FAQs
Pas-sport is a digital platform that connects international high school athletes with college coaches to ease the college recruiting process and help them find great athletic and academic opportunities in the United States. Athletes who do not grow up studying and competing in the United States are often times not aware of the great opportunity of college athletics. Pas-sport is focused on educating these international athletes on how they can use their athletic achievement to open up opportunities and scholarships to study and compete at a high level at universities in the United States. All within one platform, international athletes and coaches have all the resources needed to find one another and communicate directly.
As an athlete, pas-sport will help you create a recruiting profile with the necessary academic and athletic statistics. These profiles form a directory of international athletes that college coaches can easily browse through to find players who would be a good fit for their team. In addition, athletes will browse a directory of different coaches’ profiles and schools to become familiar with their requirements. Once there is interest on either end, the athletes or the coaches can directly message each other through our online platform helping them establish relationships early in the recruiting process.
Pas-sport is designed by international athletes specifically for international athletes, meaning an athlete who did not grow up competing in the United States, since they often do not have the same level of awareness and understanding of college athletics like American athletes do. We also focus on recruiting for more internationally recognized sports like squash that have not yet received much attention from US-based recruiting agencies. Our aim is to help college coaches in the United States uncover the abundance of international talent and to encourage international athletes to pursue the previously unfamiliar opportunity of college athletics all within our online platform.
Go to account settings and you will find the option to edit password.
When you’re at the sign-up page, click on the “forgot password” option and follow the instructions to reset your username/password.
Coaches can add other coaches from their team onto the same profile. For example, if a
head coach makes a profile for his/her university team then he/she can add the assistant
coaches to the same profile so that the team as whole is operating with one pas-sport
profile.
Go to your account settings and edit your existing email address. Remember that this will be the e-mail that you will also receive notifications on.
Go to your account settings and you will find the option to delete profile.
If you are a serious athlete, it is definitely worth creating a profile as soon as possible and making sure it stays up-to-date. By having a profile on pas-sport, you will be exposed to educational tools and resources for athletics, academics, and the recruiting process to help make sure you are on the right track. Even if you are uncertain about playing sports at the collegiate level, you are still encouraged to set up a free profile to talk to coaches to keep your options open and see what they may have to offer.
Yes, please feel free to contact our support team here https://www.passportathlete.com/contact_us/ to help you get started.
Go to your profile and click on the “Edit” icon which will allow you to edit all sections.
Click on the camera icon on your photo to remove or change your photo. Ideally, use a headshot as your profile picture and save an action shot for your cover photo.
You will find the “Upload Video” field towards the bottom of your athletic section. You will
need to upload your video to Youtube or Vimeo first and then copy the link to your video in
the corresponding field on your profile. Make sure you keep the privacy settings on your
video public so that any coach can view it. To remove a video, simply delete the link that
you copied into the video field.
You can upload a pdf or image file as your transcript in the academic section of your profile.
You can favorite a profile by clicking on the star symbol on their profile. All your favorited
profiles will be highlighted on their own page so they are easy to find and follow.
Yes, you can play professional tournaments during college as long as you do not receive prize money that adds up to more than your expenses for participating in the competition, such as meals or housing. As college athletics in the United States is becoming a lot more competitive, it is now more common that athletes play professionally after they graduate. We have heard from many ex-college athletes that their experience as college athletes made them well prepared mentally and physically for the professional world.
Fun fact: James Blake, John Isner, Ali Farag, Stephen Curry, and Amanda Sobhy are all examples
of top professional athletes that were once college athletes.
Look at the school's academic reputation and the sports program not at the specific division. There are many DIII programs that can beat some DI and DII programs. Although DIII cannot offer athletic grants or scholarships, they can offer academic and financial aid. The universities under the NAIA organization have similar characteristics to NCAA DII schools, but you will find a smaller variety of sports in NAIA schools and the eligibility rules are much simpler. In the end of the day, pick the schools that have the right fit, have your major, size, geographic location you desire, have the level of academics where you can thrive, and of course most importantly have the level of play where you can perform and be recruited.
DI – For players who play a lot of international tournaments and have a strong international ranking.
DI & Ivy League – For players who can compete at the highest athletic level, have maintained very high academic averages and scores in high school, and can afford paying most college expenses.
DII – For players who have more success in national and regional tournaments.
DIII – For more academically driven athletes that gained most of their athletic experience from local tournaments and can usually afford paying most of the college expenses.
NAIA – For players who played professionally before college since the NAIA is more lenient when it comes to amateurism and eligibility rules.
Division I schools are typically the largest and most prestigious universities, and compete in a large variety of sports for both males and females. These schools often have world-class facilities, attract the top athletes in the country, receive the most media attention, and provide the most amount of athletic scholarships. 56% of athletes in this division receive athletics aid. An exception to this are the Ivy League schools who are considered DI schools, but may not offer athletic scholarships.
Division II schools are smaller than DI schools, and student-athletes usually finance their education with a combination of athletic and educational scholarships. This division is formed by universities that still have a high sports and academic level. Generally, they have a smaller student population with less sports and a smaller budget that’s why they are put into the DII category. 60% of athletes in this division receive athletics aid.
Division III schools are the smallest of the NCAA institutions and are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships. Academic scholarships and financial aid based on family income can still be obtained. They also usually have a large variety of sports and great athletic facilities. Division III universities are mainly more focused on academics and quite strong in this area. 80% of athletes receive non-athletics aid.
