Scholarship for Athletes was founded due to the lack of education being provided to high school athletes and their families about the recruiting process. The student athletes are on a job interview and the coaches are hiring. This process is all about building relationships and the sooner that a student athletes starts, the better off they’ll be.
“If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met over a lifetime, I’d say it’s the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.”
–Harvey Mackay
This timeline shows what student-athletes need to be doing in order to find the best school for them.
Fall
- Visit local universities to get a feel for the environment and culture
- Attend local college sporting events
- Talk to friends who play college sports and ask questions
Winter
- Begin to determine your school criteria and develop a tentative list of schools
- Determine the right level of athletics
- Determine what grades and test scores you need for the schools on your tentative list
- Create the initial school list
- Create an athletic resume
- Email the resume to coaches on the initial school list
Spring/Summer
- Begin studying for SAT or ACT exam
- Attend college sporting events
- Attend college summer camps
Fall
- Start calling coaches on the initial school list
- Take the SAT or ACT exam for the first time
- Take unofficial visits
- Get to know athletes at local universities
- Attend college sporting events
- Begin building relationships with coaches by updating them on your academic and athletic achievements
Winter
- Take the SAT or ACT exam for the second time
- Take unofficial visits
- Watch teams you are interested in play live
- Build relationships with athletes on teams of interest
- Revisit the school list and make necessary changes
- Update coaches monthly
- Take unofficial visits
- Watch the teams you are interested in play live
- Learn your market value
- Register with the NCAA clearing house
- Send the coaches your official transcript and test scores
- Update coaches monthly
- Narrow down your school list to schools you want to visit in the fall
- Setup and take your 5 official visits
- Negotiate scholarship money
- Determine which school is the best fit
- Verbally commit to a university
- Thank the coaches at the schools you visited but decided not to attend and notify them of your decision
- Sign letter of intent
Signing Dates
NOTE: There is no early signing period in track and field/cross country.
dates or after the final signing date listed for each sport.
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* – These sports do not have an early signing period.