ARE YOU LOOKING TO OBTAIN A SCHOLARSHIP AT A UNIVERSITY IN THE US?
At Academy AST we inform you and help you to achieve it.
LIVE A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
The United States has become one of the main markets in the world of soccer due to its potential and its room for improvement.
More and more North American fans are prioritizing football or soccer – as they call it – over other tremendously popular sports in the country such as American football, basketball, baseball or hockey.
The system of professional leagues in the United States is very different from the one we have in European countries, since in the USA there are no promotions or relegations, the clubs function as franchises, all the decisions of the clubs at the sponsor level, television rights or salary caps are common…
Another of the most important aspects that differ from the European model is the university. The university stage for young athletes is essential in this country since they do not have a youth system as we know it in Europe. It is where the professional teams of the different sports leagues are nourished.
The United States is the only educational system that allows you to combine studies and sports. It is for this reason that many young people from all over the world decide to travel to the United States and play for a university, be it basketball, soccer…
Currently there are more than 1,500 universities in the USA that have soccer teams and the vast majority offer scholarships.
WHY STUDY IN THE US?
As we have previously commented, the university system in the United States is the only one in the world that allows combining the study of a degree with top-level sports performance.
Soccer players can obtain a sports scholarship (in addition to the academic scholarships) they allow to reduce the cost of university and thus obtain help to finance their studies thanks to soccer.
Studying in the United States has innumerable advantages since, in addition to living a unique university experience, you can learn English, travel throughout the United States with the soccer team, meet people from different countries, or obtain a degree at universities with great academic programs and very recognized in the United States among many other advantages.
In addition, soccer having an increasing impact on society in the United States and having so many financial resources, later allows for different options to recover the investment made by both the player and their families.
SOCCER SCHOLARSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES
Each team from the different university soccer leagues has a maximum number of soccer scholarships to distribute in the way they deem appropriate among their players.
The coaches and sports director of each university distribute the money from the soccer scholarships in full or in part among the team members.
The players with the highest level of the squad are those who opt to get a scholarship.
There is another option to obtain a scholarship and that is to remain in the team without a scholarship and after one season and depending on performance, obtain a scholarship. This process is called walk-on and it can also be an interesting option for soccer players.
Each university has a different number of different scholarships to offer, depending on the size, its level, achievements… and the decision to exhaust all its available scholarships is the decision of each one of the universities. In fact, they may not exhaust the available scholarship budget if they consider it so.
In the case of college soccer teams, coaches may divide the number of scholarships among the members of the roster. They do not have to give a full scholarship per player, but they can give a percentage of scholarship per player or directly partial scholarships.
But, what do the scholarships for college soccer teams cover?
The scholarships can fully or partially cover some of the university expenses that I detail below:
• University enrollment.
• University fees.
• Accommodation (Residence, brotherhoods, apartments…)
• Maintenance (diet)
• Health insurance.
Regardless of whether or not the player has a scholarship, there are a series of expenses that the player is NOT responsible for. They are expenses directly related to playing soccer such as training, sports equipment, fees for competitions, travel due to competition or the academic tutors themselves in case they need help with classes, physiotherapy, sports medicine….
DIVISIONS
As we have previously commented, the soccer system in the United States is very different from the system we know in Europe and therefore in Spain.
American university sports teams have a very particular organization and form of management that must be known to know where to try to opt for a sports scholarship.
The NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (NCAA) is the nation’s premier collegiate athletic association. It has 3 divisions depending on the number of sports offered by the university.
• Division I: It is made up of the universities with the highest sports level in the country and, in turn, those that offer the most scholarships. The vast majority of American universities belong to this division. The universities in this division look for athletes of a very high sports level since it is the previous step to the professional and Olympic leagues of the United States.
• Division II: The second category is made up of smaller, but more specialized universities. In fact, sometimes their athletic level is higher than Division I institutions. Therefore, the athletic level of these universities remains high.
• Division III: In the case of universities in this division, they cannot offer sports scholarships as such. They offer academic scholarships or loans to their athletes. They are usually very high academic universities, ideal for students with very good grades and a good sports level. The level is lower than in the previous divisions, but it is still high.
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS (NAIA)
The universities that make up this association are teams with a sports level similar to those of Division III. They are small and specialized universities with great academic prestige.
The big difference with respect to the NCAA is that the requirements to compete in it are lower.
Finally, the NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (JUNIOR COLLEGE)
Finally, we have the universities that make up the Junior College. These are two-year colleges. At the end of the second year, the player must transfer to a university from the previous associations in order to finish the last two years and thus obtain the official degree title.
This format is a great option to later jump to a better university or a better scholarship, since, after a year of playing in this league, they can transfer to an NCAA or NAIA university or if they prefer, after two years.
At the sporting level, it has the advantage that many coaches from NCAA and NAIA universities pay special attention to this league to recruit players.
Finally, at an academic level, it has the advantage that they do not ask for the SAT and sometimes they do not ask for the TOEFL either, which I will tell you what they are below.
REQUIREMENTS
We have already told you about the advantages of university scholarships, personal growth, living a unique experience… but to be eligible for a scholarship, you need to meet a series of requirements that the university students themselves demand, since otherwise it is impossible to obtain a sports scholarship.
ACADEMIC LEVEL:
To be eligible for a sports scholarship at a university in the United States, you must have a baccalaureate (Spain). If you are studying a degree at a Spanish university or professional training, you can also apply for a scholarship, the number of credits and years you have studied being very important.
Also, you must be between the ages of 16 and 26.
Also, you must have the grades from 3rd ESO to 2nd baccalaureate.
Finally, you have to take the SAT and TOEFl exam. The SAT is an exam that all universities in the United States take for the admission of students. As for the TOEFL, it is an exam to assess the student’s level of English.
The better your grades are, the more options the player will have to choose a university and the higher the scholarship money will be received from the university.
SPORT LEVEL:
The sports level of the player will be essential to achieve a sports scholarship regardless of whether it is total or partial. The higher the level and the successes obtained, the more chances of getting a scholarship and the greater the range of options to choose a university for the player.
It is important to present a resume at the sports level of the player, as well as a 5-10 minute video with your best plays.
As we have seen in the divisions section, since there are so many teams and divisions in the American university system, there are different options depending on the level of the player. If you do not have a level for the first division (NCAA division I), you can try to obtain a scholarship in lower categories.
HOW DOES ACADEMY AST HELP YOU?
FREE INFORMATION
We inform you free of charge and without obligation about the options you have to get a sports scholarship at universities in the USA.
INVESTIGATION
We search for and manage the university that best suits you and with which to opt for a sports scholarship trying to achieve the greatest possible success.
ADVICE
We help and advise you to plan all the preparation of documents, exams and everything related to procedures that you need to be able to obtain the scholarship and study in the United States.
APPROVAL
Once you have obtained the scholarship, we help you with the university admission procedures, as well as.
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