RecruitPKB: Scholarships… What does it take?

What does it take to earn a scholarship?

On average, if you can shoot in the 90s you will have some opportunities to play on a college team. This will typically be at a smaller school and only academic scholarship money. If you can consistently shoot in the 80s you will open up more opportunities for some athletic scholarship money. To play at a D1 school and earn athletic scholarship money you should be consistently shooting under 80 in state, regional and national tournaments at 5900 yds and longer, for better-ranked DI schools those scores need to be the mid to lower 70s. Occasionally there are exceptions to these standards, which is why it is so important to understand that if you work hard not only on your game and in the classroom but also on the recruiting process you will give yourself more options.

How many scholarships are available for girls?

Keep in mind these numbers are the max scholarships that a program is allowed to have at any given time. Some programs, even D1, are not fully funded. Typically a women’s team has 7-9 girls on the team. Full athletic scholarships are rare even for females. At a D1 fully funded program, coaches will tend to give the majority of their money to the top 5 or 6 players, 2 or 3 of those players may have full rides. The remaining players will receive what is left.

What does a “full” scholarship include?

To earn what is considered a “full” golf scholarship is rare, even for females. According to the NCAA, a “full” scholarship includes aid that covers tuition, room and board and books.

Tuition ($7500) + Room/Board ($4000) + Books ($500) = $12,000 Total Cost Per Year (Full Scholarship)

Some coaches do their scholarships in terms of dollars, others with percentages. Just remember that by NCAA definition a “full scholarship” includes aid for all cost of education to attend an institution.

How are scholarships divided on a team?

Below is a chart for dividing 6 full scholarships at a D1 women’s program by percentages and by dollar amounts. This is only for athletic scholarships; it does not include academic aid or need based aid.

$12,000 Total cost of education per year = $72,000 recruiting budget for a fully funded D1 women’s program