What Are The Academic Requirements For A Freshman?
Getting a scholarship offer to a University is just the first step. That’s great and all but if you don’t meet the academic requirements of the NCAA or NAIA then that scholarship offer is of no use to anyone. So what are the requirements for a freshman in college?
What Are The NCAA Division I Requirements?
The NCAA has academic requirements in place for all student-athletes who receive an athletic scholarship to compete. Without meeting these specific requirements, you will not be able to compete at the next level.
What are the NCAA academic requirements?
- Graduate high school.
- Complete 16 NCAA-approved core courses.
- Earn at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses.
- Achieve an SAT or ACT sum score that matches with your core GPA on the NCAA sliding scale for NCAA Division.
- Complete 10 core courses before your senior season. These must include English, Math and a Natural/Physical science.
What Are The NCAA Core Course Requirements?
You must complete 16 core courses in order to earn your NCAA academic eligibility and be able to enroll in the school of your choosing. It is extremely important to note that 10/16 of your core courses MUST BE completed before your senior year of high school. These only apply to NCAA Division I and II as NCAA Division III has no specific requirements to compete, you would just need to meet the schools admission standards.
NCAA Division I Requirements:
- Four years of English
- Three years of math that includes algebra 1 or higher
- Two years natural/physical science
- Three years of math that includes algebra 1 or higher
- One additional year of study in the subject of your choice. (English, math or sciences)
- Two years of social science
NCAA Division II Requirements:
- Three years of English
- Four years of English, math, sciences, social science, foreign language, religion or philosophy
- Two years of math that includes algebra 1 or higher
- Three years of English, math or sciences
- Two years of social science
Please note these are just the outlines, to ensure that you have the most up to date information please refer directly to the NCAA Eligibility website.
What Are The NAIA Eligibility Requirements?
Athletes that are looking to continue their athletic career and education at the NAIA level must be aware that their eligibility standards differ from those at the NCAA level. Graduating from an accredited high school is the first step in addition to actually being admitted to the school itself, but there are also three other requirements of which you must qualify for at least two of them. Below we have outlined them.
Do you qualify for at least two out of three of these requirements?
- Minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT. Only critical reading and math sections.
- Graduate from high school with at least a 2.0 GPA
- Graduate in the top 50 percent of your high school class.
Sign up with the NAIA Eligibility Center in order to ensure your freshman eligibility.
What SAT Score Do I Need To Play In College?
We always recommend scoring as high as possible on either test you take, whether that be the SAT or ACT, but if we’re just looking at what the bare minimum would be to qualify, you would do this by using an NCAA sliding scale and comparing your current core GPA to the SAT score beside it. Remember that the only part of your SAT score that counts is your reading and math score and your ACT is calculated by using the English, math, reading and science scores.
The higher your score the more attractive you are to college coaches and the more academic scholarship money you’ll be eligible for which is great! You can retake either test as many times as you wish and use your best score to present that to colleges.
