The True Cost of Playing Sports in College
If you have a child preparing for college it can be a scary reality check. Many parents are unprepared to help their children pay for college, making some scramble for last-minute options in the form of a college sports scholarship.
Let’s be honest: it’s hard to get a quality job without a college education, leaving parents and their children vulnerable to racking up a good amount of debt on a college education. Since the debt trend continues to get larger, more and more families are looking for ways to battle this ever-growing concern.
CAN YOU GET AN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP?
For the purpose of this article we are going to focus on the athletic side of things. Like so many others, I didn’t come from a wealthy family and my ability to pay for college was going to come from scholarships or loans. Personally, I was banking on scholarships to come raining down due to my athletic abilities. And I was completely unprepared when they did.
Plan Ahead or Suffer the Consequences
This was mostly due to my own semi-poor planning and complete lack of knowledge of the entire process. I sit here now–writing this–knowing that college is extremely expensive and proper plans should be made to counter those costs.
For those of you that are interested in playing a college sport I ask you one question: How much is playing that sport worth to you and your family? Keep in mind that you will likely be receiving a partial scholarship for your athletic abilities which, ultimately, can end up costing quite a bit if you’re not careful.
Can You Afford to Keep Playing?
As a high school senior playing football I had my pick of several different colleges. The tuition costs ranged from very little to quite a lot. One in particular will always stand out because it was the tuition that kept me from attending that school.
This school tuition was $23,000, which–outside of extra costs–would be $92,000 if I finished my degree in four years. Since I was an athlete, I was told I was going to be getting some scholarship assistance at $14,000 a year; this brought my cost of attendance down to $36,000, which was better but still outside of my price range.
There was an internal battle between my love for football and the price I could afford to pay for tuition. This was exacerbated by the fact that I’d seen other family members go over $100,000 in debt from playing football at private schools. I wanted no part of that.
With a heavy heart and a clear conscience, I made the decision to completely wipe that school from my list, along with others that forced me into an uncomfortable financial position.
Part Two- The True Cost of Student Loans
If you have questions or comments about the true cost of playing sports in college please use the comments section below or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
thank you for the help. hoping and praying that my child get the scholarship to go to college and be able to fulfill his dreams by playing college football(soccer)
Felicia,
Thank you for the feedback, I am glad you found this article helpful! Please make sure that you are doing more than hoping and praying when it comes to your son and soccer scholarships. The reason I say this is because your son has a lot of work to do so that he can just have an opportunity at a scholarship. He needs to put together a resume and video that coaches will want to see so he can begin getting exposure. He needs to build lasting relationships with coaches so they will want to offer him a scholarship.
Hello I am the father of Kohonneh Kollie looking for a basketball or football camp to send him to. I will be really glad and pleased if you respond to me Mr. Zimmerman.
Kohonneh,
Glad to hear about your son! What have you been doing to get him exposure to college coaches?
I am a 17 year old football player in Tanzania on the amateur level and my dream is to advance in my football career. I need a scholarship to America. How do I do this?
Thanks for commenting, did you enjoy the read? As an international student being able to afford trips to the USA and college in general will become a popular subject among coaches and your family. Have you started saving for all of this yet?
Hi Mr. Zimmerman! I’m a 16 year old from Honduras. My dream is to play soccer in college! I’m looking for some soccer camps for me to attend in 2012! I’ve found some, but they don’t provide all the information on how an international player can attend to these camps. I’m trying to get a scholarship in America! Can you help me?
Ana, Thanks for writing in! These camps you are looking into, are they true camps or showcase events? There is a major difference between the two which I discuss in another blog article http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/2011/11/29/camps-showcases-college-recruiting.htm. You should be able to contact the schools directly for enrollment opportunities to their particular camps. As an international player your enrollment will be the same because everything will be on you. You will have to pay for your travel to get to the camp and possibly food and lodging depending on what type of camp it is.
I really enjoyed the article.
I`m 18 years old, from Colombia, and looking for a tennis scolarship. How can I make this real? I do consider myself a great tennis player.
Thanks for your time.
Juan,
Good news for you is that Tennis has become quite international at the college level here in the states over the past 20 years. More and more coaches are looking outside the talent pool of the US because Tennis isn’t the most popular sport among children here. Your ability to earn a position and possibly a scholarship will lie with your ability to play and place high in quality tournaments as well as your ability to travel to the United States for camps and more tournaments. These are where coaches scout and are made aware of athletes that are up and coming. Have you thought about or traveled here yet?
wow, thanks Zimmerman, those are really good news!.
Well i`m actually planing one travel to a camp in florida this summer, so how about that?, and i`m also looking up to get high pisitions on mi national tennis federation, so, is it a good way?
Mr. Zimmerman,
I’m trying to get recruited to Baylor. How would I do that? What do I have to do?
Ciera,
This depends on which sport you play of course and if you have the talent to play at a major Division 1 school. The Baylor women’s basketball team for example just won the national title last night and for the second time in 2 years made it to the final four in March. They are now able to recruit the best talent in the country and rightfully so. The biggest key is understanding your reality and realistically placing yourself in a division of sports you truly feel you can play. Here’s a great article to help you understand what I mean:
http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/2012/04/04/reality-checking-your-recruiting-expectations.htm
Hi Mr. Zimmerman! I’m a 16 year old from Honduras. My dream is to play soccer in cogelle! I’m looking for some soccer camps for me to attend in 2012! I’ve found some, but they don’t provide all the information on how an international player can attend to these camps. I’m trying to get a scholarship in America! Can you help me?
Tito,
Thanks for writing in! The biggest thing you will have to be able to do is travel. Most camps don’t talk about internationals attending because of the travel costs involved. Most coaches just don’t think it’s worth the time to explain online how to enroll as an international because they don’t feel the attendance payoff is great.
Most coaches expect interested athletes to contact them (domestic or international) if they are serious about attending. This would be my advice for you as well. Be prepared to pay for everything (plane travel, food, hotel, etc.), contact the coach and let him or her know you are interested in attending the camp.
Tito,
Thanks for writing in! The biggest thing you will have to be able to do is travel. Most camps don’t talk about internationals attending because of the travel costs involved. Most coaches just don’t think it’s worth the time to explain online how to enroll as an international because they don’t feel the attendance payoff is great.
Most coaches expect interested athletes to contact them (domestic or international) if they are serious about attending. This would be my advice for you as well. Be prepared to pay for everything (plane travel, food, hotel, etc.), contact the coach and let him or her know you are interested in attending the camp.