Understanding
Volleyball Scholarships
Women’s volleyball is an incredibly fast-growing sport and much more popular then men’s.
But getting a college scholarship is not easy. Only 5.9% of high school volleyball players will go on to compete on a college team, and a mere 1.2% will play for a Division 1 school. Needless to say, getting recruited to play in college volleyball is extremely competitive, and it’s imperative that athletes understand how to successfully navigate the volleyball recruiting process if they want to make it to the next level.
Athletes must meet both athletic and academic criteria in order to get a volleyball scholarship. Coaches want players who can contribute immediately, not only with on court impact but also because they fit into the team culture and system well. Our advisors are here to provide you with more details and present you with realistic scholarship opportunities.
OUR
SCHOLARSHIP
SERVICE
Athlete+ Scholarship Consulting is a service tailored for international Student-athletes who are seeking the best possible academic and athletic opportunities in the USA.
LEVELS OF VOLLEYBALL
HIGH
SCHOOLS
If you’re looking for a way to fund your education, a high school volleyball scholarship might be the answer. There are several different types of athletic scholarships, and they come from different sources. Volleyball scholarships are typically awarded to players who have a strong record of achievement on the court and also have good grades. If you’re interested in pursuing a college degree and playing volleyball in college, then it’s important that you consider all of your options carefully before making any decisions about what kind of scholarship is right for you.
PREP
ACADEMIES
Post-graduate volleyball programs afford players a chance to develop as both players and people before heading off to college. Rather than playing at a junior college and giving up a year of NCAA eligibility, these players can hone their skills and mature one more year at a prep school or volletball academy. Academies are not associated with a school, but rather focus entirely on the development of players.
COLLEGE &
UNIVERSITIES
Junior college is not as simple when it comes to volleyball scholarships. First, there are three divisions within the NJCAA and only Division 1 and 2 can offer athletic scholarships to volleyball players while only Division 1 is allowed to offer a full ride. NJCAA Division 2 is allowed to cover tuition, fees, books and housing but not transportation costs. In addition to an athletic scholarship, both divisions will often pay for an athlete’s transportation costs by direct route once per year.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
PLAYING AT 5 LEVELS
As in all other sports, there are two types of volleyball scholarships: Headcount and Equivalency. NCAA Division 1 schools award 12 full ride athletic scholarships to women’s teams and 4.5 scholarships to men’s teams. At NCAA Division 2 female players are awarded with 8 scholarships per team while male teams can award up to 4.5 scholarships just as at DI level. NAIA programs, offer 8 scholarships for women’s teams while there are almost no scholarships for men at this level. NCAA Division 3 programs can’t offer athletic scholarships but college coaches tend to work with the admissions department to create appealing financial aid packages made up of merit-based scholarships, need-based aid and grants. It’s important for student-athletes to understand the financial aid opportunities at each division level and be proactive in their recruiting so they can get evaluated early on.
YOU CAN GET TO YOUR DESTINATIONBY FOLLOWING THESE 10 STEPS
6
Student-athlete
promotion
7
Gathering &
presenting offers
8
Making a
decision
9
Admission process &
Visa procedures
10
Flying out to
your Dream School
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Volleyball can be found on all college levels, but is dominated by women’s teams!
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
NCAA
Division 1
330 Teams
NCAA
Division 2
300 Teams
NCAA
Division 3
434 Teams
NAIA
219 Teams
NJCAA
330 Teams
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
NCAA
Division 1
21 Teams
NCAA
Division 2
23 Teams
NCAA
Division 3
83 Teams
NAIA
32 Teams
NJCAA
15 Teams
ACADEMIC
REQUIREMENTS
If you are a student-athlete and are interested in attending a 4 year college, you will need to meet the same academic requirements as any other admitted student. The following information is provided to help guide you through the process of applying for admission as a student athlete.
HIGH SCHOOL GPA
When you are applying for college admission, your GPA is one of the most important factors that admissions officers consider. But if you’re a student athlete, there are lots of other factors that matter too. Different schools require different GPAs. In addition to having a good GPA, some schools may also ask you to write an essay about your athletic experience and why it’s important for you.
SAT / TOEFL
As an international athlete, you’ll want to make sure that you take the right standardized tests. 4 year institutions require certain SAT or ACT scores while your TOEFL requirements will depend on a school and your US high school / prep / junior college experience. Before you take the test, check out the minimum score needed for the universities you’re hoping to be recruited to. If your score isn’t quite there yet, don’t worry! It’s never too late to take another test and improve your score.
ELIGIBILITY CENTER
As part of the academic certification process for both NCAA and NAIA, all prospective student-athletes must submit their academic information to organzation’s eligibility center. Academic records include documents such as transcripts, yearly grade reports, mark sheets or official exam results. If English is not the primary language of instruction at the school you attended, you must submit complete, line-by-line certified English translations for all your documents in the same format as the native language documents.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR A VOLLEYBALL SCHOLARSHIP?
If you’re a female volleyball player, the first step is to find out if your school has a women’s volleyball program. There are approximately 1,800 schools that offer a women’s volleyball program. A large number of these programs will have at least some scholarship dollars, used to attract top talent to their team. However, it’s nearly impossible to know how much money each individual school has to offer—this will be up to each program, and it could change from one year to the next. The best way to determine if a program provides volleyball scholarships: Start communicating with Athlete + and the coach. After the athlete develops a relationship with the coach and is getting serious recruiting interest, they can bring up the topic of college volleyball scholarships.
NCAA PROOF
OF AMATEURISM
Initial-eligibility standards help ensure you are prepared to succeed in college. The eligibility process also protects the fairness and integrity of college sports by ensuring student-athletes are amateurs.
If you want to practice, compete and receive an athletics scholarship during your first year at a Division I or II school, the NCAA Eligibility Center must certify you as eligible. International college-bound student-athletes planning to enroll at a Division III school must also receive an amateurism-only certification from the Eligibility Center. Throughout the process, Eligibility Center staff members partner with students and their families, as well as high school administrators and coaches, to guide you on your journey.