College Athletics Guide

It is important that you keep your counselors, coaches, and parents involved and informed of your progress. Good communication and understanding how the admission process works will make it easier for you to find the right school and athletic program for you.

• Talk with your coaches about playing at the collegiate level. They can assess your skills and help you with an individualized plan to develop essential skills: a coach can also help you explore the option of age-appropriate camps.
• Meet your counselor, athletic director, coach and parents to discuss goals. Be sure to document all of your accomplishments. Your counselor will begin a file about you and your athletic goals.
• Complete prospective student-athlete questionnaires on the web sites of the colleges that interest you. Be sure to share the list of completed athlete questionnaires with your counselor and coach. Remember to follow up with an email to the college coach to confirm your interest.
• Familiarize yourself with the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete (available at eligibilitycenter.org). It includes information about academic eligibility requirements, the differences between Division I, II and III athletic programs, recruiting regulations, financial aid and NCAA-sponsored sports.
• Register for the NCAA clearinghouse. Create an account on eligibilitycenter.org.
• When you register to take the ACT and/or SAT, you can use the NCAA Eligibility Center code 9999 as a score recipient. This will send your official scores directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center.
• Send emails to college coaches updating them on your academic and athletic accomplishments. Notify them of any visits you make to their schools.
• Prepare a highlight video if it is relevant to your sport.
• When a college coach requests your transcript/scores, please submit that request to the Prep’s Counseling Department. Be sure to include the coach’s name, the school which he/she represents and his/her email or fax.
• Keep your coaches up-to-date with a list of any contacts you have had with college coaches. Ask your Prep and/or club coaches to contact your top choice college coaches on your behalf.
• At the end of your junior year, send your transcript to the NCAA if you are registered. They will not accept faxed or emailed transcript/test scores.
• Remember, the better your overall academic program and performance, the more options you will have. Prepare for the ACT, SAT and the SAT Subject Tests.
• In addition to your sport, continue to develop yourself personally through extra-curricular opportunities. Find ways to develop leadership qualities through your activities, athletic or otherwise.