Athletic Scholarships

This site was made to give you information about college scholarships and lead you to other sites about college scholarships.


With the grueling practice schedule and frequent games that comprise the life of a student athlete, figuring out how to pay for school is probably the last thing you want to worry about. Unfortunately, though, the problem of how to find money for college can be even more challenging for student athletes. Federal financial aid can help cover your tuition, but you probably want to avoid student loans, since earning a steady income from athletics can be a difficult task. Working your way through college while playing a sport can be nearly impossible, unless you’ve discovered a way to attain a college degree without actually devoting any time to coursework. And unfortunately, not everyone who plays sports is lucky enough to land a starting position on the team of a top university or to receive the generous scholarship award that comes with such an honor.



Athletic Scholarship Realities

In reality, athletic scholarships are often not as generous as regular financial aid or merit scholarships that jocks can earn for their academics and other talents. Striking it big with an athletic scholarship, however, resonates with parents whether their children are still in grade school or well into their high school years.


If sports scholarships sound appealing, here is something to keep in mind: Families often end up shopping for athletic scholarships rather than for schools that represent good academic fit. If you are a gifted athlete or the parent of one, you should first identify schools that would be a match academically and then inquire about the sports. Getting a college education is infinitely more important than playing a sports. And remember, the money you receive for academic accomplishments is often more than a sports scholarship.


Athletic scholarships are often thought of in the strictest terms, as being only available to elite athletes. While this is broadly true, and major universities are always competing to bring the very best athletes to their campuses, there remains an abundance of scholarship opportunities for good solid athletic performers. Athletic scholarships can be found that reward all levels of excellence, not only star players.


Scholarships for football, baseball, and basketball are perhaps the most highly visible, but they are by no means the only sports that provide scholarship opportunities to eligible college-bound students. There are scholarships for wrestling, track and field swimming and ice hockey; as well as less commonly played sports such as golf, lacrosse and fencing. The college-bound athlete will find that there are a vast array of scholarships devoted to all manner of sporting activities.



What is an athletic scholarship?

  1. Allows you to play college sports without having to pay for college.
  2. Athletic scholarships can range in percentage from 10-100%. A 100% scholarship is known as a full ride.
  3. When acquiring a full ride scholarship you will literally have to pay nothing.
  4. An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent.