College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Timeline and Steps in the NCAA Eligibility Process

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

In our latest blog, we covered the process of sending standardized test scores to the NCAA Eligibility Center and how to check your high school’s NCAA-approved courses to ensure you meet the 16-core course requirement necessary to compete in NCAA Division I and II sports.

So when should you register with the NCAA? In this blog, we will review a general timeline of when to begin the process and the steps you can expect to take.

Technically, you become a prospective college recruit the first day of your high school career. However, we counsel student-athletes to use freshman year to adjust to high school life before becoming concerned about their future college athletic experience.

The beginning of sophomore year in high school is a good time to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center:

1. Create a Certification Account if you plan on targeting NCAA Division I or II institutions. If you are only looking to play NCAA Division III, there is no need to register with the NCAA.
2. Once you receive your 10-digit NCAA ID #, you can include it on your emails to college coaches and list it on your Athletic Profile. This indicates to college coaches of NCAA Division I and II schools that you have begun the process of becoming academically eligible to be recruited by them.  
3. Check your high school’s NCAA-approved courses to ensure you meet the 16-core course requirements and GPA sliding scale necessary to compete in NCAA Division I and II sports. If the course titles on your high school transcript do not exactly match those listed as NCAA-approved courses for your school, you must go ask your guidance counselor to update your school’s NCAA-approved course listing immediately. You want every course you took to count, if possible.
4. At the end of junior year, request that your guidance counselor submit your final transcript (with 6 full semesters of grades) to the NCAA.
5. Every time you take a standardized test, send the scores to the NCAA officially through either the SAT or ACT testing agency (NCAA code is: 9999).
6. Once you begin senior year, you must log into your NCAA Eligibility Center account to “Request Final Amateurism” to indicate that you did not play your sport for money and that you are indeed still an amateur.
7. At the end of senior year, you must request your final high school transcript to be sent by guidance to the NCAA Eligibility Center. 

Then you are officially qualified to begin your athletic playing career at an NCAA Division I or II institution. Good luck!

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of June 10, 2019) – How to Maximize Your Summer as a Recruited Student-Athlete

College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Standardized Test Scores in Relation to NCAA Eligibility

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

Any high school student-athlete who wishes to play NCAA Division I or II sports in college must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Standardized test scores are one part of the equation for determining if the student-athlete meets NCAA academic requirements.

If a student-athlete has Division I or Division II schools on his/her college list, it is the responsibility of the student-athlete to check that the high school courses which he/she is taking are accepted by the NCAA. To search for a high school’s NCAA-approved courses, visit the NCAA Eligibility Center High School Portal. Here, the student-athlete will enter his/her high school’s name and will be directed to a page which will allow him/her to search all of the NCAA-approved courses his/her school offers.

To be eligible to play NCAA Division I, student-athletes must meet the following criteria:

• 16 core courses
• GPA of at least 2.3 in those core courses
• Earn a certain ACT/SAT score matching his/her core-course GPA on a Division I sliding scale

For more detailed information on NCAA Academics Requirements for Division I, click HERE.

To be eligible to play NCAA Division II, student-athletes must meet the following criteria:

• 16 core courses
• GPA of at least 2.2 in those core courses
• Earn a certain ACT/SAT score matching his/her core-course GPA on a Division II sliding scale

For more detailed information on NCAA Academics Requirements for Division II, click HERE.

Standardized test scores from SAT and/or ACT must be sent directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center, by using the NCAA Eligibility Center code 9999 from the testing agency.

Note: There are no athletic scholarships available at the NCAA Division III level. Therefore, there is no NCAA Eligibility process necessary for high school student-athletes wishing to pursue Division III college athletics.

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of May 27, 2019) – Timeline to Begin the NCAA Eligibility Process

Register for Bay State Games by June 1st to Save $10 on Entry Fee

Registration for the 38th annual Bay State Summer Games is currently underway. The 2019 Summer Games will feature 31 sports for athletes of all ages. The Early Registration Deadline is quickly approaching. Athletes who sign up to participate prior to the June 1 early registration deadline will save $10 on their entry fee.

