A Brief Introduction to Soccer Scholarships

All Colleges and Universities these days have various scholarship programs in place to help a multitude of students procure a quality education. Scholarships are a form of financial aid to help students from weak financial backgrounds to attain further education. Each scholarship is awarded based of different criteria. The most common types of scholarships are Merit-based, Need-based, Student-specific and Career-Specific. Merit-based scholarships are based on the student's superior skills in academic, athletic or artistic field. When the student's ability is recognized, scholarships are awarded by private organizations or by the college itself, to which the student has applied. Need-based scholarships are given to those students who are incapable of putting together the tuition fees and related expenses. Student-specific scholarship contenders are generally assessed on race, gender, medical history or religion. These scholarships are often given to students from minority groups. Career-based scholarships are given by the college or university to students pursuing a particular field of education. Some scholarships may even come with a "bond", stating that after he or she has finished the required study he or she must join the organization that provided the scholarship for a stipulated time period. The most common form of such scholarships is offered by the defense associations of various countries.

Sports scholarships or Athletic Scholarships are a form of Merit-based scholarship. They are awarded based entirely on the student's ability to play a sport. These scholarships are generally hard to come by because the competition is very fierce. A Soccer scholarship is an example of such a scholarship. Universities have in their employment scouts who assess the skill of players in various high schools and recommend players to the scholarship lists. These scouts are often approached by the high school coach who has noticed a rising star on his team. The scouts often come to important matches and judge the player's performance. If the performance is everything the coach promised, the player can expect a spectacular windfall. But not all scholarships cover the entire tuition cost. The reason for this is though the university offers a certain number of scholarships the scouts end up recruiting double the number of players and offering them half the scholarship.

Of course the player's expertise on the field is not the only factor towards a scholarship assessment. Being able to score the highest number of goals in a soccer game can only get you so far. His or her academic record also plays an important role in getting the scholarship. The player has to be able to keep up respectable grades so as to not side-track education altogether. Not only does a contender have to maintain at least a "B" to apply for the scholarship but must also be able to get those grades once he or she joins university as well. A continual drop in grades can be grounds for revoking the scholarship. Though the soccer scholarship is awarded to the next soccer superstar out there, equal stress is placed on an overall growth of the student. These scholarships literally push you to be all that you can.