Can You Get Both An Athletic And Academic Scholarship?
The cost of college is a growing one, so as an athlete or the parent of one, you may be wondering if you can receive both an academic and athletic scholarship.
You are able to receive both an athletic and academic scholarship. There are specific NCAA stipulations regarding how to attain an academic scholarship, but if a student-athlete meets these, they are eligible for both an academic and athletic scholarship. You may be thinking you only need one or the other, but often athletic scholarships only cover a portion of the cost; athletic scholarships are not always “full” scholarships.
All levels of college athletics have different required standards to qualify for an academic scholarship. Make sure to pay attention to the specific requirements that are in place to be awarded an academic scholarship as an athlete. Below is a comprehensive list of requirements for colleges or universities to offer academic scholarships to athletes. Alongside this, this article will go into why it’s important to try and receive both an athletic and academic scholarship as well as why it is so important to not solely rely on receiving an athletic scholarship.
NCAA Requirement To Combine Both An Athletic And Academic Scholarship
In terms of academics, receiving an athletic scholarship is a lot less strenuous than receiving an academic scholarship. For an athletic scholarship, a student must graduate with 16 core courses and earn a GPA of 2.3. The qualifications for an academic scholarship as an athlete are a lot harder to come by.
Requirements: Division 1 - Top 10% of High School Graduating Class 3.5 Cumulative GPA out of 4.0 1200 SAT score/ 105 ACT Score sum
Division 2 - Top 20% of High School Graduating Class 3.5 Cumulative GPA out of 4.0 1140 SAT score/ 100 ACT Score Sum
Division 3 - No Requirements; aren’t allowed to award athletic scholarships.
Why are these requirements in place? Without placing specific requirements on academic scholarship recipients, collegiate programs would abuse the distribution of academic scholarships. No requirements would allow universities to save their athletic scholarships to continue recruiting, and simply place some student-athletes on academic scholarships. This point also contributes to the fact that meeting these requirements makes you eligible for an academic scholarship, and thus a more appealing recruit.
Why Should I Try To Get Both An Academic And Athletic Scholarship?
“Why would I work so hard for an academic scholarship when I already qualify for an athletic scholarship?” While this is a valid question, there’s plentiful answers that should encourage you to work as hard as possible.
Financial Benefit: Many athletic scholarships will only cover a portion of the total expense of attending a university. That being said, working hard in the classroom and qualifying for an academic scholarship alongside an athletic scholarship can be very financially beneficial.
You’ll Be In The Good Graces Of Your Coach: As I mentioned earlier, having high achieving academics in high school looks favorably as a recruit. If you manage to attain an academic scholarship, not only are you doing yourself a favor but also the coach. This definitely doesn’t hurt the coach’s overall outlook on you when you arrive to school in the fall.
You’re Only Benefiting Yourself: By doing your coursework, you’re ultimately only benefiting yourself. Not only are you broadening your knowledge base, but you are also preparing yourself for the future. The main reason you should be attending a college or university is to prepare yourself for the next step in life; the workforce. Sustaining good grades not only will allow you to qualify for an academic scholarship but prepare you for the future. Being as educated as possible coming out of college will be highly beneficial in your transition to professional life.
Your Athletic Scholarship Is Not Guaranteed
Your college athletic career can be impacted by many factors that are out of your control and the security of your athletic scholarship can be jeopardized by those factors. For this reason, having an academic scholarship will give you more financial security than just relying on an athletics scholarship.
Scholarship Security: Academic scholarships are fairly clear cut; if you maintain the minimum GPA for the scholarship that you have been awarded it will be honored into the next school year, given that it is renewable and for all four years. Athletic scholarships; not so much. An athletic scholarship can be revoked or not renewed for various reasons, making it very favorable to try and attain an academic scholarship. Below is a list of a few ways you could lose your athletic scholarship.
Athlete Becomes Ineligible: An athlete can become ineligible for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons include, but are not limited to, failing a drug test, dropping below minimum course hours, or falling below the minimum GPA requirement. This possibility to become ineligible and have your scholarship revoked should be enough reason to motivate you to pursue an academic scholarship.
Limited Athlete Participation : As an athlete on an athletic scholarship, you commit to being a part of all team activities. If for some reason you either decide not to show up to practice or miss team meetings regularly, you are putting your athletic scholarship in serious jeopardy.
Misconduct: An athlete could lose his athletic scholarship if the university decided that the athlete has been involved in any type of serious misconduct. This could range anywhere from drinking on campus to sexual assault.
Quitting the Team: As a prospective collegiate athlete, you may think this doesn’t apply to you, but it just might. There are plenty of collegiate athletes who enter college with high expectations for being a member of the team. Quite frankly though, not all of them will remain on the team. For whatever reason if you were to quit the team, an athletic scholarship could be revoked. This removal of a scholarship would only apply to the athletic scholarship, thus making an academic scholarship still valid.
The Odds Of Earning An Athletic Scholarship Are Low
While you may think you have what it takes to become a college athlete, it's extremely important to understand the likelihood of that happening.
Probability Of Being An NCAA Athlete: Of around 8 million students who participate in high school athletics, somewhere around 480,000 will compete as NCAA athletes; even less receive an athletic scholarship. The probability of this happening is rather low, thus making it important for academics to be a priority. There may be a low percentage of students who achieve the ranks of a Division I athlete, but no matter who you are or what athletic ability you have, an academic scholarship is still attainable. Make sure to prioritize your academics all four years of high school in case you don’t manage to receive an athletic scholarship.
Probability Of Being A Professional Athlete: As mentioned above, around 480,000 athletes participate in NCAA athletics. This being said, nowhere near that number make it to the next level. Of the 480,000 student-athletes, only a select few make it to the professional level. Beyond just this, even if you are able to achieve the professional level, an even fewer percentage of individuals will sustain long, lucrative careers.
These statistics aren’t meant to discourage, but to encourage you to try to also qualify for an academic scholarship. You may be the 1% that makes it to the big stage, and bright lights, but if you aren’t, it’s important to have a back-up plan. Prioritizing school work in high school will serve as an asset in your future.
Things To Keep In Mind
Start Early: The NCAA has very strict, and high achieving requirements if you want to receive an academic scholarship. To meet these requirements, it’s important to prioritize academics right from the get go. As soon as your freshman year of high school begins, it’s critical to put your nose to the grindstone and work as hard as you can. If you don’t take school seriously your first year or two, you will with no doubt seriously regret it when trying to qualify for an academic scholarship.
Be Realistic: Whenever you do go off to college, it’s important to remember that after all, you are a student-athlete, not just an athlete. Make sure to make the most out of your time in college and try and perform to the best of your ability, so that you have a plan B. You may not be able to play college or professional athletics, but with hard work you can effectively prepare yourself for the future. Be realistic in the sense that you may not go to the NBA or NFL. Don’t view school as just a ‘back-up plan.’
Try Your Best: Regardless of any of the information mentioned above, you should be trying hard. Education is mandatory for a reason as it is both extremely important to your personal development and your eventual professional career. Besides just these fundamental concepts, trying your best and succeeding will directly benefit you. The way in which it’s beneficial may be anywhere from aiding you financially to getting you into the graduate school that you had hoped. It’s important to prioritize academics as while college is typically only four years, the result of it will last a lifetime.