he signed with the Indiana Pacers because, as he put it, he learned a long time ago to go where you’re wanted. The Pacers pursued him harder than anyone else.

* Are you getting significant scholarships?

* If you have a career ending injury, will you still love the college?

There are many factors, and you can drive yourself up the wall if you are looking to find the perfect fit. As Kiel went through the process he first announced he was going to Indiana for reasons such as very close to home and the chance to take them to places in the Big Ten they had not been before.  LSU became attractive because, well, they are LSU and National Championships are realistic there. He announced he would go there but then the big factor for him jumped up. It’s a long way from central Indiana down to Louisiana.

“Staying close definitely meant a lot,” Kiel told reporters. “Of course I want my family to come and watch me play. And knowing that I can go home on the weekends, I can get away from something crazy. If I have a rough week, I can go home on a weekend and recharge my batteries. I thought that was definitely huge for me.”

Speaker Charlie Adams has a passion for helping families to find the right fit for their athlete at the next level

So, on Signing Day he changed gears and literally signed with Notre Dame, which is really not that close to home (about a four hour drive one way) but much closer than Lousiana. The ‘Close to Home’ factor was huge for him, as he stated. For others, it is not as big. I always say if you are very tight with your immediate family and your nieces and nephews, then you probably want to sign with a school within a few hours of home. There are many young people that have no problem with signing with a school way off, and the immediate friends they make within the team really ease the problem of homesickness that a normal student would have that went away to college.

If you are having stress with recruiting, that’s okay. If 5 star, blue chip recruit Gunner Kiel can freak out over the process, then anyone can freak out. The key is to be educated and to work the process. Be sure to read Athletes Wanted by Chris Krause. If you go to the blog area here at ncsasports.org, you can search Charlie Adams and read my articles on recruiting. Many of them are on families that have been where you are, and they share their insights. Make those college visits so that you can start to figure out where is the best fit for you by process of elimination. Be sure to have many discussions with your family. Make lists but don’t feel you have to find the place that perfectly fits every factor on your list. With Kiel, the relationship with his college coaches was a big factor, and he felt he found that with Notre Dame. Distance from home was huge to him. It took him to the last minute, but he figured it out. He found the right fit for him.

That’s the key. Finding the right fit for you.

Charlie Adams

Professional Speaker Charlie Adams is the author of ‘Stoke the Fire Within. One of his most passionate speaking topics is about helping families find success in recruiting, and motivating athletes to become Athleaders in life. Adams is the father of a current NCAA student-athlete and has interviewed thousands of athletes and coaches over the years about recruiting. He has written dozens of articles on recruiting, and delivered talks on the subject at High Schools, Camps and Combines from Fairbanks, Alaska to Nashville to the island of Curacao in the southern Caribbean. To inquire about bringing Charlie to speak at your school, club or event, contact Amanda Rawson at arawson@ncsasports.org