For more about the different Divisions please refer to this link
The NCAA is a larger association representing bigger schools and universities. NCAA schools are organized into three divisions, DI, DII, and DIII. The NAIA is made up of smaller 4-year colleges throughout the United States, and competitive levels are comparable to NCAA D2 schools. There are equally talented players in the NAIA and NCAA D2 schools, and both have excellent opportunities for education and athletic achievement. The majority of college athletes don’t compete in Division I, so set your expectations accordingly. Most college athletes are at the Division II, Division III, or NAIA level.
The obvious answer is, of course, getting a scholarship. Yes, this is true, but something a lot of international students do not always know, is that being an athlete can actually help you get into a school that you might not normally get into. For example, perhaps your SAT is 1150, but you’re looking at schools that require a 1350. The coach recruiting you can speak with college admissions about your abilities as an athlete and what you can bring to the school in the way of athletic talent which would still help you get accepted.
Most American universities pay special attention to their athletes as they provide tutoring services, career counseling, academic advising, nutrition guidance, and championship performance services specifically for athletes. The advantages of competing in college sports are both immediate and lifelong. Participating in college sports provides opportunities to learn, compete and succeed. Student-athletes receive the best academic support, quality medical care and regular access to outstanding coaching, facilities and equipment. Student-athletes as a group graduate at higher rates than their peers in the general student body and feel better prepared for life after college.
College sports in the United States is the only system that combines sport and competition with university studies, along with athletic scholarships and in many cases academic scholarships. Universities in the United States place a lot of importance on their athletic programs as often times their campus life revolves around their sports, their athletic facilities, and their teams’ successes. American universities offer sports scholarships for players on the team which allows the student-athletes to finance their studies through their sport. Thanks to this great opportunity, players can also live an amazing experience in the United States combining studies and sports, travelling around the country with the sports team, achieving a university degree from an American university, and meeting people from many different countries and cultures.
Yes, as long as you are very proactive in the recruitment process and still meet the academic requirements in high school including the completion of 16 core classes, a GPA greater than 2.3, and reasonable SAT/ACT scores.
For becoming eligible as a home school athlete, please refer to this link as there are specific requirements. You should email your home school transcript and any other home school related documents to [email protected] if you are interested in attending DI or DII schools.
It is not necessary especially if you are an international athlete living overseas. By having a completed pas-sport profile, coaches will be able to have all the information they need about you thus reducing the need for you to attend a camp/showcase. This is why your highlight video is very important because that is how most coaches will be able to assess your skills since they might manage to watch you in person. Regardless, if you hear of a showcase conveniently in your area it wouldn’t hurt to join especially if you know that the colleges that you are interested in will be attending.
It is recommended that families begin visiting campuses as early as ninth grade as these visits can motivate a young person to work harder in the classroom and in their sport in hopes of someday participating as a collegiate student-athlete. Try to plan with the coach to make sure you can meet him/her or someone in the athletic department on your visit as well. It is also a good idea to attend several college tournaments at this time to learn more about each team, how the coach interacts with the players during the competition, what the team chemistry is like and to gauge how talented the players are at various levels in the NCAA. This will help athletes determine what schools match their athletic level. As an international student, it is understandably more difficult to fly overseas to visit campuses, but if you have the opportunity to, definitely go for it. If a coach really wants you on their team and has a large budget, you could be lucky and get invited go for an “official visit” which is paid for entirely by the college coach.
Your junior coach will be one of your biggest advocates in this process. You must provide your primary coach’s contact information so that college coaches can reach out to them for feedback on what type of person and athlete you are.
Parents play a vital role in an athlete’s recruiting process as ultimately, they will be the decision-makers on whether or not their child goes to university in the United States. The recruiting process can often be stressful and confusing for the athlete and that is another reason why pas-sport was started. It is important for the student-athlete to take ownership of the recruitment process by building the relationship with the coach. Regardless, athletes will tend to turn to their parents for advice throughout this process so it is important that parents:
Encourage their child to research and talk to multiple colleges and coaches.
Set realistic expect expectations (academically, athletically, financially and socially) when helping their child target potential colleges
Educate themselves on the recruiting process and the experience of college athletics
Help prepare a list of questions that their child should ask the college coach
Plan as many unofficial visits as possible during their child’s sophomore and junior years (or earlier) in order to learn more about college campuses and meet different coaches
Keep their child focused on academic excellence throughout high school including SAT and ACT prep classes.
Not fill out the pas-sport profile for their child
Not speak to college coaches on their child’s behalf unless requested by a coach*
*Coaches want to get to know the actual athlete and they like to feel that the child is independent.
Log-in to the testing agency website whether its SAT, ACT, or the TOEFL and request to send your best scores to the coaches that you’ve been in contact with and the Eligibility Center (for DI and DII only). Every college has a specific recipient code. The Eligibility Center’s code is “9999.” Please note that in most cases only official test scores sent from the testing agency (ACT/SAT/TOEFL) are acceptable. Test scores on your high school transcript will not be used. Keep in mind it can take up to 10-14 business days for your test scores to be officially sent to organizations.
