College Sports Scholarships

Getting a college scholarship is not an easy task; there are several challenges to overcome. And if you are going for a scholarship based on a game skill that you possess, it is even more challenging to make the right choice. Be it baseball, golf, tennis or soccer that you love, it opens a wide window of opportunity to get you into some of the best colleges to pursue your academic dream and become a sports professional, additionally. Who said teeing off on the green or teeing off into academic excellence was difficult? No doubt, the challenges are formidable but the singular advantage of honing body and mind towards reaching your goals is reward in itself.

Some helpful information on identifying challenges and approaching them in a most meticulous manner is set out here.

• If your mind is set on playing golf or tennis or basketball in college by winning a scholarship, get yourself an early start. The best thing would be to make a 'wish list' of those things that would make your college going experience; these will keep evolving during freshman or sophomore years and it is important to identify what works for you best.

• To start with, some of things you may have to consider while making your choice of college depend on fundamentals like proximity, campus size, city & climate, reputation and match with your academic needs, quality of sports program, practice facilities, costs etc.

• As you finish school, more important factors like partial or full scholarship, the individual involved in team coaching and coaching style and track record of the college team, come into play.

The Three 'Musts'

Broadly, preparation for college scholarship for a sport falls into three categories. There are of course, many more that you can chalk out for yourself, but these are generally considered precursors to giving yourself the ultimate opportunity.

1. Grades and GPAs should always be kept as high as possible as that allows for wider choice of selection to college scholarships. Grade averages and entrance exam requirements vary from college to college but collecting information upfront about the colleges that interest you is a means of keeping up to date.

2. Being part of the school team in tennis, golf, basketball or soccer or being part of junior clubs playing in local and regional tournaments are huge pluses. Participation and scores in competitions and tournaments outside of high school play a greater part in being noticed by college coaches and teams. In short, it means that extra emphasis on skill building and fine tuning those skills through competition experience is a must.

3. Always be abreast of application and recruitment deadlines and schedules. Communicating with colleges of your choice, getting information on game scholarships and meeting coaches of college teams help establish communication and open the way forward. You can count yourself lucky if you establish a mode of communication by phone or email with a coach who can monitor your progress in the game and provide valuable assistance and guidance within the gambit of the rules and regulations that govern academic institutions.