Sport Schlorship-Be At The Top Of Your Game
When people think of a scholarships they often think of a sport schlorship. This may well be the main type of scholarship that pops into peoples minds. In order to receive these types of scholarships you must meet many requirements. Also, all scholarships are competitive but this type may be more so than a lot of others. You must be at the top of your game literally and figuratively.
You will need to be able to show a high academic aptitude as well as being good at your particular sport. Just being a good athlete isn’t going to be good enough. If you’ve blown off your classes and maintained just good enough grades so you didn’t get kicked off the team, you likely won’t find any scholarships you will be accepted for.
So, to break it all down a little bit, here are some steps you should take to find the sport scholarship opportunities for your sport:
1. What colleges do you want to attend? By now you probably have a pretty good idea based on your sport and what colleges are competitive in that sport. Make a list of the top 20 or so. Make the list fairly long so you have a lot of options, you may not get accepted to the first school you apply to.
2. Locate the coaches information at each school. Add the coaches information to your list. Try to include the name, address, phone number and email address if possible. Most of this information will be readily available right on the college’s website.
3. Now it’s time to put it all together. Create a package about you. Create a well written cover letter that provides a short introduction to who you are, what sport you are involved in, what the purpose of the letter is, etc. Try to individualize each letter with the name of the college and head coach for your sport.
You also want a resume of all your achievements in your sport and academically as well as some film of you in action, some game film. Make sure that you mention in your letter that you are interested in receiving a scholarship.
You should also include a list of references, the longer the list, the better. Make sure you ask your references if you can use them as a reference first so they aren’t surprised if they get a call.
Include all your contact information such as phone number, address, email address, what position you play on your team (assuming you play a team sport) your height, weight, etc. This isn’t the time to be shy, put yourself out there and make sure you highlight your best moments, in your sport and in the classroom.
5. Send off your packet of information early, usually about one year before you plan on starting college. Don’t wait until the last minute, your school guidance counselor should be able to give you a good idea of when you should start. Make sure you follow up with an email a week or two after you’ve sent your packet just to confirm that they’ve received it.
Applying for a sport schlorship can be a time consuming and tedious process, but if you stick with it and get a scholarship, neither you or your parents will be burdened with a lot of debt when you are finished with school.