Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose the American University College Athlete Scholarship scheme American Universities are widely known for the quality of their teaching and research. The United States is the number one and largest destination for international students looking for Universities across the ocean. The group of schools and teaching methods in the USA is the best in the World and offers a flexible University system for International students. Today about 30 percent of all current international students in the world are studying in the United States. College sports in the United States is the only system that combines competitive sport with university studies, along with Athletic Scholarships and in many cases Academic Scholarships. American Universities offer Scholarships for players on the teams which then allow the student-athletes to finance their studies.

• USA Universities among the world’s elite, 11 of them in the top 25 World University rankings.
• 1^st Class education costs.
• Getting the best education possible combined with playing the sport you love. There is life after academy sports.
• A scholarship can cover tuition fees, accommodation costs, meals, books, gym membership, physiotherapy and even personal expenses.
• Having a scholarship allows the student athlete to focus on studying and sports without having to worry about the financial aspects of being in the US.
• Through University sport, the student athlete can make the step forward to the professional level through drafting.

Many institutions offer University Sports Scholarships or bursaries for students with the potential to achieve great things. Inevitably, competition for these is fierce. For those who get them, they usually offer access to special support services, such as free membership of the sports centre, physiotherapy, strength and conditioning advice or special coaching. Some Universities also offer financial support, to help students meet the cost of going to competitions. They may also permit some academic flexibility. In return, you will be expected to compete and represent the university in your sport, helping to build the University’s sporting reputation. The UK has rapidly developed an elite sporting infrastructure in the past few years; with a range of sports institutes and initiatives designed to nurture the country’s future sports stars. Many of these facilities are located at Universities, drawing upon their expertise in sports science to hone athletes’ talents.

NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association – is the governing body of University sports in the US. University sports consist of 3 major divisions Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3.

• Division 1 conferences: 24 Conferences throughout the US with a total of 351 Universities. These are Universities of larger size and with a greater number of sports. Most Universities in this division have a higher level in sports than those of the other divisions.
• Division 2 conferences: 21 Conferences throughout the US with a total of 308 Universities. These are smaller Universities with a high sport level; sometimes the level may be higher than some Universities in NCAA Division I. NCAA Division II are similar to NAIA Universities in size and facilities.
• Division 3 conferences: These are Universities that cannot provide Athletic Scholarships, but they have other types of aid such as Academic Scholarships that can reduce the annual costs considerably. These Universities are mainly very good academic Universities.

NAIA – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics – It includes two divisions (Division 1 and 2) and Division 1 in the NAIA is comparable to Division 2 and in some cases in the best teams comparable to the NCAA Division 1 top teams.

• NAIA consists of 300 schools. Over 90% of schools in the NAIA offer scholarships. You often find that due to the few regulations the NAIA caters to a lot more international players.

NJCAA – National Junior College Athletic Association – This level of sport is often on par with NAIA and NCAA Division 2.

• The schools are only 2 years long. You go to these schools then transfer to a 4 year institute (NCAA, NAIA). This is a great route for players looking to get higher scholarship money, but who also have lower standard of academics. It is essentially a great way of getting in the door and being seen as coaches from higher Divisions would rather take a player from NJCAA then from outside the US.

Athletic requirements: The higher your level of ability the greater chance you have of securing an Athletic Scholarship. In addition, a greater range of options will be available to choose from. Within this wide range of Universities, the level of sports is very broad. We advise the player about the level necessary to be eligible for Sports Scholarships in the United States, depending on the university division, however this level may vary. Athletic Scholarships must be applied for formally. Most of the time, students at their current schools are notified by a coach that they may stand a good chance of winning a scholarship. Not anyone can simply apply for a scholarship. They must follow specific procedures to become eligible for one. For each NCAA Division there are special requirements, which are below;

• Division 1 – you must have experience in higher leagues and divisions, belong or have belonged to academies of professional teams, competed in regional or national level.
• Division 2 – you must have experience in national youth leagues.
• Division 3 – you must have experience in local teams and in regional competition.

Academic Requirements: Another important factor in being able to attend a good university is the academic side, the SAT, TOEFL and IELTS are important requirements. 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. The higher the grades, the greater the range of options the student will have.

• GPA (Grade point average) – Students need a minimum of half B’s and half C’s. B’s and above is normally what Universities would require. If student has all C’s this is a stretch to get in.
• NCAA – Need to have a minimum of 4 subjects passed: English, Math’s, Science and Social Sciences which consist of the following subjects (anthropology, archaeology, communication studies, economics, history, musicology, human geography, jurisprudence, linguistics, political science, psychology, public health, and sociology).
• NAIA or Junior College – Need to have a minimum of 3 subjects passed: English, Math’s and Sciences.

