All young soccer enthusiasts have been there: dreaming of playing professionally, scoring a goal in front of home fans, and winning a major trophy. I believe a reality check is necessary to contain these dreams.
A lot (and I mean a lot) of things have to go your way for you to play professionally in the top tiers of soccer. In addition to being talented, you need to work incredibly hard, start very early, be at the right place at the right time, have the appropriate connections, and the list goes on.
The odds of making it into top-tier soccer are terrible, but a guy/gal can (and should) dream. There is, however, a clear path that can arguably make this dream more attainable: a scholarship. But how to get a scholarship for soccer when you don’t even know where to start?
Soccer scholarships provide an opportunity for high school students to obtain a college education while playing competitive soccer for their school. It is a great 2-in-1 option! Let’s dive right into how to get a soccer scholarship step by step.
How To Get A Soccer Scholarship?
Start Planning Early
This is a common factor in the majority of collegial or professional athletes. Very rarely do you see an athlete start playing competitively later on in their careers. Some pro players get scouted as early as 12 (David Beckham, for example). Similarly, if you want to edge out the competition for a lucrative soccer scholarship, you need to start playing early.
Recruiters tend to look for a few years experience in High School varsity soccer in the candidate pool. This means that the earlier you start, the better.
This advice needs to be heard by parents in most cases, as young students may not have the foresight to apply themselves until it’s too late. So parents, if you are reading this, and your child is exhibiting a knack for, or an interest in soccer, start early!
Focus Your Attention on Soccer
As much as young-you wants to believe that you can excel in soccer, basketball, tennis, and football, it is unrealistic. This is why most athletes only ever play one professional sport at a time, and this is no less true for playing at a college level. You can maintain a recreational interest in other sports, but your primary focus should be soccer.
If you feel like you belong in a pair of cleats on a pitch, ditch the other sports and focus on soccer. The additional time and resources you might spend on the sport can give you that extra edge when applying for a scholarship.
Build A Network
Most people don’t fully appreciate the importance of networking until they search for their first job. The adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” rings true in many circles.
For students aspiring to attain soccer scholarships, they need to develop relationships with their high school coaches and actively reach out to college coaches. High school coaches can help you improve your game, making you more competitive when applying.
When you’ve narrowed down a list of colleges to apply to, you need to reach out to college coaches. Of course, your soccer ability is of paramount importance to a college coach.
However, they also want to assess you as a team player and personality. You can think of this process as similar to job searching and present yourself as the right person for the job.
Work on your academics credentials
Don’t forget these are soccer “scholarships”. Yes, the critical component of these opportunities is to play soccer at a competitive level.
However, there is a fundamental level of academic success you must achieve to qualify for and to maintain a soccer scholarship. For admission, this means achieving at least the minimum level of test scores and GPA required by your potential school.
For maintenance, your college might require a minimum GPA each semester for you to continue receiving your scholarship funding. While soccer can be your primary focus, one has to keep an eye on their academic performance. Moreover, it never hurts to have a plan B.
You may be better off picking a lucrative field study (despite the hard work juggling with soccer demands) rather than picking an easy major to reduce the academic stress. In case you cannot earn a living by playing soccer, you’ll have a fall-back option.
Review All The different college options
To apply for the right scholarship, you need to assess your athletic, academic, and financial ability. For athletics and academics, the best place to start would be to review the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) guidelines and criteria for playing college sports competitively.
You will also need to look up your school’s criteria for admission, particularly concerning academics.
Finally, you’ll also need to evaluate your financial situation. Soccer is classified as an equivalency sport (i.e., one that generates lower revenues).
The implication of this is that coaches are granted a fixed amount of scholarship awards, which they can then distribute as they see fit. You need to balance your financial expectations with your athletic and academic ability and make your choice of school or division based on all those factors.
Colleges That offer Soccer Scholarships In USA
After undergoing the appropriate preparation, you’ll ultimately need to make a choice on the college you want to attend. There are three NCAA soccer divisions (Division I, II, and III), and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) division for smaller schools and universities.
As stated above, you need to assess your abilities across athletics, academics, and finance to identify the right programs you can apply to. The NCAA Division I, for example, demands the most of students.
Division I players have a loaded training schedule and are barely given any room for extracurriculars or other academic interests. Division II players have a more balanced round-up while maintaining a high level of athleticism.
Division III players have a close-to-normal college experience while playing competitive soccer. So depending on your abilities and preferences, you should make an informed decision about what programs you want to apply to.
In any case, the below tables summarise the top scholarship-offering programs for Men’s and Women’s soccer across the different divisions. These rankings were compiled by NCSA (Next College Student Athlete).
Top NCAA D1 Schools
| Institution | Best For |
| Stanford University | Men, Women |
| Princeton University | Men, Women |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Men, Women |
| Harvard University | Men, Women |
| University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | Men, Women |
| University of California | Men, Women |
| University of Michigan | Men, Women |
| Yale University | Men, Women |
| University of Virginia | Men |
| University of California, Irvine | Men |
| University of Florida | Women |
| University of Georgia | Women |
Top NCAA D2 Schools
| Institution | Best For |
| University of California, San Diego | Men, Women |
| California State Polytechnic University, Pomona | Men, Women |
| Colorado School of Mines | Men, Women |
| Bentley University | Men, Women |
| Western Washington University | Men, Women |
| Rollins College | Men, Women |
| California State University, Chico | Men, Women |
| Truman State University | Men, Women |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | Men, Women |
| Cedarville University | Men |
| Grand Valley State University | Women |
Top NCAA D3 Schools
| Institution | Best For |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Men, Women |
| Johns Hopkins University | Men, Women |
| University of Chicago | Men, Women |
| Emory University | Men, Women |
| Amherst College | Men, Women |
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | Men |
| Tufts University | Men, Women |
| Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | Men, Women |
| Washington Univesity in St Louis | Men, Women |
| Williams College | Men, Women |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Women |
Top NAIA Schools
| Institution | Best For |
| Soka University of America | Men, Women |
| University of California – Merced | Men, Women |
| Indiana Wesleyan University | Men, Women |
| University of Michigan – Dearborn | Men, Women |
| Asbury University | Men, Women |
| University of Saint Francis – Indiana | Men |
| Bethel University – Indiana | Men |
| Taylor University | Men, Women |
| John Brown University | Men, Women |
| Madonna University | Men, Women |
| Columbia College – South Carolina | Women |
| Vanguard University of Southern California | Women |
The Final Whistle On How To Get A Soccer Scholarship
Soccer scholarships are a great route to explore for soccer enthusiasts who want to play competitively without compromising an undergraduate education.
The level of competition for these scholarships is intense, with a large number of candidates competing for a limited amount of funding available (driven by soccer’s status as an equivalency sport). This requires eligible candidates to prepare well in advance to make themselves stand out from the competition.
This includes taking steps as starting off earlier, forgoing competitive interest in other sports, strengthening your academic profile, and network with coaches at the high school and college level.
Aspiring applicants must also evaluate their athletic, academic, and financial abilities before applying to programs. An honest assessment of these three factors must be made before making a list of potential programs to apply to.
Once an evaluation has been made, the process of narrowing down a list of schools/programs to apply to becomes much more manageable. This, in turn, improves one’s odds of securing such a lucrative scholarship. So if you’re an aspiring soccer player (or a parent of one), the time to get started is now!
