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National Scouting Report scouts run into this problem all across the country: junior and senior prospects who still haven’t taken the SAT or ACT.
High school prospects are — plain and simple — given bad advice on this important topic. Those telling prospects to wait until they are seniors to take these tests are no doubt well-meaning, but they are wrong when it comes to aspiring college student-athletes.
For the general student body, waiting to take standardized tests makes sense. Seldom is there a need to rush into it. But not for athletes planning to be recruited by college coaches.
Why?
College coaches are evaluating prospects earlier than ever. Some are targeting eighth- and ninth-graders. But that’s the exception, frankly. Only NCAA Division I schools are doing this. Most other coaches, including all of Division II, Division III and NAIA, are satisfied to initially identify, scout and connect with prospects in their sophomore and junior years.
Regardless, once a coach identifies a potential prospect as being a viable talent for his or her program, the next stage is to determine if the prospect will have qualifying grades and test scores via the NCAA Eligibility Center. That process is called clearing the Eligibility Center.
Next, a coach will want to determine if the prospect has grades and test scores good enough to be admitted to their institution, which can have higher standards than the NCAA requires.
Finally, if a prospect qualifies on those two counts, are his or her academic records strong enough for academic awards from the school?
All of this takes time. And time is not a luxury college coaches have in abundance. Hence, coaches want to be able to make these determinations ASAP.
To aid college coaches in this process, prospects should be prepared to readily offer their full academic qualifications. This ideally should happen no later than the end of the sophomore year, but certainly not beyond mid-semester of prospects’ junior year in high school.
Consequently, there is no advantage to waiting to take the SAT and ACT. In fact, the earlier the better.
Knowing this, work NSR scouts encourage prospects to register and take one or both of the tests by the end of their junior year. And if the athlete becomes an NSR prospect sooner, our scouts carefully guide families by explaining the downsides to waiting.
There are no restrictions on how many times a prospect is permitted to take the SAT or ACT. And finding out early where he or she may need improvement is a big advantage in preparing for upcoming tests.
All that considered, when college coaches have the flexibility of pinpointing a prospect whose academics are on track for admittance to their school, the coaches can then give the recruit more attention and begin the all-important relationship-building process. That is a clear advantage for both the coach, the prospect and the entire family. The more of these relationships a prospect can create, the more options the prospect will have their senior year at the designated signing periods.
Many prospects fear taking standardized tests early because, as counseled by some, they still have many more core courses to take. However, rarely does a student-athlete’s test scores jump significantly from the sophomore to senior years.
Why? If a prospect is schooled on how to take the test, then his or her score will usually fall within the same ranges over time, rarely climbing more than 50 points from the first to the last tests taken.
Here are four ways high student-athletes can best influence their academic position:
- Focus on core-course performance in ninth grade. This allows a student-athlete to establish a solid academic foundation.
- Make academics a daily priority from Day One of high school. Balancing academics early with athletics and social obligations is the key.
- Explain to friends there are no-contact times when you will be dedicated to studying. Make friends honor this precious and valuable time. If they aren’t interested in helping, then perhaps it’s time to find more supportive friends.
- Understand that the higher the core-course GPA, the more college doors will open. Colleges with high academic standards recruit the same as those with minimum standards, but they are more selective and will only admit those students that have created a great academic resume.
If you have a question about this or any other recruiting subject, contact the NSR scout nearest you. He or she is specifically trained on the science of college athletic recruiting and can help you determine the best path for you. Find your NSR scout at this link.
Note: It is important to understand that most college student-athletes do not receive full athletic scholarship offers. Their financials are likely to be packaged by admissions offices by combining academic performance with the family’s financial needs, other available grants, ancillary scholarships and loans. The higher one’s core-course GPA, the more academic money a prospect can qualify to receive. This can significantly reduce the amount of out-of-pocket funds families must come up with for student-athletes to attend college.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.