PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 7 | The Myths and Realities of the Ever-Elusive Full-Ride Athletic Scholarship

Show Notes:

In this episode, I talk about the elusive "full-ride” athletic scholarship to college. Does it really exist? Who gets one? What are my kid's chances? Are all athletic scholarships created equal? What are the pros and cons of a scholarship? Is it even worth pursuing? Why does it seem that everyone knows someone who’s on a full-ride scholarship somewhere?

If you’re curious about college recruiting and scholarships, Operation Varsity Blues, fake athletic profiles, and the mythical full-ride scholarship, then stick around. I’ll address all of these issues and more during the show. I will cover how athletic scholarships work so that you and your child can make informed decisions - while it’s still early enough to matter. 

One of the big takeaways (spoiler alert), is that many parents (unknowingly) wait too long to realize that their child's dream of playing sports in college is unrealistic. And, unfortunately, by the time this realization hits them - they’ve spent a lot of money, time, resources, and energy moving in that direction. Oftentimes, it has crowded out a lot of other activities that their child never had an opportunity to pursue. 

Find out if you’re headed down this road...

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Here is what I discuss in this episode:

0:01:44 What Happens When Parents Wait Too Long?

0:02:30 Case Study: Eve and Her Dream of a Soccer Scholarship

0:03:34 Eve’s Profile (freshman, star soccer player, 4.0 GPA)

0:06:14 What Happened to Eve Two Years Later?

0:07:30 The Aftermath - Where Does Eve Go From Here?

0:07:50 Six Reasons Why Eve’s Soccer Dream Fizzled Out

0:10:24 Why Such an Obsession With Youth Sports?

0:12:09 Parents’ Biggest Mistake

0:12:53 When Sports Becomes a Full Time Family Obsession

0:13:30 Factors that Lead to Over-The-Top Sports Culture

0:14:42 Types of Sports Scholarships Available

0:14:53 Full-Ride Athletic Scholarships

0:15:14 Headcount Sports

0:17:55 Is Everyone Lying?

0:18:16 What About Partial Athletic Scholarships?

0:19:31 What are Equivalency Sports?

0:19:51 Where Does the Confusion Come From?

0:21:13 Full-Ride Golf Scholarship? Is it a Thing?

0:22:44 Is the Investment of Time, Money, and Travel Worth It?

0:23:36 Using Sports As Leverage To Get Into Selective Schools

0:24:25 Ivy League Schools and Sports Recruiting

0:26:26 Advantages of Playing Div I Sports

0:28:18 Pitfalls of Playing Div 1 Sports

0:30:02 Telltale Signs that Your Child Doesn’t Have What it Takes

0:33:10 A Cautionary Tale

0:34:32 Summary Thoughts

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Podcast Host: PrepWell Academy's Founder, Phil Black, has spent a lifetime cracking the code on the world's most competitive programs: Yale University, Harvard Business School, Navy SEALs, Goldman Sachs, Entrepreneurship, Shark Tank, etc.

Inside PrepWell Academy, Black teaches students everything they need to know about the college admissions process in a series of expertly-timed, 3-5-minute, weekly training videos starting in 9^th grade and continuing through 12^th grade [Note: this program can only be joined in 9^th or 10^th grade]. My specialties include military service academies, ROTC scholarships, Ivy League, and student-athletes.