SeeWhatSheCanDo sat down with our friend Suzanne Gardner, a former Division 1 soccer athlete from Colgate University in Central New York. Suzanne is a mom of two daughters both of whom are currently playing high-level, competitive soccer. Over the last two years, her older daughter Brittany has chosen to undertake the exceptional effort to apply for a sports scholarship at both American and Canadian universities.  

We asked Suzanne what advice she would share with other parents and their daughters who found themselves in the same situation. We are grateful for her insights and are thrilled to pass along her learning. Below you'll find highlights of key issues and challenges Suzanne has faced as a parent and her daughter faced as an athlete when applying for a US college sports scholarship and suggestions for you to consider. 

SWSCD:  What are the main considerations for an athlete when deciding whether or not to apply for a sports scholarship at an American university? 

Suzanne:  Definitely, two really important questions your child needs to ask herself: 

1. How good are you as an athlete (skill level)? 
2. How bad do you want it (the scholarship)? 

SWSCD:  Often times, parents aren’t sure if they and their daughters are doing all the right things at the right times in terms of applying for a sports scholarship. When do you recommend parents have their daughters begin the application process? 

Suzanne:  From my experience, the process to apply for a US college begins when your daughter is in grade 10. In the spring of Grade 10, you are able to write the PreSAT. I would recommend doing it cold. There’s no need to take any prep courses at this point. Although, the PreSAT test is a tough course and based on US curriculum and not Canadian curriculum, it will give your daughter the experience of taking a five hour exam. She will also begin to learn what methods and tactics will work best for her to be successful when it counts the most.   

Then, in the summer between grade 10 and grade 11, take an SAT and ACT prep courses. If there are enough girls on your daughter’s team who are also interested in taking the courses, there are opportunities to coordinate team SAT and ACT prep courses. There are a number of companies who offer these types of courses. We used a company called Athletes SAT Success and the courses worked out well.  Our contact there – Mani Husson – was great and really helpful. 

SWSCD:  What’s the difference between SAT and ACT tests? 

Suzanne:  The SAT is a standardized test that covers Math and English and includes an optional essay that your daughter can choose to write. The ACT is a standardized test that is done by subject. It makes most sense to start with preparing for taking the SAT test, but if your daughter isn’t doing well on her SAT’s, then it might be worth taking the ACT tests after she has taken her SATs. Each school is different and you will need to ask them which tests are used when choosing the athletes who receive sports scholarships. Also, some coaches may have specific SAT scores that they prefer athletes reach in order to make the athlete selection process a little easier for them. 

SWSCD:  Once you have taken your SAT and/or ACT prep courses, when should you write the SAT?  Can you write it more than once? 

Suzanne:  Have your daughter write her SATs in the fall of grade 11. I would also recommend she take the SAT test twice and relatively close together. There is no penalty in writing it twice and you are able to create a super score by combining the highest score your daughter earned in Math and English on both tests. This way, if your daughter doesn’t do well in one particular area on the first test, she can focus on improving these lower areas when taking the second test. It’s been my experience that most US schools will take your SAT super scores. The general cost to write the SAT is around $150 and the cost of writing the ACT is comparable. 

SWSCD: Any other advice you would give to an athlete about taking SATs/ACTs? 

Suzanne: Your daughter needs to appreciate that taking these types of tests is intimidating and just plain tough. Some kids do well on standardized tests and some find it really difficult. The heavy weighting of these test scores puts a lot of pressure on athletes. But all athletes need to remember that they are more than just their SAT/ACT scores. 

SWSCD: How can athletes differentiate themselves from all the other athletes who are hoping to earn a sports scholarship from a US college or university? 

Suzanne: Athletes will have to figure out how to reach coaches on a personal level via email and/or phone. To put it in perspective, any given Division 1 coach will receive 40 prospective videos and over 100 prospective emails each and every day. A generic email won’t work to get you to the top of any prospective pile of emails or videos. Your daughter can start by putting together an athlete package of herself. It should involve creating a highlight video reel. A good investment to make – we spent about $150 – that is brief (maximum 3 minutes) but a clear visual representation of your daughter’s key athletic talents. Once completed, it can be uploaded to a site like YouTube so that it’s electronically accessible to all interested coaches. Certainly creating this type of video is a key tactic to helping get your daughter closer to the top of any pile of prospective recruits. Other important items to have in an athlete package include a player profile, a reference from a coach, a reference from a teacher, and a direct link to the highlight video reel you have created.  Athlete packages are what will then be sent to coaches.    

SWSCD: When should athletes commit to a particular school athletic program? 

Suzanne: Athletes need to be aware of the pros and cons in committing too early to any particular school athletic program. The pros of accepting early can include saving money that would otherwise have been spent later in the application process. The cons can include creating a false sense of security for an athlete – especially if their athletic or academic standings change significantly for the worse. Also, if the athlete realizes they have made a mistake and decide they no longer want to commit to the early offer, this choice to back out could be held against them later on by other coaches. The fact is, most sports and athletic departments involve small but tight communities.     

SWSCD: What other challenges will athletes face once they’ve committed to earning a sport scholarship at a US college or university?

Suzanne:  An important challenge for your daughter will be to have the ability to own the process of applying for a sports scholarship while, at the same time, still trying to be a teenager. Some school boards have programs in place that help high performance athletes balance the demands of their sport, yet, successfully fulfill their obligations as a high school student.

SWSCD: You provided some great advice for athletes. Do you have any other specific advice and recommendations for fellow parents of athletes? 

Suzanne: I think it’s really important that parents fully appreciate coaches want to hear from the athletes themselves. Coaches expect prospective players to step up and own the process of applying for a sport scholarship. With that said, parents still have a very important role to play as their daughter’s advocate. This means continually taking the time to review the overall purpose of and reason for undertaking this application process. It is a process that involves a lot of time, money and effort. As well, it will be important that parents ensure that their daughter understands the importance of being proactive and staying focused throughout the application process – essentially you will need to nag them. (“Hey, have you…”). As young teenagers, your daughters will have lots of new distractions – job, social life, pressure of performance as a student and an athlete, career choices, etc. – and it will be key for parents to help their daughters understand that the sports scholarship process requires making sacrifices, being disciplined and fully committed to the application journey they’ve chosen to take. 

SWSCD: Given what you shared regarding the role parents play in the sports scholarship process, do you think it’s worth obtaining an agent to also advocate for their daughter? 

Suzanne:  I think you really need to decide whether paying that additional expense will add true value to your daughter’s efforts and her ultimate success in obtaining a sports scholarship in the athletic program and university or college that suits her best. What I mean by that is most agents will have their own networks of coaches from a very specific group of universities and colleges. If your daughter is not interested in playing or doesn’t see a fit with the schools that fall within any particular agent’s network, then you really need to ask yourself if having that agent advocate for your daughter is money well spent. 

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