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Advice and recommendation on US colleges/ soccer scholarship

Here is the deal guys. Im 17 from the UK and I am interested in a soccer scholarship in the US. (Mostly because I want a change of lifestyle:cool: and would like to develop my sporting ability while striving for academic success:rolleyes: . Im unmotivated at the minute as this seems to be the only option that appeals to me)
I realise I would need a scholarship to cover the costs of studying there which is mostly down to my sporting ability but could you help me by giving me a bit of imput on the academic side which is really my main priority.

My GCSE results are pretty good(5A*, 4A) I've just finished my AS levels and naturally will be hoping for As at A2 level. I have been considering pusuing law and i think this is post grad in US but
I've researched a bit and correct me if i'm wrong I could do a 4 year undergraduate course majoring in a particular field like History in the states.

If I achieved good resuts in SAT tests, do you think good universities would consider me ?
I havent played international soccer so would better grades give me a much better chance of a scholarship or is it mostly based on athletic ability alone?
Do any of you know what are the best universities I could apply to outside the ivy league ones, the ones which are generally percieved to be most attractive taking lifestyle into condideration also?

:woo:
I know its a complicated process hence this messy post but any advice would be invaluable. Here is a list of the top soccer colleges but I havn't a notion which ones would suit me academically and would be realitic choices.
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2008MSOrpi1.html
For those familiar with US colleges could you offer any insight. It would be greatly appreciated
:smile:

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Reply 1
Hey, how good are you at soccer?? Are you much better than most of your peers at your school and football club? Do you play for a youth club such as Spurs or Arsenal? If not then I don't think that you should apply to too many ivies because your GCSEs are not up to scratch. If you want a school with a nice lifestyle I would consider colleges in the South or in California. You may want to check out Vanderbilt - I am not sure exactly how good its soccer is but it is a great school with a very good standard of living.
Reply 2
Ok so i was thinking in similar ways because i was very handy at football at home so expected to be well above standard here. It is not the case. These guys train 3 or 4 times week including doing classes. Also, they play a totally different style of football- they are very big, strong powerful and much much fitter (in my opinion) that the average team in the UK.

I have heard that some of the universities have soccer camps around the UK every so often to try and recruit. Otherwise its difficult for them to give you a scholarship based on just your history or videos you send in. Send out a couple of emails to the schools you think you like based on location etc and see what the couches say - they might ask for priliminary videos or things so be prepared to put in the effort with your application.

Yea i think dn013 is asking the right question - just how good at football are you?
Reply 3
hm. i dont know too much about sports as i gave up soccer in 10th grade, haha, but i do know that you need to figure out what division you want to play in. in us college athletics schools are registered as part of D1 D2 or D3 with D1 being the most intense and competitive and D3 being the least. you can also play club (compete with local schools) or intramural (compete within your school) but these are just for fun and would not provide scholarships.

so you're going to need to figure out how hard it would be for you to balance academics/athletics and which division you would like to play in. then you should look to see which schools are registered in that division. be aware that the division can change between sports (a school can be D1 baseball but D3 soccer and D2 swimming etc.) as a very rough guideline, state flagships usually have the most competitive D1 teams and smaller private and more academically oriented schools tend to have lower division teams.


getting recruited for sports scholarships is very complicated and i recommend you try to get in touch with someone who has gone through the process. its especially shady with ivies and other elite schools (idk if you are looking into them, idk what those scores mean) because they arent technically supposed to give out sports scholarships at all, but they do so slyly and have various methods of wooing athletes. but the process usually is started quite early, when athletes are in their junior year, so you should get on it. you will probably need to contact the coaches/recruiters of the colleges you want to apply to yourself, and soon, because you dont have a guidance office thats connected to those schools.

seeing as that soccer isnt a very media-popular sport here (i usually just follow major tournaments and some of the premier league, but don't ask me anything about the MLS), i'm not aware of rankings or anything off the top of my head. the only school i know has a reputation for good soccer is UNC-CH, but i only know that because of their womens team, i'm assuming their mens team is just as good. i'm pretty sure UVA has a good team as well.

look up stuff about NCAA athletics and such
Shadey
Ok so i was thinking in similar ways because i was very handy at football at home so expected to be well above standard here. It is not the case. These guys train 3 or 4 times week including doing classes. Also, they play a totally different style of football- they are very big, strong powerful and much much fitter (in my opinion) that the average team in the UK.

