Getting an Athletic Scholarship - How to Improve Your Chances For College Funding

The cost of college is higher now more than ever. When students seek out ways to pay for college, they almost always will try for a scholarship. With the large variety of scholarships available, individuals will seek ways to get an advantage over others, and a high school athlete is no exception. College athletic scholarships can be hard to find and even harder to get. Only certain schools offer athletic scholarships, but there are some ways you can boost yourself above the rest.

The number of athletic scholarships is limited and very competitive. Usually the athletic scholarships will only cover a portion of tuition, so be sure to look for other ways to supplement your tuition. Some of these schools include: Briar Cliff University in Iowa, Michigan State, Wingate University in North Carolina, Talladega College and Holy Names University in California, Baker University in Kansas and Morningside College in Iowa. These are just a few, but the list is not overwhelming. So how do you set yourself apart from everyone else?

How do you get these college sports scholarships? You will need to put together a portfolio of not only athletic achievement but also academic achievement. Start by gathering all the newspaper articles that you are featured in. Did you do an interview after a championship game? Got an article from when you broke a record? Pick out the best articles that highlight your athletic ability. Then make a good copy of each article. It doesn't have to be photo quality, but if it's smudged and illegible it won't impress anyone. Get a letter of recommendation from your coach and one of your teachers, principle, or mentor. It may also help to make a video. You can highlight yourself both on and off the field or court. If you participate in any community service, show a scene of you helping out. Add in some shots of you playing and a short blurb about yourself. You want to show case your talents without losing the viewers interest. So keep it short; you will only need about 5-10 minutes. Add a cover letter detailing why you want to play for that school and even why you feel you deserve the scholarship. When your portfolio is complete, send it to the coach at the school you are interested in attending. This one package can make all the difference between getting noticed and getting passed by.

In addition to schools offering scholarships, there are other athletic scholarships available. For instance, the SAMMY 2010 awards $7500 for athletes to attend school. SAMMY stands for Scholar Athletic Milk Mustache of the Year. So not only do you get the money, but you also get to do a milk mustache commercial. This scholarship is awarded to twenty-five students who excel in academics, sports, and community service.

There are many scholarships available to help pay for school. While college athletic scholarships may be hard to find they are out there. Look at the school you are interested in and see if they offer a scholarship. Then try to supplement with the other programs that are out there. Who knows, maybe you'll be in the next milk mustache commercial.

Football Scholarships - 5 Tips to Increase Your Chances

It is not easy for a football scholarship to get to play in the school. You are competing with thousands of other graduates, all with the same goal as you. You must be able to separate yourself from your competition and gain a recruiting edge. The margin of those who signed to a scholarship and those who are not doing very low.

Here are 5 tips on how you will increase your chances for a scholarship:

1st Start early. Gone are the days of waiting until your seniorSeason is finished and is waiting for a couple of college coaches contact you. Successful players will now start in their sophomore and early in their junior year.

2nd visit summer camps and combines. By selecting the right camp and brings you to participate by high school athletes can go to college recruit in one day. Not all the camps and combines are created equal, so make sure you select those that maximize the exposure and the recruitment potential.

3.Get the best academic grades and test results raise possible. Universities also that they provide the minimum requirements for athletes waivers. If you are having a diploma with 3.0 GPA, you just open the door of 50% of NCAA schools. It's never too late to increase your points, so make it a priority now.

4th play several sports. College football coaches like to see players in other sports such as Excel, athletics, wrestling, lacrosse, baseball and basketball. Athletic variety showstrue raw athletic talent and may have some minor defects on the football field. Football is a sport where specialization does not matter as much as raw athletic talent.

5th Do it yourself. Go with the recruiting process itself. This shows a lot more initiative than a player whose family pays a recruiting service fax online profiles and a fantasy highlight tape. College football coaches valued much more than athletic ability. Identification andShow initiative in a crowd, whether high school athletes will be successful in school.

There are do many other small details that go into a successful recruiting season. The most important thing is that the desire and want to play in the school for the right reasons. If you have a solid strategy for the setting, you can create a merit-scholarship football and beat out the thousands of other athletes are all fighting for the same position.