20 May CHOOSING THE RIGHT US COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP STUDY AND CAREER PROGRAM

Have you been offered a US college scholarship or would you like to apply for one, but are not sure what course to take?

The US college scholarship program is a great pathway to further academic studies and careers. Knowing what future career you want for yourself will help you choose the US college scholarship program that will help you get there.

Choosing the right US college course for you:

That’s where our team at Study & Play USA comes in. For over 15 years, we have helped many Australian US college scholarship recipients achieve their dreams of a US college academic qualification combined with four years of full-time sport in a high-quality coaching and competition environment.

After speaking to you and your parents, our team will help you narrow down colleges that support both your career aspirations and your athletic aspirations. If you decide to continue with your studies after you have successfully completed the US college scholarship program, you will be in a great position to do so.

Time management will be crucial to your success under a US college scholarship program. You’ll be juggling hours of practice, games, travel and your academic responsibilities, including keeping your grades up.

If you are worried that study commitment with your athletic commitment could impact your grades, don’t worry. The US system is custom – designed to allow equal time allowance for study and sport commitment. Even so, we have put together tips to help you organise your time to stay focused as a student athlete.

Tips to stay focused as a student athlete:

1. Understand why you are at college in the first place and keep an eye on the end prize. Your academic pursuit should be your first priority, whether you want to be a professional athlete or not. Focus on what you want to do after you graduate from college.
If you decide you want to be a professional athlete after college, you still need to keep your grades up while at college to qualify to graduate. Colleges have GPA levels that student athletes are required to maintain to keep playing. If you aren’t playing, then you won’t be noticed.
Many student athletes go onto complete higher degrees after college to qualify in their career choice. Also, life happens and it’s always good to focus on long-term goals.
While at college, it’s a good idea to meet with your college advisor (a wonderful resource who is assigned to you to guide you through your 4 year academic journey) on a regular basis, to help stay on track. In particular, if you have any concerns or if you need advice to ensure you meet all the requirements to graduate on time.

2. As a student athlete, you will have a lot of demands on your time for sport commitments and your study load. There’s a good chance this will affect your social activities. That’s where forward planning comes in.
If you plan your schedule in advance when you receive your program of study and your practice/game schedules, you can organise time with friends outside of your study and athletic obligations. This will help you to maintain a healthy and balanced life. By doing this, planning will soon become second nature, which will be great for any future undertakings.

3. Good study habits developed early in your US college experience will help you stay on target. Your calendar will also become an extremely important aspect for managing your commitments and deadlines. Below are some study tips to help keep you focused.

• Be consistent in your study routine. Find a place and time to study. A place that you are comfortable with and go there on a consistent basis as part of your study routine. Block this time out in your calendar.
• Also, review your class notes after class. You will remember more at that point than later and this will give you time to add any further information that you might not have had time to include in class. Join a study group and meet regularly to help keep you and them focused.
• Keep track of your academic and athletic schedule. Put these schedules into your calendar to ensure you know when academic deadlines are due so you can plan your study and work on your deadlines to minimize clashes with your athletic commitments. If there are clashes, talk to your college advisor, lecturer and or coach early to work out a way forward so all deadlines and commitments are met. Once again, this is also a great way to keep track on when you are free for social commitments.
• DO NOT CRAM for an exam. If you set up your study routine and follow the previous advise, then this shouldn’t be an issue.
• As advised previously – don’t let your new US college life overwhelm you, ask for help.

Remember, the college that offered you your scholarship wants you to succeed. To do that, your academic scores must remain above their GPA cut off requirements so you can continue to be a part of their athletic program.

If you need advice or are having any issues, talk to your college advisor or contact us at Study & Play USA so we can continue to help you achieve your academic and athletic goals.

About Study & Play USA

Study & Play USA is Australia’s leading expert in US university sport scholarships. We have over 15 years’ experience helping Australian student athletes choose their life journey. We’re not here to convince you to take this pathway. Rather, our priority is to inform and educate each individual family. We’ll sit down with you and your family to provide you with customised and personal advice relevant to you and your goals and dreams.

If you’re thinking about pursuing a university experience in the US through your sport of choice, email Study & Play USA or get in touch via our Getting Started portal. You can also, read what some of our scholarship recipients have said about our assistance.

For further information on how the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) works for college recruiting and how to best maximise your UTR, talk to our team on (07) 3856 2233 or send us an email and we will get back to you.