Each University or coach has different minimum requirements in terms of the academic level they require. Therefore, at Global Sports Division, we study every academic and sports profile to find the University that best suits each player.

• UK Sporting Scholarships for Talented Athletes.In England and Wales, elite sports students may be supported by a scholarship from TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship), and across the border in Scotland by Winning Students. These are both government-funded Sports Scholarship programmes, delivered in partnership with Universities and national governing bodies of sport.
• Centre’s of Sporting Excellence.These can be multi-sport facilities linked to one of the home country’s sports institutes, or one or more sport-specific centres. Check with individual University websites to get details of which house centres of excellence. In some cases, these facilities may be used for major regional or national competitions.

BUCS is the national governing body for higher education sport in the UK. The BUCS League is the governing body for university sport in the United Kingdom for British Universities and Colleges Sport. The BUCS league has 5,500 BUCS teams across 850 leagues that take part in the BUCS League and Knockout competitions annually. In representative sport, student teams take part in matches against other universities and often also participate in local leagues and other competitions. If you’re a member of a representative team you can expect to play a couple of matches a week, one against another university and the other against a local sports club. You’ll probably also have at least one training session and/or coaching session. Inter-varsity competitions in the UK are run by British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS) and Scottish Student Sport (SSS); from BUCS competitions, teams can even go on to compete at European or world-level. See more about BUCS and SSS below. BUCS collates all the results and produces ‘ranking points’ for all participating universities each year, so the higher a university’s BUCS ranking the higher the overall standard of sports performance. It delivers over 50 sports and offers a comprehensive inter-university competition structure

Athletic requirements: The higher your level of ability the greater chance you have of securing an Athletic Scholarship. In addition, a greater range of options will be available to choose from. Within this wide range of Universities, the level of sports is very broad. We advise the player about the level necessary to be eligible for Sports Scholarships in the United Kingdom, depending on the university division, however this level may vary. Athletic Scholarships must be applied for formally. Most of the time, students at their current schools are notified by a coach that they may stand a good chance of winning a scholarship. Not anyone can simply apply for a scholarship. They must follow specific procedures to become eligible for one.

• Level 1 – you must have experience in higher leagues and divisions, belong or have belonged to academies of professional teams, competed in regional or national level.
• Level 2 – you must have experience in national youth leagues.
• Level 3 – you must have experience in local teams and in regional competition.

Academic Requirements: Another important factor in being able to attend a good University is the academic side, the IGCSE and IELTS are important requirements. 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. The higher the grades, the greater the range of options the student will have.

• Public School – Apolyterion 17 and above plus an English examination such as the IGCSE or IELTS

• Private School – Successful completion of 3 A’ Levels. Grades depend on the university and the program of study

Each University or coach has different minimum requirements in terms of the academic level they require. Therefore, at Global Sports Division, we study every academic and sports profile to find the University that best suits each player.

Flights and travel to and from the USA. The living and social costs of the student will be funded by the student athlete.

The academic results of the student, coach’s available budgets and the coach’s evaluation of the athletes sporting credentials and ability will amount to the value of scholarship the University can offer.

• Thousands of academic programs
• World’s best universities with top-quality educational system
• Freedom and flexibility in terms of schedules
• A chance to expose yourself to various cultures
• Vast financial aids available

• If injured you will keep your Athletic or Academic Scholarship
• Tuition and fees
• Rent and meals
• Sports-specific costs (e.g. equipment, competition travel, physiotherapy)
• Other costs (e.g. textbooks, tutoring, health insurance)
• The value of an athletic scholarship often exceeds $60,000 – $80,000 per year

• For student athletes with international level sporting achievements these can go up to 80% on fees
• For student athletes at a national level bursaries are from 1,000 – 5,000 per year and could be a combination of tuition fee deductions, cash awards, free physiotherapy, gym membership, meals, athletics union membership, one-to-one coaching and mentorship, travel, sports psychology , sports gear, clothing and equipment
• Student athletes competing at local level. British universities may offer them a small discount on fees along with free gym membership, physiotherapy and some of the above mentioned at national level depending on the university

(In all of the above cases the university provides an academic liaison to help manage their workload alongside sports commitments)

At least 18 months prior to your university academic start date, If you begin this process later you may not be able to secure a place at your first options, so beginning the process early puts you in the best possible position for a broader range of Scholarship offers.

Video footage is one of the most important aspects for getting recruited and promoted for a sports scholarship / bursary for Team Sports as coaches must view the athlete to make a decision, this is why collecting and recording Quality and Comprehensive video footage, at least two years prior to applying for a sports scholarship is essential.