FAQs

No please do not do that! The more time have to work with you before your desired departure date the stronger chance you have of being offered more money and a college that fits your profile. The whole process typically takes from around a minimum 9 months but a time frame of 2 years allows for complete preparation & promotion.

Yes, the professional clubs within the MLS use the college system to recruit the top players just as youth academies do in the UK & Europe. However the opportunity to enter the MLS draft or other entry routes are reserved only for the very elite. Playing at a high level within the UK or anywhere will not mean making it into the MLS or even being in the top college bracket will be easy. The U.S game is hard hitting, fast and physical. Its playing level should not be taken lightly & only the best will make a full time career out of the game.

There are several factors affecting the amount of scholarship you get. From a purely athletic point of view this will be dependent on your playing ability, whether the coach is desperate to fill that specific position, how much money the coach and team has left in their budget, the teams total budget on new players and the time at which you are presented to the coach. If you are applying in May 2017 for a place on the upcoming season beginning in September 2017 your chances of a large scholarship will be drastically lower as coaches have likely already filled their roster. Other key factors include academics & attitude.

The length of the recruiting process is different for every student athlete.
Ideally, you should start the recruiting process in year 11 or 12. There is a ton of information to know about the recruiting process so being prepared is a good idea.
Doing research or obtaining the help of a recruiting service are both great ways to help you get ready for the recruiting process.

A ‘FULL’ OR ‘100%’ SCHOLARSHIP COVERS THE COST OF TUITION, ROOM, BOARD, BOOKS AND SPORTS RELATED CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT.

Travel to and from America as well as spending money to cover day to day costs & activities outside of college related curricular.

Due to the multiple factors effecting the decisions of coaches when offering a scholarship to a player it is impossible to give a guaranteed yes or no. However we pride ourselves on openness and honesty and will inform you whether we think you have a chance at full ride. The chances of attaining a full ride are rare with only 1 in 500 players attaining one.

It will be the responsibility of the player and family to cover the remaining costs.

Typically you will be required to financially contribute to all 4 years during your time at university in the states. Therefore it is incredibly important that you consider what level of financial contribution you can afford towards remaining fees and that a U.S based education is a realistic option for you financially. Typically international students will be required to contribute an average between $7,000-$8,000 USD (£5,460-£6,240) for their initial year. Please note this is purely a tuition contribution and does not include travel, insurance or spending money. Unfortunately scholarships won’t cover your nights out!

We are here to help guide and advise you on what we believe is the best offer for you. However at the end of the day the final decision lies with the player and their families. You are under no obligation to accept any of the offers.

Typically once the player has surpassed 3 weeks on the program refunds will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. They will be calculated and awarded on a case by case basis.
If the injury prevented the player from participating in their sport for a long period of time typically 1 year and above or permanently, a letter from their GP and supporting evidence will be requested to explain the extent of the injury. At this point the NAC will review each case independently and a calculation on a refund will be generated depending on what stage the player is at in the process and how much the NAC has invested into the player in regards to time & resources. If the injury is found to be pre-existing zero monies will be returned.

It has been noted that when applying for positions back here in the UK or anywhere else over 70% of employer’s value applicants more if they have international study experience. A U.S based university degree will most certainly make your C.V stand out from the crowd. We can also assure you this from personal experience when applying for new roles. For more info please check out this study abroad article “10 reasons employers love graduates who have studied abroad”.

There is no predefined or definite number. Several factors will be considered when promoting each player and will be a result of the players preferences, academics, athletics, attitude & social needs. This can result in the player either being promoted to several hundred colleges or a select few. Every case is different and highly dependent on the players abilities inside & outside the classroom & of course on the field of play.

Your scholarship will only cover your tuition & accommodation. You will be required to cover any remaining tuition fees if the offer is not 100%, flights, insurance, SAT exam registration and visa application.

We are there to help support you throughout the process. It is recommended to give it at least a year at the institution. If it becomes clearer during that time that you still do not like it, it will at least give you a chance to build an alternative plan or option. The NAC will not actively market players for a second time if they wish to come home. Both your coaches and us will be disappointed but ultimately the choice lies with you. Homesickness is a natural and we all experience it at some point. The important thing is to not make any rash decisions or jeopardize your future success. Remember nothing worth doing is easy & you get back what you put into life!

The NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. They are the organization responsible for overseeing the college sports competitions at over 1,200 college athletic departments. The NCAA is “committed to the student-athlete and to govern competition in a fair, safe, inclusive and sportsmanlike manner.”

This is the opportunity for coaches to get to know you and for you to get to know the coaches and the school. Coaches will need to see footage of you in your sport; your academic information and they will want to communicate and get to know you. You will want to learn more about each coach and what life is like at their University.

The start of the recruiting process is different for athletes and college coaches. Many college coaches are recruiting from classes a couple of years in advance. There are so many athletes who don’t realise this, and they keep waiting to get contacted by those coaches. The truth is that they won’t find you unless you are in the top 1% of your sport- in the entire country. That is why you should start preparing for the recruiting process as soon as you enter high school.

