American Scholarships

[FinlayZoom]

First of all, not sure if this is in the right topic but anyway...

I've been looking in to a track and field scholarship in america however i know very little about it myself and i also don't know anyone who has done it before me.

I'm from Scotland and would be looking to study physiotherapy hopefully as well as participate in track and field at a college level.

Any information at all would be appreciated, some specific areas that i'm unsure about though are:

- How do you apply? or do you simple have to noticed?
- In a full scholarship, are all costs of education etc. covered?
- How do i know if a university offers a track and field scholarship?

I've been browsing the web for about a week now looking for info, but there's so much of it, it's very difficult to find the stuff you're looking for!

Thanks,

Finlay Murray

[18.99s]

Re: American Scholarships

First let's get an idea of whether you're eligible academically and athletically.

What are your events and best performances?
Are you male or female?
Have you completed high school? If yes, have you already attended college for any amount of time since completing high school? If not, are you still in high school?
Have you taken the ACT or SAT?

[bruce3404]

Re: American Scholarships

Scholarships are very limited in T&F. Unless your marks match up well against top American high schoolers, you don't have a legitimate chance. Many athletes competing collegiately are on partial scholarships (as little as just books) or, if the coach is lucky, the athletes are eligible for full academic scholarships and it doesn't cost the coach a scholarship (or a partial). Coaches also run into situations where athletes are on scholarships from other sports (football, basketball) which have more scholarships to offer. Of course, there are combinations involving partial scholarships in academics, T&F and other sports. One reason you can't find much info online is that the awarding of scholarships is both complex and secretive (meaning athletes aren't supposed to discuss their "deals" with other athletes, much like employees are urged not to discuss salaries).

[batonless relay]

Re: American Scholarships

First let's get an idea of whether you're eligible academically and athletically.

What are your events and best performances?
Are you male or female?
Have you completed high school? If yes, have you already attended college for any amount of time since completing high school? If not, are you still in high school?
Have you taken the ACT or SAT?

"18.99" you are being unnecessarily rude; he is only requesting information. Sex, or times are not necessary.

Any information at all would be appreciated, some specific areas that i'm unsure about though are:

- How do you apply? or do you simple have to noticed? If you know which school(s) in which you are interested just contact the coach. The coach will let you know what is required athletic/academic-ally.
- In a full scholarship, are all costs of education etc. covered? Depends on the school and the NCAA division (I, II, Junior college). Typically "full" means tuition and room and board and books but sometimes all of those things may not be covered and some fees that are academic in nature are not.
- How do i know if a university offers a track and field scholarship? That can be difficult, but it will usually be determined by your performance level in your event. (eg. some schools might give an 11.7 girl a full scholarship while that might not qualify for a partial at another school. Some schools/coaches are very receptive to foreign athletes and some schools/coaches are not). Also, some conferences like the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, etc.) don't offer athletics scholarships at all.

An example of the varying performance level is Derrick Atkins alma mater, Dickinson State. They routinely give scholarships to athletes from the caribbean who would not get scholarships to BIG 12, SEC, ACC or even Big East Schools. Coaches here know that it is easier to recruit a foreigner to go to Idaho than an American kid.

I've been browsing the web for about a week now looking for info, but there's so much of it, it's very difficult to find the stuff you're looking for!

Thanks,

Finlay Murray

[18.99s]

Re: American Scholarships

"18.99" you are being unnecessarily rude; he is only requesting information. Sex, or times are not necessary.

My questions are all very relevant to the if, how, and where of obtaining scholarships.

[Marlow]

Re: American Scholarships

Scholarships are very limited in T&F.

Make that VERY in all caps. Especially for foreigners who cost more than domestic products. You need to have the obvious potential to be an NCAA scorer (top 8) to have a good shot at a full ride.

[Conor Dary]

Re: American Scholarships

Is this you?

http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/p ... eid=109636

If so I would stay in Scotland. Scholarships for male track athletes are pretty nonexistent over here. Aren't Scottish Universities free tuition for Scots?

By the way did you ever run against the Wightman Twins? They went to Fettes and are about a year older.

[26mi235]

Re: American Scholarships

Get the Track and Field News issues that cover Where are They Going. It has a list of new/returning etc. athletes by school, grouped by conference. The is also the annual high school listing of top 3-5 by event with their top marks.

The high school forums like DyeStat and MileSplit have listings of who has accepted at what schools and what their marks are.

