What is a realistic athletic scholarship from a college? What should an athlete know about the process, and what is available to them? We asked our soccer coaches what some of the realistic expectations athletes should have, enjoy!

Coaches

Jamie Franks: Head Men’s Soccer Coach at University of Denver.

Elmar Bolowich: Head Men’s Soccer Coach at George Mason University.  

Jess Greer: Operations Coordinator for Women’s Soccer at Washington State University. 

Jamie Franks

Jamie says he believes sometimes athletes can have unrealistic scholarship expectations. The likelihood of getting a full ride scholarship is not as high as athletes think. He also reminds athletes to do their homework and research the schools they are interested in. He urges athletes to look into resources that the school offers in regards to financial aid. 

Elmar Bolowich

Elmar says that athletes cannot think they are the only good player in the area they are from, and to automatically expect a full ride scholarship. Elmar says athletes may have a hard time finding a top program to get a full ride from for their freshman year. Elmar says there are only so many scholarships they can give out and they try to spread the wealth between all players they want.

Jess Greer

Jess says that full ride scholarships can vary depending on a lot of different circumstances. Jess states that an entire full ride is not extremely common, but students can still receive pretty significant scholarships. Jess also talks about different scholarship rules for Division I and II and reminds athletes, again, to do their homework so they know the rules. 

Realizing that a full ride scholarship may not be as feasible as some may think, will help maintain a realistic outlook when it comes to athletic scholarships.