The registration fee will increase $10 in the following sports on June 1:

Badminton: June 22 – 23 at Boston Badminton, Westborough

Baseball*: July 8 – 12 at BC High School, Boston

Girls Basketball*: July 12 – 14 at Emmanuel College, Boston

Boys Basketball: July 20 – 21 at UMass Boston

Field Hockey*: July 12 – 14 at Veterans Memorial Field Complex, Waltham

Boys and Girls Ice Hockey*: July 11 – 14 at New England Sports Center, Marlborough

Judo: July 14 at UMass Boston

Boys Lacrosse*: July 9 – 11 at Veterans Memorial Field Complex, Waltham

Boys and Girls Soccer*: July 11 – 14 at Veterans Memorial Field Complex, Waltham

Softball*: July 8 – 10 at Danehy Park, Cambridge

Swimming – July 6 – 7 at Harvard University, Cambridge
          Qualifiers: June 8 (Worcester Boys & Girls Club), June 15 (Regis College, Weston), June 22 (Lincoln Hancock Pool, Quincy)

Synchronized Swimming: June 15 at Worcester YWCA

Trap Shooting: June 22 at North Leominster Rod & Gun Club, Lunenburg

Boys and Girls Volleyball*: July 13 – 14 at UMass Boston

Weightlifting: July 20 – 21 at UMass Boston

*Tryout information for the eight showcase sports are being posted on the sport’s page as they become available.

For more information on all sports in the 2019 Summer Games, and links to online registration, go to www.baystategames.org. For questions email info@baystategames.org or call 781-932-6555.

Bay State Games Introduces New Sports for 2019 Summer Games

Bay State Games is excited to introduce three new sports to the 2019 Summer Games program. These sports include Pickleball, FootGolf, and Ultimate.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports among the senior community in the nation. It incorporates elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Bay State Games is offering doubles and mixed doubles tournaments at a variety of skill levels. The tournament will take place July 27-28 at The Mill Works in Westford.

Medal winners in the 2019 Bay State Games Pickleball tournament will qualify for the 2021 State Games of America National Championship to be held in Ames, Iowa at Iowa State University. At the 2017 State Games of America in Grand Rapids, Michigan, over 600 pickleball players representing 34 states competed. For more information, visit www.baystategames.org/pickleball

FootGolf is a crossover of golf and soccer. The inaugural competition will take place at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Acton on June 22. This tournament will serve as the national qualifier for American FootGolf League National Championship that will take place at the 2019 State Games of America in Lynchburg, Virginia. For more information, visit www.baystategames.org/footgolf

Ultimate will take place on June 29 at Veterans Memorial Field Complex in Waltham. For its first year, Bay State Games will be hosting a U20 tournament. Male and female divisions will be offered. For more information, visit www.baystategames.org/ultimate

Jonathan Levy of New England Ultimate says of the addition, "Ultimate just celebrated its 50th anniversary as a sport. Youth players are its fastest-growing group, with participation by Massachusetts high schools exploding over the past decade. New England Ultimate is thrilled to have the Bay State Games add our sport to their Summer Games."

If you are interested in registering for any of these sports, please go to www.baystategames.org/summer-sports. For questions, email info@baystategames.org or call 781-932-6555.

College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Standardized Testing in the Student-Athlete’s College Admissions Process

Written by:  Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

There are two standardized tests that are commonly used in the college admissions process:  

The SAT and/or the ACT

SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test): This test is administered through the College Board. The test is offered seven times throughout the school year during the following months:  August, October, November, December, March, May and June. The test is scored on a 200-800 point scale in two categories (Reading/Writing and Math). The highest combined score a student-athlete can receive is a 1600. There is no limit to the number of times this test can be taken. However, a student-athlete typically takes it 2-3 times before the early fall of senior year. For more information, visit: https://www.collegeboard.org/

ACT (American College Testing): This test is offered seven times as well during the following months:  September, October, December, February, April, June and July. The test is scored on a 1-36 point scale in four categories:  English, Math, Reading and Science with an optional Writing portion. The average across all sections is calculated into one overall composite score. Similar to the SAT, there is no limit to the number of times this test can be taken and typically a student-athlete takes it 2-3 times by senior year. For more information, visit: http://www.act.org/

Colleges accept both standardized tests. It is up to the student-athlete to submit test scores from either one or both tests if they choose to do so. 

Note: There are over 1,000 colleges and universities that do not require standardized testing as part of their admissions process. To see a list of test-optional schools, go to: http://fairtest.org/university/optional

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of May 20, 2019) – Standardized Test Scores in Relation to NCAA Eligibility