Frequently Asked Questions
AthleticScholarshipsDirect.com
“Pursue the Dream” TM
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Do the NCAA and NAIA award athletic scholarships?
A: Individual schools award athletic scholarships, not the NCAA. Only Division I and II schools offer athletic scholarships. NCAA members provide more than $2 billion in athletics scholarships annually.
Division III Schools often award various combination's of academic scholarships and grant monies to student-athletes.
NAIA institutions award $450 million annually to eligible student-athletes.
Each school determines how much aid it awards to an individual student-athlete.
Scholarships, grants-in-aid or student loans are controlled by each institution.
Q: What is a full athletic scholarship worth these days?
A: It depends. At an in-state, public school in 2009, the NCAA estimates the average
yearly value of a full scholarship at just more than $15,000. For an
out-of-state public institution, the average cost is approximately
$25,000 per year. Full scholarships at private schools average slightly
more than $35,000.
USA Today recently estimated the value of a
full athletics scholarship at $120,000 per year. But the real value of
athletics scholarships is intangible. Without them, many
student-athletes would be unable to pursue their athletics and academic
dreams.
Q: When should we start marketing Academic and Athletic achievements to College Coaches?
A: The NCAA considers freshmen in High School “prospective Student-Athletes”. The NCAA has very specific guidelines regarding core course curriculum and GPA attainment beginning freshman year and continuing through High School graduation. Additionally, the competition for athletic scholarships will continue be intense, due to the increasing number of high school student-athletes and overall high school graduates which will peak in 2015 according to the US Department of Education.
Q: Is it OK for a prospective Student-Athlete or Parent to initiate communication with a college coach?
A: Yes, a parent or prospective student-athlete may initiate communication with a college coach at any time beginning freshman year in High School, as long as the prospective student-athlete's family pays the expense. That is why your ASD subscription is so valuable. ASD makes it easy for you to begin exposing your student-athlete to coaches in an ethical manner, compliant with NCAA regulations.
Remember that College coaches are highly regulated by the NCAA regarding communication with you or your Student-Athlete, and must abide by those guidelines. That is why we developed our advanced Key word search for our Coach’s membership. This will allow them to review Student-Athlete profiles on a 24/7, 365 Day a year basis from their computers, PDA’s or Smart phones.
Q: What is AthleticScholarshipsDirect.com?
A: AthleticScholarshipsDirect.com is a virtual manager of information regarding College Athletic Scholarships and communication portal that empowers Parents and Student-Athletes to take control of the difficult process of seeking out the right College Athletic Scholarships.
ASD allows you to search out and communicate directly with college coaches in your specific sport through your multi-media sport-specific profile which launches from your personal email box.
Q: I have no clue where to begin. Searching for College Athletic Scholarships is so complicated.
A: Even those of us who have served as NCAA Division I Athletic Administrators have a difficult time navigating the maze that is College Athletic recruiting.
That is why we founded ASD, to remove the fog and simplify the core issues, extract key eligibility data, and linking directly to important NCAA web information, making it easier to understand and to comply.
Q: Does AthleticScholarshipsDirect.com guarantee we will get a scholarship?
A: No. First, that would be unethical, because NO ONE can “guarantee” that your son or daughter will secure an athletic scholarship. Secondly, securing a college athletic scholarship takes commitment and persistence on your part and on the part of your Student-Athlete.
The same persistence and drive that they show on the field, course, rink or court…If anyone promises you a “Silver Bullet” run and hide. As with life, you only get out of an endeavor what you put into it.
ASD gives you the tools to make the quest simpler and more understandable, saving you time and money
Q: Is the High School Rewards Program some kind of marketing gimmick?
A: No. Due to the current economic climate in the US and massive budget cuts that are being served up in every City, Town and Village across the Nation, we made the conscious decision to give back 25% of every subscription to the subscriber’s respective High School, because we believe that it’s the right thing to do.
Q: How do I know that your information is current and correct?
A: We have licensed our coach’s database directly from College Coaches Online, the people who provide the NCAA with their coach’s database, which is updated bi-annually. Additionally, we have received approval from the NCAA to link directly to their website to provide you with direct access to the NCAA Eligibility Center as well as additional information about eligibility and recruiting which is accessible in ASD’s Virtual Recruiting Classroom.
Q: Why do we have to provide you with server information when we fill out our profile?
A: This one-time task is for your benefit. We ask you to take this extra step so that you can email your profile directly from your personal mail box, not from ASD. This prevents your email and profile from ending up in the Coaches SPAM box.
It also allows them to communicate directly with you moving forward, without having to go through our Site.
We have provided you with a simple tutorial and the SMTP Server and Port information for the most popular Email providers in the US, to make this one-time task as simple as possible.
Q: Does ASD actively recruit or evaluate High School Student-Athletes?
A: No.
Unlike other organizations that try and take advantage of the competitive nature of Parents and High School Student-Athletes by promising “results” or conducting “evaluations”, we trust the Parents, Student-Athletes and above all, the college coaches to know their program needs and evaluate your son or daughter based on their years of experience in the business.
Q: What is recruiting?
A: Recruiting is the solicitation of a prospect or the prospects parent(s) or legal guardian(s) by a College or University staff member for the purpose of securing the prospect's enrollment at their respective College or University and/or participation in their College/University’s athletic program. Recruiting activities include correspondence, email, faxes, telephone conversations, in person contacts (on and off campus), and evaluations.