ASM Scholarships

What financial aid is available to student-athletes?

Financial aid is money provided to pay for college. It can be grants, scholarships, work-study, or loans. Grants and scholarships are free money, and do not need to be repaid. Loans need to be repaid.

What Types of Financial Aid are Available?

The first thing you should do when you think about financial aid is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is used by colleges and universities to determine your eligibility for federal student aid programs like Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and PLUS loans. The FAFSA form will ask you to input basic information like your income from the previous year as well as any assets such as homes or cars that you own. Once you’ve filled out the form, most schools will provide a revised budget reflecting how much financial aid they can give you based on your income level.

The amount of funding that a school can offer depends on several factors including its overall financial health; its state funding; and how many students it has enrolled in its program – all of which makes it very hard for students who want to attend an expensive private university but don’t have the means necessary for full tuition fees or room & board costs at another institution with lower prices (and thus more access).

Who can get financial aid?

Financial aid isn’t just for the needy. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that some students who don’t work and have parents who make a lot of money still get financial aid. Of course, if your parents make more than $100,000 a year and you don’t work at all, you’re not going to get much help paying for school. But there are other factors besides need that colleges look at when deciding how much financial aid a student gets:

  • Your status as an independent or dependent student
  • The amount of money your family can contribute toward college expenses
  • How many other family members are going to college at the same time (called “expected family contribution”)
  • Your academic performance in high school

Generally speaking, students who are financially independent are most likely to receive financial aid. This includes students whose parents refuse or cannot provide information about their finances on the FAFSA; students who were abused by their parents; and students whose parents died in recent years. If any of these situations apply to you, let the schools know this on your application if it’s not clear from the FAFSA form itself.

How do you apply for financial aid?

The good news is that applying for financial aid is a reasonably straightforward process. The first step is to submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This application can be filled out online or on paper, and it asks for information about you and your family’s finances. After this application has been submitted, the colleges you’ve applied to will tell you how much aid they think you’re eligible for. You’ll then have time to consider which school–if any–is the best fit financially.

It’s important to fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible because at many schools there are deadlines by which students must take advantage of their financial aid offers. Additionally, if your family qualifies for need-based aid but doesn’t apply in time, there may not be enough money left over to give them any kind of grant or scholarship! It pays to follow up with schools after submitting your FAFSA and make sure that nothing got lost in the shuffle.

Do student-athletes get financial aid?

You may have heard that student-athletes aren’t eligible for additional financial aid. This is not true! Athlete financial aid is a subset of student financial aid. While some athletes may not be eligible for federal Pell grants, many do receive federal loans, work study and much more. For example, many schools offer institutional grants to athletes (regardless of athletic merit).

In addition to the typical student financial aid sources, many schools are happy to give athlete-specific funding through athletics department scholarships and other sources. There are several reasons why:

  • Athletic departments know it will take money to attract students because they need a way to compete against other teams in their conference or division.
  • Many athletic departments are self-sustaining so they don’t rely on the university’s general fund and can make their own scholarship decisions.

Who is eligible for a sport scholarship?

The type of scholarship you are awarded depends on the number of scholarships available for that sport. Coaches offer athletic scholarships based on factors like ability, previous experience and potential to perform at the college level. Schools also typically offer non-athletic scholarships based on academic performance or financial need.

If you’re a student with impressive athletic skills and who is academically qualified to attend your chosen school, then you are eligible for an athletic scholarship. Want to learn more about earning a soccer scholarship? Click here.

What is the difference between a scholarship and financial aid?

When a student-athlete comes to your school, they have their eyes on a national championship and their mind on an education. They will use the athletic scholarship to pay for their books and other college expenses, while using financial aid to help pay for tuition. By getting a scholarship, the student-athlete is able to compete in the collegiate sport of their choice. They are also eligible for financial aid from your school like any other student. However, unlike a scholarship that can be based on talent or academic merit, financial aid is typically based on financial need. The two resources are entirely different so it is important that you take advantage of both by applying for both!

Can an athlete lose their scholarship?

Does the NCAA set a minimum grade point average for athletes to maintain their scholarships? No. That’s up to each individual college, and not every school has strict academic requirements for student-athletes.

For example, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) requires its student-athletes to have a minimum 2.0 GPA, which is considered “D” work. The University of Florida requires its student athletes to score at least a 25 on the ACT or 1,000 on the SAT in order to be eligible for an athletic scholarship. Other schools require student-athletes to maintain an HD GPA (high distinction).

However, what happens if you’re injured and no longer able to participate in your sport? Will you lose your scholarship? The answer is complicated.

All students are eligible for some level of financial aid. Student-athletes are typically no different, though there are special stipulations for athletes.

Financial aid is a catch-all term for money provided to students by the university. It comes in a variety of forms, but it’s always based on need. Some athletes may receive full or partial scholarships, but they are not guaranteed. There are many factors that determine the amount of financial aid an athlete will receive, and it’s possible for an athlete to lose his or her scholarship. However, financial aid can come in the form of student loans as well as scholarships, so make sure you understand what your financial aid package includes.

It’s important to note that all students are eligible for some level of financial aid. Student-athletes are typically no different, though there are special stipulations for athletes. As with any other type of student, financial aid is given based on need and requires academic eligibility (meaning you must maintain good grades).

Here at ASM, we find all your financial options and custom create the best options for you and your family. To find out how click here.

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