For many prospective student-athletes, the recruiting process officially ends when you sign the NLI. The NLI is the National Letter of Intent. Once an athlete signs an NLI, they have committed themselves to that school for at least a full academic year. This also means that the athlete can no longer be recruited by other college coaches, thus ending the recruiting process.
Many athletes enter into verbal agreements with schools as well. Because verbal agreements are non-committal, entering into one does not end the recruiting process for an athlete. In a verbal agreement, the coach and the athlete both have the option to back out of the agreement because it is not considered binding or official.

Yes, for most sports a recruiting video is crucial for a college coach to evaluate you as an athlete. For many coaches, this is a required aspect of any recruiting resume, if they are going to take any interest in you. Some sports, like swimming, track, and rowing, rely more on event times and meeting results, rather than video. But it is always highly recommended to have some sort of video footage, in case a coach wants to see it.
Having a highlight video or game footage is very important to college coaches, and unless you make it very easy for them to view, you are not going to have a successful recruiting effort. Having video ready allows coaches to be able to watch you play without having to spend money on travel. What they see in your video will help them determine whether or not they want to come and evaluate you in person.
It’s not enough to send a coach a sheet of your statistics from your season, they need to be able to see your technique, physicality, and skills and the only way to do that is with video.
A coach isn’t going to recruit an athlete that they haven’t been able to see play.

The minimum requirements are different depending on what level you are going to be competing. The eligibility requirements do not mean you are guaranteed admission into college and often times you will need higher grades to get into college. See related questions for the requirements at the specific levels.

The tests you need to take depend on what collegiate level you want to play. NCAA Divisions 1 and 2 require that you take either the SAT or the ACT. For D1 and D2 schools, the NCAA Eligibility Center uses a sliding scale to see if your standardized test score is high enough.
The minimum SAT score to be eligible for combined critical reading and math is a 400, accompanied by a 3.55 and above GPA.
The NCAA doesn’t look at the critical writing section to decide eligibility, however most individual schools do consider it during the admissions process.
Just because you’re declared eligible by the Eligibility Center doesn’t mean you’ll gain admission to a college or be recruited.
Individual institutions and conferences set eligibility standards at the NCAA Division 3 level. You may be able to find schools that don’t require a standardized test, but you’ll severely limit your options.
The NAIA determines academic eligibility by looking at your GPA, class rank, and standardized test scores, the SAT or ACT. To be declared eligible to compete at an NAIA school you must hit a specified mark in two out of three of those categories: a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, finish ranked in the top 50% of your high school class, or score above a combined 860 on the reading and writing portions of the SAT or score an 18 on the Enhanced ACT.
Remember, an SAT or ACT score may not be necessary to be eligible, but not taking it may reduce your school options.
If you’re an international student from a non-native English speaking country you’ll be required to take the TOEFL exam. The TOEFL exam evaluates a student’s ability to read and write in English.

This is the top level of athletic competition at the college level. These are typically larger schools with the best athletes.

This is the second level of athletic competition at the college level. The best DII athletes are comparable to the best athletes at the DI level but choose DII because the school is a better fit.

This is the third level in NCAA athletics. Athletes here are typically looking for smaller schools and the opportunity to continue to compete in their sport. DIII schools do not offer athletic scholarships but they can offer other forms of financial aid. The best DIII athletes can usually play at the DII level.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is the organizing body that oversees college athletics for its member schools. Schools who are members of the NAIA are made of smaller colleges located in the United States and Canada. The NAIA was established in 1952, as an organization to establish competition between colleges. The NAIA sponsors 13 different sports and runs 23 annual championships for those sports, in both men’s and women’s athletics.
The NAIA has different member schools than the NCAA, and have different Eligibility requirements as well. To make sure you are eligible to compete at an NAIA school, you need to register with the NAIA Eligibility Center.

The National Junior College Athletic Association is the organization that facilitates the sports and athletes at the Junior College/Community College level. The NJCAA is comprised of 525 schools in 24 regions in the United States, and has three division levels: I, II, and III. Similar to the NCAA and NAIA, the NJCAA was organized to supervise collegiate sports at its member schools.
Many high school athletes are not familiar with the NJCAA since it gets over shadowed by the larger groups NCAA and NAIA. But junior colleges and community colleges offer high school students great opportunities. In addition to being able to go to school and earn a more affordable associates degree, students can also participate in collegiate sports and find transfer opportunities at larger schools when they are ready.

Sports scholarships are given on a yearly basis. Many athletes and their families make the mistake of believing that athletic scholarships last all four years of college, but that’s not true.
It means that they award you financial aid one year at a time.
At the end of each year, the coach and athletic department renew scholarships, provided that you remain eligible throughout the year.
You are allowed to be on athletic scholarships for up to five years in your college career. Coaches are able to adjust the amount of the scholarship at the end of each year when it expires. That means they can increase, decrease, or get cancelled altogether.
In order to make sure that you maintain your good status and keep your scholarship, you need to make sure you do what is expected of you. As a student-athlete, that means keeping up in your classes, getting good grades, training and contributing to your team.
If for some reason you become ineligible in any way, the coach has full right to give your scholarship away to someone else.