A good test for your level of English is to see whether you can read the content on this website and understand most of it. As mentioned above, most schools will require you to take the TOEFL test since it evaluates the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English. The TOEFL iBT scores are primarily used as a measure of the ability of international students to use English in an academic environment. A minimum TOEFL score for attending college in the United States is around 70. If you score lower than 70, studying in an American system and living in the United States might be too challenging for you because of the language barrier.
Your high school grades are very important for college recruitment. If two students are at a similar athletic level but there is a noticeable difference in their academic levels, the coach will usually offer the scholarship to the better academic student. You must take the SAT/ACT test to apply to any university in the United States. In most schools, especially as a student who grew up out of the United States, you will be required to take the TOEFL test as well to test for your level of English proficiency. If you are sure that you want to go to university in the United States, it is encouraged that you switch into an American high school system if possible and focus on your test scores. Keep in mind that each college or coach has different minimum requirements in terms of the academic level they require so make sure to make yourself aware of these requirements as you are thinking of where to apply. For specifically DI and DII schools, your academics must meet the NCAA initial-eligibility requirements referenced here In brief, to be eligible you must have completed 16 core courses, maintained at least a 2.3 in your core classes, and earned a SAT or ACT score matching your core-course GPA sliding scale as shown in the link above.
Academics are also important since you can receive an academic scholarship that is added to the amount of athletic scholarship, resulting in a greater total scholarship. In order to obtain academic scholarships, you must have good high school grades and high scores on the SAT exam. The higher the grades, the greater range of options the player will have and the greater amount of money received by the university.
Make sure, you, the athlete, are the one who contacts the coach – not your parent, your junior coach, nor a recruiting agent. Feel free to contact both the head and assistant coaches so that you have a better chance of getting a response. Study the coach and team before you initiate contact. Following your favorite team’s social media accounts is always a good way to stay up-to-date on their progress and get to know them. Always show enthusiasm, humility, respect, and most importantly be yourself. Coaches want to know that you are independent and mature enough for college.
This is one of the most important parts of the recruitment process. Building the relationship with the head and assistant coaches by taking initiative and sending messages is critical. You want to aim to contact at least 30 college coaches by Freshmen year to keep your options open and get your foot in the door early. There are restrictions for coaches, but you can be proactive in contacting them and showing them your level of interest in their program.
Due to NCAA rules, most DI coaches cannot call you until September 1st of your Junior year. You can still be proactive by messaging, calling, and visiting them. They just usually cannot initiate a call if it is before the mentioned dates. They can send generic information to you at any time.
No, athletes have the same application like all other students and still have to apply to the university in the same manner. Coaches will usually ask you to send them your application directly so that they can send it into admissions as they can definitely vouch for your acceptance/early admission. Athletics can be a great door to fulfilling academic enrichment.
It is never too early to start your college recruiting process. Ideally, you should begin thinking about athletic recruiting in the seventh or eighth grade, and by the beginning of freshman year you should have a good understanding of the college’s rules and requirements. Keep in mind that sometimes coaches will not start contacting you until you have entered 11th grade or the equivalent due to NCAA rules, but do not wait until your junior year to start the recruiting process. Junior year is the most important year in the recruiting process so it is very important that you are ready prior.
Three main things coaches are looking for in a potential recruit: talent, character and academics. Talent can be evaluated by assessing your rankings/results and looking at your highlight videos. A lot of coaches nowadays evaluate your character by browsing your social media accounts. In terms of academics, your grades matter, you have to qualify for admission standards and take every year of high school seriously. If you have struggled in the past with grades, standardized testing, or level of English proficiency make sure to take the initiative to take extra lessons to improve your GPA, your test scores, and your English skills.
Most sports offer scholarships if their school is in Division I or Division II. You will find that a sport like tennis offers on average of 8 scholarships for girls and 4.5 scholarships per for guys per school at the DI and DII level. Coaches can divide up the scholarships as they wish amongst the players.
Squash is an exception since the top college squash teams compete at DI level, but the majority of these schools are part of the Ivy League or the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) which both do not offer athletic scholarships. NESCAC is considered a division III conference despite the very high level of squash so schools in that conference do not offer scholarships. College squash coaches will definitely figure out a way to help finance your college education if they want you on their team so make sure to discuss this topic with them if it is a concern for you.
Athletic scholarships are granted by the university coaches and they decide the scholarship percentage that the student athlete will receive after evaluating the player’s sport and academic level. Depending on the division the university belongs to and the type of sport, there are a number of rules that coaches have to follow as there are a maximum number of athletic scholarships that can be awarded to each team. The athletic amount is decided on the following: player’s sports level, results in tournaments and competitions, national and international ranking, grades in exams, level of the chosen university team, budget of the university team.
Each year there are around 200 million athletic scholarships in the market to recruit student athletes. These scholarships are received by student-athletes who are part of one of the university’s sports teams. The scholarships are usually different for each individual student-athlete and they cover a percentage of university expenses – even all expenses in some cases. The costs covered by the scholarships include: tuition and fees, books, residency, meals, and medical insurance. In addition, all student-athletes have all of the following included: training and competitions, sports equipment, travel with the team, academic tutors, sports medical assistance, and trainers. If a student-athlete receives a full athletic scholarship, all of the expenses mentioned above will be covered. For partial scholarships, a certain percentage of the total amount of expenses mentioned above will be covered.
