Soccer Scholarships

pafather
Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:57:27 +0000

A full scholarship to college based on soccer ability is extraordinarily rare. Each NCAA Division 1 men’s college soccer team is only allowed to award a maximum of 9.9 scholarships total. These awards are evaluated in terms of partial scholarships, so a coach can award a 1/3 scholarship to three players that counts the same as if he awarded a full scholarship to one player. Since there are 11 players on the field at once, obviously zero colleges have teams comprised of a starting team that all received full scholarships. Furthermore, many coaches award smaller percentage scholarships to freshmen and enable upperclass players to earn a larger percentage by their on-field performance during the freshman and sophomore years. Also note that these are maximums. Since college soccer is often not a positive revenue producing sport, many colleges offer fewer than the maximum number of scholarships. Additionally, state schools with limited budgets may have difficulty awarding scholarships to out-of state students because the cost is prohibitive (i.e. high out-of-state tuition).

The primary financial benefit of playing soccer at a high level is that it makes it easier for an applicant with particular academic credentials (grades and SAT scores) to get accepted at excellent universities that may have better need-based financial aid than do other colleges. For example, Ivy League and similar schools that award generous need-based financial aid (meet 100 percent of need with no loans) will often accept excellent soccer players who have SAT scores that are 300 points (out of 1600) lower than their typical accepted students. This is for a soccer player who is comparable to a starter on a club team that is in the top 15 or so teams in the country (e.g. on www.nationalsoccerranking.com). You should check into whether particular colleges that interest you offer need-based financial aid for international students.

If you are a truly premier soccer player (e.g. equivalent to one of the top 20 or so US soccer players playing at the U-17 or U-18 level), there is a chance but no guarantee that you can obtain a full scholarship, depending on a college’s need at your position. For example, if you are an All-American goalkeeper and a team already has a goalkeeper who received a full scholarship, you will certainly not be offered a full scholarship. If you think your soccer skills are among the best of the best, then you could try looking at a web site that lists the top-ranked Division 1 programs (e.g. [Main Page) - Soccer Ratings](http://www.soccerratings.com/index.php/Main_Page)). There is definitely some correlation between team success and the number of scholarships offered, but many of these teams will not offer a full scholarship to an entering freshman unless you are the next Ronaldo.