| In last month’s article I talked about how important it is to keep your grade point average up as high as you can. I mentioned that it is important to take as rigorous of a schedule as you can, and to get a tutor for subjects that you struggle in, as opposed to just accepting a lower grade. Keeping your grades up will make a difference in the college you will get to attend, even if you are an exceptional athlete. I know plenty of great athletes that did not get into the college of their choice. Oh yeah, do your homework and all extra-credit offered. I cannot stress that enough. I also mentioned that if you are unsure of what classes you need for graduation, see your counselor. |
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| What is next in your process of becoming an athlete in college? You need to go to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) website Eligibility Center. Basically NCAA is the ruling body for athletics in college. You have to abide by their rules and timelines if you want to compete. All prospective athletes must go to the Eligibility Center and fill out all the required documents and follow their guidelines on classes needed, GPA needed, SAT/ACT test scores, etc. You must also declare yourself an amateur athlete which means you cannot go pro in the sport you want to compete in for college. |
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| I recommend that you go to the website in your Freshman year. The reason being is that you need to make sure you take the correct classes, and you do not want to be a senior and find out that you needed to, let’s say, take an art class such as is required in California schools. It is just best to go to the site often. Make yourself very familiar with the site so that you don’t miss valuable information. You do not want to work so hard in your sport, and even in your classes, just to find out that you missed some important date or criteria necessary to get into the college of your choice. By the way, even if you are offered a scholarship at a D1 school, if your grades and test scores or courses taken do not meet the D1 criteria, you will not be admitted—coaches don’t have a say in these matters, and you both will be very sad that you cannot go to their school and compete for them. |
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| The following are the links on the NCAA website that you need to familiarize yourself with. They are all a part of the Eligibility website, but I have given you the links individually. The main link is at the bottom.
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