There is a long tradition of college sports in the United States and one can no longer think of any American university system without sports. Athletes are a vital element to the American university system and receive the best treatment. Each university sports program has its own followers and presence in the media which allows it to generate revenue. To achieve the most success, universities try to recruit the best players from all over the world by providing them athletic scholarships. Student-athletes are treated like professionals, receive greater benefits than the average student, and can develop a great reputation within their university.
The academic index (AI) is a score used by the Ivy League to evaluate your academic standing. This score is made up of a combination of your SAT/ACT score and of your GPA/class rank. Every prospective Ivy League student is assigned a number, which ranges from 60 to 240—a perfect score.
These are the terms used at universities in the United States to identify the grade level of a high school or college student.
Freshman = 9th grade or 1st year in college
Sophomore = 10th grade or 2nd year in college
Junior = 11th grade or 3rd year in college
Senior = 12th grade (last year in HS) or 4th year in college (last year in college too)
An official visit is when the university or college pays for your visit. It includes transportation, housing, and meals. This is a great sign because it means the university and coaches are seriously interested in you. Keep in mind though that as an international athlete living overseas, it is more difficult for coaches to offer you an official visit since it is very expensive to fund. Remember that you are only allowed 5 official visits. An unofficial visit is different because you have to pay for all your expenses and you need to be the one planning it. You can have as many unofficial visits as you want.
Federal student aid is need-based. Eligibility is based solely on the assets and income of the prospective student and his or her family. Financial aid is available from federal, state, educational institutions, and private agencies (foundations), and can be awarded in the forms of grants, education loans, work-study and scholarships. For international athletes, it is often more difficult to receive big sums of aid especially through grants. You are definitely encouraged to discuss the topic of financial aid with your coach so he/she can help check with the university on how much aid they may be able to provide.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA , determines your family’s eligibility for need-based financial aid. Your family must submit one once you’re enrolled in a university in order to receive federal aid from any undergraduate or graduate institution.
The collegiate model of sports is centered on the fact that those who participate are students first and not professional athletes. Amateurism certification ensures this is the case and that NCAA amateurism regulations are applied uniformly for incoming Division I and II student-athletes. The amateurism certification process begins as prospective Division I and II student-athletes register with the Eligibility Center. Each prospective student-athlete is asked several questions about his or her sports-participation history (for ex – whether him/her received prize money or whether they signed a contract with a professional team). If the answers indicate a possible violation of amateurism standards, the amateurism certification staff works with the college or university to determine the facts. This Amateurism section of the application for the Eligibility Center might be confusing so feel free to contact us for help in completing it.
The Eligibility Center, also known as the Clearing House, determines whether a student is eligible to compete as a Freshmen at the Division I and II levels. It verifies the athletes core classes, ACT/SAT test scores, amateurism and core GPA. Everything must be verified so you can become eligible for college sports. Coaches will appreciate if you are proactive and take care of your eligibility status as soon as possible so they can be sure that you can actually play for them once they recruit you.
Student-athletes who aspire to participate in athletics at either the Division I or II collegiate levels need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center by the end of their sophomore year in high school. They need to make sure all their requirements are sent before their official visit, usually summer after their junior year.
You can register for the NCAA Eligibility Center here and it's a $135 fee for international students. There are two forms you need, authorization for high schools to send transcripts and authorization of the center to send your eligibility to colleges. You can find more details on what you need to have ready exactly in this link
The NAIA has its own Eligibility Center and application located here
NAIA stands for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is a governing body of athletics programs that are usually smaller and tend to have a religious affiliation. The NAIA oversees about 250-300 athletic programs.
The NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and is the largest college sports organization. They oversee the rules and regulations for 1,200 Division I, II and III athletic programs.
In college athletics in the United States, recruiting is the process in which college coaches add prospective student-athletes to their teams. To be considered a “recruit” a college coach must approach you about participating in that college’s athletic program.
The term student-athlete is most often heard within college sports. A student-athlete (or student athlete) is a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student-athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete. As pas-sport we also refer to young high-school athletes as student-athletes since they are athletes who are also balancing their academics.
A 3.5 GPA, a 27 on the ACT or 1200 on your SAT scores are the average for the Ivy League academic index. The lowest tends to be a 3.0 GPA, a 26 on the ACT or 1100 SATs. If any lower, you usually don’t get admitted to an Ivy League school.
When Ivy League coaches are recruiting a new class, they have to make sure that together the prospective athletes in that class have a certain academic index average which is usually around 220. This means that if one recruit has a lower AI score but the coaches really want him/her on their team, then the coaches need to find a student that has a much higher AI score to raise the average.
Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, but they do offer need based financial aid. Each school has a different range and budget for need based financial aid. For international athletes, it is often more difficult to receive big sums of financial aid, but definitely discuss this with your future college coach to see what he/she can do for you and your family.
All Ivy League schools are Division 1 which means they are competitive athletically. There is often a misconception that the Ivy League is only focused on academics, but in reality, the Ivy League schools place a very high importance on their athletic programs and facilities as well. They have high caliber athletes who are strong both academically and athletically. There may not be as much depth top to bottom on the roster, but Ivy League schools compete well against top athletic programs. For squash, the Ivy League is definitely the most competitive conference. For tennis, you will find a few of the Ivy League teams ranked top 50 in the nation.
The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference made up of sports teams from eight private universities in the Northeast region of the United States. The eight members are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious, and are ranked among the best universities worldwide. The average yearly tuition is $50,000 for Ivy League schools.