I have heard that some of the universities have soccer camps around the UK every so often to try and recruit. Otherwise its difficult for them to give you a scholarship based on just your history or videos you send in. Send out a couple of emails to the schools you think you like based on location etc and see what the couches say - they might ask for priliminary videos or things so be prepared to put in the effort with your application.

Yea i think dn013 is asking the right question - just how good at football are you?



Hello mate,

Just wondering, did you go over to America on a Soccer Scholarship? If so, to what uni? I have the offer to go out there, wouldn't mind speaking to someone who has already been through it. Cheers.
How good are you at soccer? I know that this is a very broad and general question but you have to be realistic with yourself. Are you good enough to play at Maryland (Go Terps!!!!!) where they just won their second national championship in four years? I'm gonna take a wild guess and say no. I don't mean that as an insult(and I know it sounds like one) but I'm just going with the law of averages and guessing that you're not one of the best players in the world. You might have to think about going D-II or D-III.

However, most college soccer coaches probably want to see you play before they offer you a scholarship, so that in and of itself presents a huge problem for you.
Reply 6
It should be noted that Division III teams/schools are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships (except for a half dozen exceptions that don't apply to the OP).
Reply 7
University soccer teams in the US act as feeder clubs for the US professional league (MSL). Some athletes are playing for their future so you really need to think about it. My friend, who went for a trial last year, said they do intensive training so you really have to be top notch if you want the coach to consider you a place a in a varsity team.
thnks for the interest in this maybe confusing thread lads. I have made a lot of progress in regards to attaining a scholarship since my op.Sorry I didnt make it clear how good I am at the sport.

I recently contacted a soccer scholarship agency and attended trials with many other hopefuls. I played quite well being told I was in the top 2 at the assessment and my athletic ability was recognised as elite athlete meaning that if I sign up with them I will most likely be targeting a full scholarship. At the moment I am on the books of an irish league premier division club (highest level here in NI).
I'm not a schoolboy international so I wouldnt say I am the next messi but apparently I have the necessary abilty to play at the higher levels of college soccer. Along with a 4.0 GPA I am told I would be an attractive option for colleges.

The thing is tho I would have to pay nearly £1000 for their assistance!! I recognise their expertise is essential as I they have all the contacts and experience but I am being told you have to commit early (asap) as the coaches are starting their recruitment process now. I do have another year at school though and my parents are unsure it is necessary to make that financial commitment when they think it may be more academically beneficial to study in the UK.

Does anyone have any insight into the lifestyle of a student athlete lifestyle, is it hard to focus on studies?
Any recommendations for good states and schools?
Also are US degrees useful for working in the UK?
Do you think it would be best to avoid hesitation I am very interested or think about contacting the colleges direct myself?
It is just that I for the next step to happen (getting in touch with colleges) I would need to stump up the money so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully my xperience can help others too.

Harry-- congrats on your offer! Wouldnt mind telling me abit about it?Did you use an agency?
devil09
It should be noted that Division III teams/schools are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships (except for a half dozen exceptions that don't apply to the OP).


True, they aren't allowed to offer athletic scholarships. But they do anyway under the guise of an academic scholarship. It's the same thing, just a different name so that the schools won't get in trouble with the NCAA.

OP, if you really are as good as you say you are, as I stated before the top college soccer team is clearly the University of Maryland Terrapins.
www.umd.edu >link to the University of Maryland website
www.umterps.com >link to the University of Maryland athletics site
Hey I was just wondering with a few months on whether eanyone in this thread went to the USA for soccer scholarship.This is as ive already been accepted into a program for a scholarship. I would like to kno what it the lifestyle of a college soccer player like?
Reply 11
hi, i was just wondering if anyone has heard of athletesusa. there a scholarship agency and just wondering if there a scam or not
Look into Clemson. Crap school but great soccer team.

Email the head coach, his name is Phill his email is [email protected]

Also, fill out the recruiting profile here:

http://interact.cstv.com/prospects/index.cfm?school_code=clem
Lord_Farquad
Look into Clemson. Crap school but great soccer team.