[Marlow]

Re: American Scholarships

Here's FSU's standards:

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fsu ... ndards.pdf

A little further down the food chain, here's UNF's:

http://unfospreys.com/documents/2012/10 ... df?id=5074

[bruce3404]

Re: American Scholarships

Is this you?

http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/p ... eid=109636

If so I would stay in Scotland. Scholarships for male track athletes are pretty nonexistent over here. Aren't Scottish Universities free tuition for Scots?

By the way did you ever run against the Wightman Twins? They went to Fettes and are about a year older.

Nice catch, Conor. While the 800 mark is a respectable mark, it would need to be about 7-8 seconds faster for any sort of serious consideration. If you have your heart set on running at a US university and you feel you can improve to 1:50 or better, your best bet is to walk on (no scholarship) and hope to be upgraded. That's a long shot, but at this point your only shot unless you can qualify academically.

[Marlow]

Re: American Scholarships

Not to be dimissive, but an 1:58 won't raise any eyebrows, even in my one city. 1:54 will get some attention, but even that doesn't guarantee a full-ride at 'lesser' colleges.

[FinlayZoom]

Re: American Scholarships

Thanks for all the info! Definitely opened my eyes to the situation!!

Scholarships are very limited in T&F. Unless your marks match up well against top American high schoolers, you don't have a legitimate chance. Many athletes competing collegiately are on partial scholarships (as little as just books) or, if the coach is lucky, the athletes are eligible for full academic scholarships and it doesn't cost the coach a scholarship (or a partial).

Thanks for this, I think I know someone who got a partial scholarship in football... I may look into this because even if I don't have the chance to achieve a full scholarship I would still be interested in studying I'm America.

Is this you?

http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/p ... eid=109636

If so I would stay in Scotland. Scholarships for male track athletes are pretty nonexistent over here. Aren't Scottish Universities free tuition for Scots?

By the way did you ever run against the Wightman Twins? They went to Fettes and are about a year older.

Yep that's me. The reason that I've become interested in scholarships is because a few athletes that I know of have been offered track and field scholarships, so I jumped to the conclusion that they weren't too hard to com by, but this is clearly not true.
Yes, Scottish uni's are free.
I think I have raced one of them, pretty sure he ran a 1:55 in the Scottish schools champs. Would this be the right person?

Here's FSU's standards:
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fsu ... ndards.pdf

Wow! A lot faster than I expected! I thought I came across another one that said the standard was 1:52 - 1:58 for the 800. Maybe not.

Not to be dimissive, but an 1:58 won't raise any eyebrows, even in my one city. 1:54 will get some attention, but even that doesn't guarantee a full-ride.

I understand this and am aware of this. However, I am confident I will be able to get my 800 time to about 1:54 this season. In January I ran 1:59 off of no speed work so I am confident going into the track season. I'm also confident in getting my 1500m time down close to or under 4 minutes this year and my 400m close to or under 50 seconds.

First let's get an idea of whether you're eligible academically and athletically.

What are your events and best performances?
Are you male or female?
Have you completed high school? If yes, have you already attended college for any amount of time since completing high school? If not, are you still in high school?
Have you taken the ACT or SAT?

I'm male.
In my final year In high school, but if I was to go out to America I would not go out until 2014, ie I'd be taking a year out to work etc.

[bruce3404]

Re: American Scholarships

I am confident I will be able to get my 800 time to about 1:54 this season. In January I ran 1:59 off of no speed work so I am confident going into the track season. I'm also confident in getting my 1500m time down close to or under 4 minutes this year and my 400m close to or under 50 seconds.

If you could accomplish all three goals, you'd probably get some attention from a Division II school. While none of those marks would put you into contention for Division 1 NCAA points, as an all-around runner, you could help in Div II conference meets and that might be of interest to a Div II coach whose goal is to win conference championships vs national championships.

[FinlayZoom]

Re: American Scholarships

If you could accomplish all three goals, you'd probably get some attention from a Division II school. While none of those marks would put you into contention for Division 1 NCAA points, as an all-around runner, you could help in Div II conference meets and that might be of interest to a Div II coach whose goal is to win conference championships vs national championships.

Are full scholarships still available for division II athletes?

[Marlow]

Re: American Scholarships

And don't forget the NAIA route. Less regulation and lower standards (but less $$ overall too). Then there's JCs.