Pas-sport is a digital platform that connects international high school athletes with college coaches to ease the college recruiting process and help them find great athletic and academic opportunities in the United States. Athletes who do not grow up studying and competing in the United States are often times not aware of the great opportunity of college athletics. Pas-sport is focused on educating these international athletes on how they can use their athletic achievement to open up opportunities and scholarships to study and compete at a high level at universities in the United States. All within one platform, international athletes and coaches have all the resources needed to find one another and communicate directly.
As an athlete, pas-sport will help you create a recruiting profile with the necessary academic and athletic statistics. These profiles form a directory of international athletes that college coaches can easily browse through to find players who would be a good fit for their team. In addition, athletes will browse a directory of different coaches’ profiles and schools to become familiar with their requirements. Once there is interest on either end, the athletes or the coaches can directly message each other through our online platform helping them establish relationships early in the recruiting process.
Pas-sport is designed by international athletes specifically for international athletes, meaning an athlete who did not grow up competing in the United States, since they often do not have the same level of awareness and understanding of college athletics like American athletes do. We also focus on recruiting for more internationally recognized sports like squash that have not yet received much attention from US-based recruiting agencies. Our aim is to help college coaches in the United States uncover the abundance of international talent and to encourage international athletes to pursue the previously unfamiliar opportunity of college athletics all within our online platform.
Go to account settings and you will find the option to edit password.
When you’re at the sign-up page, click on the “forgot password” option and follow the instructions to reset your username/password.
Coaches can add other coaches from their team onto the same profile. For example, if a
head coach makes a profile for his/her university team then he/she can add the assistant
coaches to the same profile so that the team as whole is operating with one pas-sport
profile.
Go to your account settings and edit your existing email address. Remember that this will be the e-mail that you will also receive notifications on.
Go to your account settings and you will find the option to delete profile.
If you are a serious athlete, it is definitely worth creating a profile as soon as possible and making sure it stays up-to-date. By having a profile on pas-sport, you will be exposed to educational tools and resources for athletics, academics, and the recruiting process to help make sure you are on the right track. Even if you are uncertain about playing sports at the collegiate level, you are still encouraged to set up a free profile to talk to coaches to keep your options open and see what they may have to offer.
Yes, please feel free to contact our support team here https://www.passportathlete.com/contact_us/ to help you get started.
Go to your profile and click on the “Edit” icon which will allow you to edit all sections.
Click on the camera icon on your photo to remove or change your photo. Ideally, use a headshot as your profile picture and save an action shot for your cover photo.
You will find the “Upload Video” field towards the bottom of your athletic section. You will
need to upload your video to Youtube or Vimeo first and then copy the link to your video in
the corresponding field on your profile. Make sure you keep the privacy settings on your
video public so that any coach can view it. To remove a video, simply delete the link that
you copied into the video field.
You can upload a pdf or image file as your transcript in the academic section of your profile.
You can favorite a profile by clicking on the star symbol on their profile. All your favorited
profiles will be highlighted on their own page so they are easy to find and follow.
Yes, you can play professional tournaments during college as long as you do not receive prize money that adds up to more than your expenses for participating in the competition, such as meals or housing. As college athletics in the United States is becoming a lot more competitive, it is now more common that athletes play professionally after they graduate. We have heard from many ex-college athletes that their experience as college athletes made them well prepared mentally and physically for the professional world.
Fun fact: James Blake, John Isner, Ali Farag, Stephen Curry, and Amanda Sobhy are all examples
of top professional athletes that were once college athletes.
Look at the school's academic reputation and the sports program not at the specific division. There are many DIII programs that can beat some DI and DII programs. Although DIII cannot offer athletic grants or scholarships, they can offer academic and financial aid. The universities under the NAIA organization have similar characteristics to NCAA DII schools, but you will find a smaller variety of sports in NAIA schools and the eligibility rules are much simpler. In the end of the day, pick the schools that have the right fit, have your major, size, geographic location you desire, have the level of academics where you can thrive, and of course most importantly have the level of play where you can perform and be recruited.
DI – For players who play a lot of international tournaments and have a strong international ranking.
DI & Ivy League – For players who can compete at the highest athletic level, have maintained very high academic averages and scores in high school, and can afford paying most college expenses.
DII – For players who have more success in national and regional tournaments.
DIII – For more academically driven athletes that gained most of their athletic experience from local tournaments and can usually afford paying most of the college expenses.
NAIA – For players who played professionally before college since the NAIA is more lenient when it comes to amateurism and eligibility rules.
Division I schools are typically the largest and most prestigious universities, and compete in a large variety of sports for both males and females. These schools often have world-class facilities, attract the top athletes in the country, receive the most media attention, and provide the most amount of athletic scholarships. 56% of athletes in this division receive athletics aid. An exception to this are the Ivy League schools who are considered DI schools, but may not offer athletic scholarships.
Division II schools are smaller than DI schools, and student-athletes usually finance their education with a combination of athletic and educational scholarships. This division is formed by universities that still have a high sports and academic level. Generally, they have a smaller student population with less sports and a smaller budget that’s why they are put into the DII category. 60% of athletes in this division receive athletics aid.
Division III schools are the smallest of the NCAA institutions and are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships. Academic scholarships and financial aid based on family income can still be obtained. They also usually have a large variety of sports and great athletic facilities. Division III universities are mainly more focused on academics and quite strong in this area. 80% of athletes receive non-athletics aid.