Email the head coach, his name is Phill his email is [email protected]

Also, fill out the recruiting profile here:

http://interact.cstv.com/prospects/index.cfm?school_code=clem


The better the team, the harder it is to get a scholarship there!
Reply 14
It really depends on what you are looking for. You will definitely have to contact the unis, but they will most likely want to see you play. As someone has mentioned earlier, keep an eye out for unis coming to the UK for tryouts. You may want to focus on Division II schools. I went to one and we had loads of EU nationals on the team, mainly from Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. D-II schools usually smaller, which I preferred. For me it was a better classroom setting. They can also offer full scholarships, which most had at my uni.

Search for schools with your choice of major and a soccer program. Be sure to search DI and DII schools only. Check out www.collegeboard.com. This will allow you to include major, sport, international financial aid, athletic aid and so forth. It should help you find schools you can start contacting.

Best of luck.
Reply 15
Hi, i have been reading the post here and they are very informative.
I was wondering where in the UK the US College soccer trials take place ?
I done a little 'Googling' and a good few UK football/soccer agents came up, all offering trials for professional clubs at an academy level, US colleges and other international leagues. They all say the same kind of thing, cash upfront to attend a trial. With cash payments for administrative or other supplemental services. Can any of you please point me to a reputable agent or the next upcoming trial for an NCAA accredited college please. Only NCAA accredited please. Or if anybody in the forum has actually taken this route and is currently on/about to start a soccer scholarship in the US with an NCAA accredited school. whether it be Div I, II or III. Thank you.
Reply 16
NCAA Soccer rankings for both Div I and Div II:
http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/master_rankings.html

Generate a listing of all NCAA member universities by division:
http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec/divisionListing

NAIA information (typically small schools with scholarships):
http://naia.cstv.com/member-services/attend.htm

The above should help. You should browse the list of schools and contact their athletic departments, usually the coaches/assistant coaches for you chosen sport. NAIA would be the easiest, but I'm not sure how many scholarships they offer, especially full rides.

However, if you get As and A*s on you A2s, they may just offer you an academic scholarship as well. You should go to the financial aid section of the universities' websites as they may offer scholarships. Obviously if you are mainly looking at your typical top universities, it will be difficult to know if you have a shot at any scholarships they offer, if any.

Hope this helps a bit. Again, contact the uni in regards to try-outs. Also, you may be able to send a video to some schools. Best of luck.
Reply 17
Thank you k1tsun3.
I had already done these things.
I have also started proceedings to become a NCAA member. The video footage advice is brill. I will be doing this in the near future. I was specifically looking for approved trials, it seems as if they may be a 'Myth'. I just thought i would pose the question to see how many UK Students have actually taken this route. The only person i have heard of, was an english school boy international (centre forward), who had been accepted on a full US College scholarship. Whether he had actually attended a trial or not, i do not know. Either way, Thank you for your input k1tsun3, It will be taken on board.
Reply 18
I sent an email to a friend of mine who might have some answers. We knew several of the international players in college, but I've lost contact. I've asked if he is still in contact with any of them (all were German, Swiss and Sweedish). Hopefully he'll get back to me about how they went about it.

The uni I went to was Division II. It isn't listed on any of these world rankings, but it's a college many people enjoy. It is sorta in the middle of nowhere, but lots can be reached in 40-90 mins by car. Fee l free to check it out. If nothing else, you might get some feedback on how you might go about getting a soccer scholarship. They currently have six international players, including one from England. You can find him on the roster on their website. He's also on facebook, so you can try and contact him that way for some info.
http://www.uncpbraves.com/sport.asp?sportID=14

Hope this helps a bit.
Hi People :smile:
I was reading all your posts below and some of you know quite abit about the scholoship process, Im looking to gain a scholoship in The USA for womens soccer, so do any of you know if its harder for women to gain them? ive played football for 10 years and most recently southampton ladies, im not to fussed if i play in lower leagues im just looking to play in America for the experience of a lifetime :smile:
Any help would be great???
Thanks
Alice x
P.S Im looking to play in the California area :smile:

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