Sports Scholarships

Overview of Sports Scholarships

Sports scholarship is a type of scholarship grant that is given to a deserving student, allowing him or her to take up classes in a particular academic institution. This is awarded to the said person based on his ability and aptitude to play a certain sports well. In the United States, this type of scholarship is very popular and is widely accepted. However, for other countries this option is very limited or is completely non-existent.

Many colleges throughout the country offer this sort of scholarship and they maintain high-ranking varsities that are thoroughly trained to win in various tournaments. Due to the fact that tuition today are very expensive, many students see sports scholarship as their way to finish their education. To qualify for this, a student must work hard to get noticed by coaches and scouts during games.

For many, the term sports scholarship is of no merit, since the said term is an oxymoron. For a long time now, many people have looked upon with suspicion on the scholarship that is given to students based on how high they can jump, how fast they can run, and the likes. In fact, those who are given sports scholarships are often called as jocks. In American slang, a jock refer to a person who is more of brawns than brains. In other words, this scholarship is seen by many as the one for those who are not smart enough to be given an academic scholarship.

A sports scholarship is often characterized as a sort of hiring for students to play for a varsity team. Instead of giving out money, the students are given a scholarship while for some, their miscellaneous fees and dormitories are provided for free. It is said that if it wasn't for such scholarship programs, many of America's youth would be not be able to finish college.

Sports Scholarships in the US

Sports scholarships in the United States are mainly regulated and taken care of by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Their responsibilities include setting standards for awarding and maintaining of a certain scholarship.

There are three different divisions in the NCAA and of the three, it is the first and the second division which offer many scholarship grants that are competitive and comprehensive. This is because the schools here take competition seriously, particularly in the first division. It is from these schools that most of the students aim to acquire a scholarship, since the varsity teams here are large and get huge amounts of exposure during matches.

Depending on one's sports, many colleges offer decent scholarship grants to aspiring varsities provided that they meet the expectations and requirements that were set previously.
Unfortunately, college sports scholarships have been riddled with a fair amount of controversy recently. Among these controversial issues are:

1. Lower grades for the admission of college athletes are allowed in some schools. To get quality players, most schools often resort to offer sports scholarships to those students who are not academically qualified.

2. To help their prized sports scholars, most schools offer substandard degrees and majors that are often less academically inclined compared to other courses.

3. Most of the sports scholars in college are given noticeably lighter loads in their schedules.

4. Some schools even go as far as to separate and segregate their sports scholars from other students. This is by providing them with facilities that are for their use only.

Qualifying for a Sports Scholarship

For a student to qualify for this kind of scholarship, he must first have information about it in the first place. It is very important for this kind of scholarship applicant to know more about the program, like the requirements and the contact persons.

For those who are curious as to where they can apply for a sports scholarship, the Internet is often their best source. There are sites that can help an applicant learn more about how they can qualify for a scholarship. Discussing one's options with the local high school's guidance counselor is also something that one must consider. Contacts are also valuable for aspiring sports athletes, so talking to the coach is also advisable. For the exceptional player, many colleges would immediately contact him or her before graduating from high school, letting the prospective athlete know that he or she is a candidate for a grant.
Like all types of scholarships, the one for sports also has certain rules and regulations to be followed when processing the applications of incoming students. To lower the odds of not being awarded a scholarship, the student must first make certain that he complies with all of the regulations.

A student must have acceptable grades, passing the SATs and the TOEFEL, should he be a foreigner or an immigrant.

For one to finish college, many students who are good in sports take up this opportunity and apply for a scholarship. There are still many options for those who wish to finish a college education. Thus, looking for scholarships that best fit one's strength is a good chance.