For more about the different Divisions please refer to this link
The NCAA is a larger association representing bigger schools and universities. NCAA schools are organized into three divisions, DI, DII, and DIII. The NAIA is made up of smaller 4-year colleges throughout the United States, and competitive levels are comparable to NCAA D2 schools. There are equally talented players in the NAIA and NCAA D2 schools, and both have excellent opportunities for education and athletic achievement. The majority of college athletes don’t compete in Division I, so set your expectations accordingly. Most college athletes are at the Division II, Division III, or NAIA level.
The obvious answer is, of course, getting a scholarship. Yes, this is true, but something a lot of international students do not always know, is that being an athlete can actually help you get into a school that you might not normally get into. For example, perhaps your SAT is 1150, but you’re looking at schools that require a 1350. The coach recruiting you can speak with college admissions about your abilities as an athlete and what you can bring to the school in the way of athletic talent which would still help you get accepted.
Most American universities pay special attention to their athletes as they provide tutoring services, career counseling, academic advising, nutrition guidance, and championship performance services specifically for athletes. The advantages of competing in college sports are both immediate and lifelong. Participating in college sports provides opportunities to learn, compete and succeed. Student-athletes receive the best academic support, quality medical care and regular access to outstanding coaching, facilities and equipment. Student-athletes as a group graduate at higher rates than their peers in the general student body and feel better prepared for life after college.
College sports in the United States is the only system that combines sport and competition with university studies, along with athletic scholarships and in many cases academic scholarships. Universities in the United States place a lot of importance on their athletic programs as often times their campus life revolves around their sports, their athletic facilities, and their teams’ successes. American universities offer sports scholarships for players on the team which allows the student-athletes to finance their studies through their sport. Thanks to this great opportunity, players can also live an amazing experience in the United States combining studies and sports, travelling around the country with the sports team, achieving a university degree from an American university, and meeting people from many different countries and cultures.
Yes, as long as you are very proactive in the recruitment process and still meet the academic requirements in high school including the completion of 16 core classes, a GPA greater than 2.3, and reasonable SAT/ACT scores.
For becoming eligible as a home school athlete, please refer to this link as there are specific requirements. You should email your home school transcript and any other home school related documents to [email protected] if you are interested in attending DI or DII schools.
It is not necessary especially if you are an international athlete living overseas. By having a completed pas-sport profile, coaches will be able to have all the information they need about you thus reducing the need for you to attend a camp/showcase. This is why your highlight video is very important because that is how most coaches will be able to assess your skills since they might manage to watch you in person. Regardless, if you hear of a showcase conveniently in your area it wouldn’t hurt to join especially if you know that the colleges that you are interested in will be attending.
It is recommended that families begin visiting campuses as early as ninth grade as these visits can motivate a young person to work harder in the classroom and in their sport in hopes of someday participating as a collegiate student-athlete. Try to plan with the coach to make sure you can meet him/her or someone in the athletic department on your visit as well. It is also a good idea to attend several college tournaments at this time to learn more about each team, how the coach interacts with the players during the competition, what the team chemistry is like and to gauge how talented the players are at various levels in the NCAA. This will help athletes determine what schools match their athletic level. As an international student, it is understandably more difficult to fly overseas to visit campuses, but if you have the opportunity to, definitely go for it. If a coach really wants you on their team and has a large budget, you could be lucky and get invited go for an “official visit” which is paid for entirely by the college coach.
Your junior coach will be one of your biggest advocates in this process. You must provide your primary coach’s contact information so that college coaches can reach out to them for feedback on what type of person and athlete you are.
Parents play a vital role in an athlete’s recruiting process as ultimately, they will be the decision-makers on whether or not their child goes to university in the United States. The recruiting process can often be stressful and confusing for the athlete and that is another reason why pas-sport was started. It is important for the student-athlete to take ownership of the recruitment process by building the relationship with the coach. Regardless, athletes will tend to turn to their parents for advice throughout this process so it is important that parents:
Encourage their child to research and talk to multiple colleges and coaches.
Set realistic expect expectations (academically, athletically, financially and socially) when helping their child target potential colleges
Educate themselves on the recruiting process and the experience of college athletics
Help prepare a list of questions that their child should ask the college coach
Plan as many unofficial visits as possible during their child’s sophomore and junior years (or earlier) in order to learn more about college campuses and meet different coaches
Keep their child focused on academic excellence throughout high school including SAT and ACT prep classes.
Not fill out the pas-sport profile for their child
Not speak to college coaches on their child’s behalf unless requested by a coach*
*Coaches want to get to know the actual athlete and they like to feel that the child is independent.
Log-in to the testing agency website whether its SAT, ACT, or the TOEFL and request to send your best scores to the coaches that you’ve been in contact with and the Eligibility Center (for DI and DII only). Every college has a specific recipient code. The Eligibility Center’s code is “9999.” Please note that in most cases only official test scores sent from the testing agency (ACT/SAT/TOEFL) are acceptable. Test scores on your high school transcript will not be used. Keep in mind it can take up to 10-14 business days for your test scores to be officially sent to organizations.
