Academic scholarhip requirements for NCAA scholarship athletes

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Nov 3, 2012
480
16
I'm just verifying some information. My understanding for an NCAA athlete receiving athletic money on a partial scholarship and also receiving academic scholarships from institution, then the athlete has to be above the grade and standardized test threshold. I was told the current threshold for the student, is to has to have a HS GPA above a 3.5 and at least a 24 on ACT or SAT equivalent of around 1200. Let me know if this is or isn't correct, because ive heard different things.

Of course my DD is right on the border of these two metrics and has one more year. Hoping for some academic money.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Academic money requirements vary from school to school so my suggestion would be to talk to the academic adviser of the schools your DD is considering.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
JAD is correct. I don’t remember the criteria to receive academic money at DD’s school. There were different levels based on ACT score, HS rank and GPA. She needs to maintain above a 3.0 to keep it at her school. I suspect the 3.0 would be an NCAA rule, but that’s purely a guess.
 
Nov 3, 2012
480
16
I know each school has their own criteria, the criteria in the school were interested in is lower than the 3.5. I was told you had to reach the 3.5 GPA and not one/100th point lower and test score to get the additional academic money. Some rule about schools not abusing scholarships by substituting academic scholarships for athletic money for average students. No one else has heard this?
 
Nov 3, 2012
480
16
I just googled it. I found this piece of NCAA info.

NCAA Rules for Academic Scholarships

There is something in the NCAA, it’s called Bylaw 15.02.4.3. This rule states that any financial aid except that which is specifically exempted is going to count as athletic aid and make the student a “counter” in terms of scholarships.

Federal and state financial aid based on need is exempted. Academic scholarships for freshman may be exempted if the students meets one of the following conditions depending on the division:

Division 1
◾Top 10% of the high school graduating class
◾Achieve a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.50
◾Score 1200 or higher on the SAT or ACT sum score of at least 105

Division 2
◾Top 20% of high school graduating class
◾Achieved a 3.5 cumulative GPA out of 4.00
◾ACT Sum score of 100 or SAT of 1140

The schools also have to certify that athletic information was not required as part the application process although students may voluntarily list athletic achievements.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
That was the one benefit of my DS going to a D-III school.
ALL the aid he got was based on academic scholarships or need-based grants.
So if he quit the team (he didn't) he could still keep every penny of the aid.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
I know each school has their own criteria, the criteria in the school were interested in is lower than the 3.5. I was told you had to reach the 3.5 GPA and not one/100th point lower and test score to get the additional academic money. Some rule about schools not abusing scholarships by substituting academic scholarships for athletic money for average students. No one else has heard this?

This is one of the reasons big money sports (football, basketball) are all FULL RIDE scholarships. I have not really looked into it since DD was not going to qualify for academic money at the school she is attending, but I would be willing to bet the only NCAA stipulation is the academic aid standards for athletes and regular students must be the same.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
When DD#1 was in college, not all academic scholarships had the same GPA requirements, but all were over 3.0, they just varied as to how much over 3.0.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
DD will be playing at a D3 and they have 3 basic merit awards(other than the individual awards from each school: biology, business, engineering, etc), but each student's resume is looked at "holistically." Highest Award is FULL tuition plus $3K stipend (34 ACT avg), next level-FULL tuition plus $1K stipend (30 ACT avg), last level-HALF tuition (28 ACT avg). They also look hard at the number of AP courses, GPA and class rank. No guarantees even if your standardized score is high. So DD has a private tutor to increase that ACT score.

A parent told me a few years ago: You are better off spending money on a Test Prep tutor than you are taking extra batting lessons! You will get more money via grades than you will from athletics. Very good words of wisdom. They have twins. One plays in the Ivy League and the other plays at a high academic school in Texas.
 

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