Yes, it is possible to lose your athletic scholarship. Generally, it is difficult to do so because coaches don’t want to get a reputation for pulling scholarships, but it is still possible. Athletic scholarships are yearly contracts signed by the athlete and the school; they are not four-year guarantees. That means that the coach has the ability to decrease the amount or cancel it altogether if you do not meet the requirements for the scholarship.
There are several ways to lose your athletic scholarship from a college.
You can become ineligible academically by not keeping a GPA higher than 2.0, or committing a violation of student code that required disciplinary action.
College athletes can also violate NCAA rules regarding their amateurism or by accepting monetary gifts from boosters or people affiliated with the university.
You can also violate the terms of the athletic scholarship by not fulfilling certain obligations required by the contract.
It is also possible that due to your athletic output you can lose your scholarship. Meaning if you aren’t performing at a top level or if you get a significant injury you could lose your scholarship.
For all of these reasons it is so important to know the exact terms of the agreement you are signing. This way, you know exactly what you need to do to keep your athletic scholarship and avoid the trouble of losing any financial aid.

You are able to transfer from one college to another so long as you have earned at least 24 credit hours at the initial university you attended. If you were to transfer more than on one occasion during your college career then you will be asked to sit-out a full year of competition in order to regain your eligibility. Acceptance of college credit from one university to another will be decided by the admissions office at the receiving university. There is a chance that not all credits will be transferable and these cases are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Student athletes are also eligible for academic scholarships if their grades and test scores qualify. Academic scholarships become great opportunities for athletes if they’re not able to secure an athletic scholarship or they need more financial aid in addition to a smaller athletic scholarship package. To earn an academic scholarship, you need to have strong grades and test scores. Each university has different measures for their academic scholarship requirements, so once you start speaking with college coaches, you can ask if your grades qualify for academic money.

High school athletes should register for the NCAA Clearinghouse (now called the Eligibility Center) at the beginning of their junior year. However, everyone has a different recruiting experience, so some might register earlier, some later. Ultimately, only athletes who are going to compete at the Division 1 and 2 levels need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
It’s a good idea to start conversations with college coaches at programs you’re interested in before you register for the NCAA Clearinghouse. This is to confirm that you do have interest from either D1 or D2 schools before you spend unnecessary time and money to register.
When you do register, a college coach will need to ask that your profile be placed on the Institutional Request List (IRL). College coaches use the NCAA Eligibility Center to verify your academics and your amateurism. Only when a coach does this will your information be processed. Also, until you register with the Clearinghouse, you will not be allowed to go on official visits to schools or receive official scholarship offers.

Whether or not you have your amateur status depends on multiple factors. For Division I, II, and III sports, the NCAA reviews nine different aspects of an athlete’s profile to determine eligibility. Any violation of these nine factors may result in penalization or lose of eligibility with the NCAA.
Contracts with a professional team: Most of the time the NCAA will allow you to sign a contract with a professional team, as long as you’re not receiving pay or benefits. However, they will closely review any contract you have signed with a pro team.
Salary for participating in athletics: To be declared an amateur, you cannot receive any salary for competing in athletics.
Prize money: The NCAA does not allow an athlete to earn money or prizes that are worth more than the cost of participating in an event. If you are not sure if your prize will violate NCAA rules, you are better off not accepting it.
Play with professionals: The NCAA will examine any time you have spent playing on a professional team or in professional competitions.
Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team: If you have spent any time competing or trying out with professionals, regardless of whether you made the team or not, the NCAA will take a look at it to make sure you did not lose your amateur status.
Benefits from an agent or prospective agent: Amateur athletes may not have an agent. Sometimes agents try to get around this by offering benefits to athletes in hopes that they sign with them once they are done with college. Any contracts with an agent or benefits you have received from them will nullify your amateur status.
Agreement to be represented by an agent: As stated above, you are not allowed to sign any contracts to be represented by an agent.
Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition: The NCAA allows a 1-year grace period for enrollment after you graduate high school. After the one year period the NCAA may start taking away your eligibility. The NCAA allows you to have 5 seasons in which you can compete in 4. The fifth year is called a red-shirt year. A red-shirt year allows you to sit out a year of competition for various reasons, without losing one of your 4 years of competition.
Any financial assistance based on athletics or skills or participation: The NCAA does not allow you to benefit financially from your athletic skills or fame. This includes making money on autographs, free haircuts, and many other things. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or NAIA, allows only amateurs to compete in NAIA athletics. You will lose your amateur status for turning professional in a sport, but you will only lose amateur status in that sport.

In order to be eligible to compete in college sports at the NCAA and NAIA levels, you will need to register with their respective Eligibility Centres at some point. It is recommended that you register as you enter year 12 only if you know for sure that you will be playing at either level. Make sure you know which division level you are able to compete at before you register for any Eligibility Centre; this will save you both time and money.