A good test for your level of English is to see whether you can read the content on this website and understand most of it. As mentioned above, most schools will require you to take the TOEFL test since it evaluates the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English. The TOEFL iBT scores are primarily used as a measure of the ability of international students to use English in an academic environment. A minimum TOEFL score for attending college in the United States is around 70. If you score lower than 70, studying in an American system and living in the United States might be too challenging for you because of the language barrier.
Your high school grades are very important for college recruitment. If two students are at a similar athletic level but there is a noticeable difference in their academic levels, the coach will usually offer the scholarship to the better academic student. You must take the SAT/ACT test to apply to any university in the United States. In most schools, especially as a student who grew up out of the United States, you will be required to take the TOEFL test as well to test for your level of English proficiency. If you are sure that you want to go to university in the United States, it is encouraged that you switch into an American high school system if possible and focus on your test scores. Keep in mind that each college or coach has different minimum requirements in terms of the academic level they require so make sure to make yourself aware of these requirements as you are thinking of where to apply. For specifically DI and DII schools, your academics must meet the NCAA initial-eligibility requirements referenced here In brief, to be eligible you must have completed 16 core courses, maintained at least a 2.3 in your core classes, and earned a SAT or ACT score matching your core-course GPA sliding scale as shown in the link above.
Academics are also important since you can receive an academic scholarship that is added to the amount of athletic scholarship, resulting in a greater total scholarship. In order to obtain academic scholarships, you must have good high school grades and high scores on the SAT exam. The higher the grades, the greater range of options the player will have and the greater amount of money received by the university.
Make sure, you, the athlete, are the one who contacts the coach – not your parent, your junior coach, nor a recruiting agent. Feel free to contact both the head and assistant coaches so that you have a better chance of getting a response. Study the coach and team before you initiate contact. Following your favorite team’s social media accounts is always a good way to stay up-to-date on their progress and get to know them. Always show enthusiasm, humility, respect, and most importantly be yourself. Coaches want to know that you are independent and mature enough for college.
This is one of the most important parts of the recruitment process. Building the relationship with the head and assistant coaches by taking initiative and sending messages is critical. You want to aim to contact at least 30 college coaches by Freshmen year to keep your options open and get your foot in the door early. There are restrictions for coaches, but you can be proactive in contacting them and showing them your level of interest in their program.
Due to NCAA rules, most DI coaches cannot call you until September 1st of your Junior year. You can still be proactive by messaging, calling, and visiting them. They just usually cannot initiate a call if it is before the mentioned dates. They can send generic information to you at any time.
No, athletes have the same application like all other students and still have to apply to the university in the same manner. Coaches will usually ask you to send them your application directly so that they can send it into admissions as they can definitely vouch for your acceptance/early admission. Athletics can be a great door to fulfilling academic enrichment.
It is never too early to start your college recruiting process. Ideally, you should begin thinking about athletic recruiting in the seventh or eighth grade, and by the beginning of freshman year you should have a good understanding of the college’s rules and requirements. Keep in mind that sometimes coaches will not start contacting you until you have entered 11th grade or the equivalent due to NCAA rules, but do not wait until your junior year to start the recruiting process. Junior year is the most important year in the recruiting process so it is very important that you are ready prior.
Three main things coaches are looking for in a potential recruit: talent, character and academics. Talent can be evaluated by assessing your rankings/results and looking at your highlight videos. A lot of coaches nowadays evaluate your character by browsing your social media accounts. In terms of academics, your grades matter, you have to qualify for admission standards and take every year of high school seriously. If you have struggled in the past with grades, standardized testing, or level of English proficiency make sure to take the initiative to take extra lessons to improve your GPA, your test scores, and your English skills.
Most sports offer scholarships if their school is in Division I or Division II. You will find that a sport like tennis offers on average of 8 scholarships for girls and 4.5 scholarships per for guys per school at the DI and DII level. Coaches can divide up the scholarships as they wish amongst the players.
Squash is an exception since the top college squash teams compete at DI level, but the majority of these schools are part of the Ivy League or the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) which both do not offer athletic scholarships. NESCAC is considered a division III conference despite the very high level of squash so schools in that conference do not offer scholarships. College squash coaches will definitely figure out a way to help finance your college education if they want you on their team so make sure to discuss this topic with them if it is a concern for you.
Athletic scholarships are granted by the university coaches and they decide the scholarship percentage that the student athlete will receive after evaluating the player’s sport and academic level. Depending on the division the university belongs to and the type of sport, there are a number of rules that coaches have to follow as there are a maximum number of athletic scholarships that can be awarded to each team. The athletic amount is decided on the following: player’s sports level, results in tournaments and competitions, national and international ranking, grades in exams, level of the chosen university team, budget of the university team.
Each year there are around 200 million athletic scholarships in the market to recruit student athletes. These scholarships are received by student-athletes who are part of one of the university’s sports teams. The scholarships are usually different for each individual student-athlete and they cover a percentage of university expenses – even all expenses in some cases. The costs covered by the scholarships include: tuition and fees, books, residency, meals, and medical insurance. In addition, all student-athletes have all of the following included: training and competitions, sports equipment, travel with the team, academic tutors, sports medical assistance, and trainers. If a student-athlete receives a full athletic scholarship, all of the expenses mentioned above will be covered. For partial scholarships, a certain percentage of the total amount of expenses mentioned above will be covered.
There is a long tradition of college sports in the United States and one can no longer think of any American university system without sports. Athletes are a vital element to the American university system and receive the best treatment. Each university sports program has its own followers and presence in the media which allows it to generate revenue. To achieve the most success, universities try to recruit the best players from all over the world by providing them athletic scholarships. Student-athletes are treated like professionals, receive greater benefits than the average student, and can develop a great reputation within their university.
The academic index (AI) is a score used by the Ivy League to evaluate your academic standing. This score is made up of a combination of your SAT/ACT score and of your GPA/class rank. Every prospective Ivy League student is assigned a number, which ranges from 60 to 240—a perfect score.
These are the terms used at universities in the United States to identify the grade level of a high school or college student.
Freshman = 9th grade or 1st year in college
Sophomore = 10th grade or 2nd year in college
Junior = 11th grade or 3rd year in college
Senior = 12th grade (last year in HS) or 4th year in college (last year in college too)
An official visit is when the university or college pays for your visit. It includes transportation, housing, and meals. This is a great sign because it means the university and coaches are seriously interested in you. Keep in mind though that as an international athlete living overseas, it is more difficult for coaches to offer you an official visit since it is very expensive to fund. Remember that you are only allowed 5 official visits. An unofficial visit is different because you have to pay for all your expenses and you need to be the one planning it. You can have as many unofficial visits as you want.
Federal student aid is need-based. Eligibility is based solely on the assets and income of the prospective student and his or her family. Financial aid is available from federal, state, educational institutions, and private agencies (foundations), and can be awarded in the forms of grants, education loans, work-study and scholarships. For international athletes, it is often more difficult to receive big sums of aid especially through grants. You are definitely encouraged to discuss the topic of financial aid with your coach so he/she can help check with the university on how much aid they may be able to provide.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA , determines your family’s eligibility for need-based financial aid. Your family must submit one once you’re enrolled in a university in order to receive federal aid from any undergraduate or graduate institution.
The collegiate model of sports is centered on the fact that those who participate are students first and not professional athletes. Amateurism certification ensures this is the case and that NCAA amateurism regulations are applied uniformly for incoming Division I and II student-athletes. The amateurism certification process begins as prospective Division I and II student-athletes register with the Eligibility Center. Each prospective student-athlete is asked several questions about his or her sports-participation history (for ex – whether him/her received prize money or whether they signed a contract with a professional team). If the answers indicate a possible violation of amateurism standards, the amateurism certification staff works with the college or university to determine the facts. This Amateurism section of the application for the Eligibility Center might be confusing so feel free to contact us for help in completing it.
The Eligibility Center, also known as the Clearing House, determines whether a student is eligible to compete as a Freshmen at the Division I and II levels. It verifies the athletes core classes, ACT/SAT test scores, amateurism and core GPA. Everything must be verified so you can become eligible for college sports. Coaches will appreciate if you are proactive and take care of your eligibility status as soon as possible so they can be sure that you can actually play for them once they recruit you.
Student-athletes who aspire to participate in athletics at either the Division I or II collegiate levels need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center by the end of their sophomore year in high school. They need to make sure all their requirements are sent before their official visit, usually summer after their junior year.
You can register for the NCAA Eligibility Center here and it's a $135 fee for international students. There are two forms you need, authorization for high schools to send transcripts and authorization of the center to send your eligibility to colleges. You can find more details on what you need to have ready exactly in this link
The NAIA has its own Eligibility Center and application located here
NAIA stands for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is a governing body of athletics programs that are usually smaller and tend to have a religious affiliation. The NAIA oversees about 250-300 athletic programs.
The NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and is the largest college sports organization. They oversee the rules and regulations for 1,200 Division I, II and III athletic programs.
In college athletics in the United States, recruiting is the process in which college coaches add prospective student-athletes to their teams. To be considered a “recruit” a college coach must approach you about participating in that college’s athletic program.
The term student-athlete is most often heard within college sports. A student-athlete (or student athlete) is a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student-athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete. As pas-sport we also refer to young high-school athletes as student-athletes since they are athletes who are also balancing their academics.
A 3.5 GPA, a 27 on the ACT or 1200 on your SAT scores are the average for the Ivy League academic index. The lowest tends to be a 3.0 GPA, a 26 on the ACT or 1100 SATs. If any lower, you usually don’t get admitted to an Ivy League school.
When Ivy League coaches are recruiting a new class, they have to make sure that together the prospective athletes in that class have a certain academic index average which is usually around 220. This means that if one recruit has a lower AI score but the coaches really want him/her on their team, then the coaches need to find a student that has a much higher AI score to raise the average.
Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, but they do offer need based financial aid. Each school has a different range and budget for need based financial aid. For international athletes, it is often more difficult to receive big sums of financial aid, but definitely discuss this with your future college coach to see what he/she can do for you and your family.
All Ivy League schools are Division 1 which means they are competitive athletically. There is often a misconception that the Ivy League is only focused on academics, but in reality, the Ivy League schools place a very high importance on their athletic programs and facilities as well. They have high caliber athletes who are strong both academically and athletically. There may not be as much depth top to bottom on the roster, but Ivy League schools compete well against top athletic programs. For squash, the Ivy League is definitely the most competitive conference. For tennis, you will find a few of the Ivy League teams ranked top 50 in the nation.
The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference made up of sports teams from eight private universities in the Northeast region of the United States. The eight members are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious, and are ranked among the best universities worldwide. The average yearly tuition is $50,000 for Ivy League schools.