Coach Vint: What About A Partial Scholarship?

It is exciting when a school says they are going to offer you a scholarship to play football at their university. All of the hard work in the classroom, weight room, and on the field have paid off. Whether you are a 5 star D-1 athlete, or you get an opportunity to play at a smaller school, you are part of a very small percentage of athletes who will get a chance to play at the college level. You are a part of an elite group. Less than 5% of high school athletes will have an opportunity to participate in college sports. The transfer portal and additional covid years of eligibility have only made it tougher to earn scholarships.

If you received an offer from a Division 1 FBS university that is either a Power 5 or Group of 5 school, your scholarship will cover all of your tuition, room and board, books, and additional expenses. Any financial aid you are awarded will be stacked on top of that and go into your pocket. But what if you receive a D2, D3, or NAIA offer? What about FCS schools? What does that mean financially?

I wanted to write this specifically for the student-athletes that are not going to a Power 5 or Group of 5 school. Let's go through each of these and talk about what they mean.

FCS schools have up to 63 scholarships they can award. Not all FCS schools give out 63 scholarships. To fund a roster of 95 to 115 players and only 63 scholarships to use, they are not going to give every athlete a full ride. They are going to give out many partial scholarships so they can field a full roster. Your offer may be only a partial scholarship, and this is something you must ask.

NCAA Division 2 Schools have up to 36 scholarships to give to potential football players. Not all Division 2 schools use their full allotment. Very few, if any, athletes are given a full scholarship to a D2 school. Many D2's give out small scholarships to freshmen, and increase the dollar value based on playing time and contribution to the team.

NAIA schools have up to 24 scholarships. Like D2 schools, they are going to divide these scholarships among 75 to 100 players. Many NAIA schools have limits to how much institutional aid an athlete can receive on top of their football money.

D3 schools do not give out any scholarship offers. When you are "offered" by a D3 school, they are essentially telling you they will have a roster spot for you. They do not give athletic scholarships, so you will only get financial aid not related to athletics from a D3 school.

While junior colleges can give up to 85 scholarships, not all use their full allotment. At many junior colleges your football scholarship is partially determined by how much federal financially aid you will get. This way they can recruit more players.

In each case above, you are most likely getting a "partial scholarship." This means you are going to get a scholarship to cover some part of the cost of attendance. Scholarships are as small as $250 a year. Some partial scholarships are $5000, or $10,000 a year. The key is that the scholarship is only going to cover part of your cost of attendance.

What does this mean for you, and what do you need to do to put yourself in the best position possible?

1. Before you sign, ask to see the financial breakdown. Ask the school to show you the numbers. Many times I have heard from parents who thought their son was getting a full ride, only to find out they were getting a scholarship worth $1,000 or 2,000 dollars. The college can give you an estimated breakdown of costs if you provide them your income and family size information. If you have filled out the FAFSA, they can give you a very accurate picture of what your financial obligations will be to attend their school. YOU MUST SEE THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN!

I have seen many young people sign their letter of intent, only to find out later they were going to have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket, take out student loans, or a combination of the two. If you are going to a D2, D3, or NAIA school, expect that you will have to pay some money out of pocket.

2. Apply for private and institutional scholarships. There are many scholarships that are available, and you can find these through a simple internet search. You can find scholarships for as little as $100, all the way up to several thousands of dollars. These can be stacked on your scholarship from the school and federal aid. Yes, it takes time to do this. Spending a few hours filling out scholarship applications can help you save thousands of dollars on your education. In addition to applying for private scholarships, apply for intuitional scholarships. Many colleges give free scholarship money for being a part of certain high school clubs and groups. There are also scholarships for being from certain ethnic groups. At one NAIA school I coached at, students of Polynesian descent got a $12,000 scholarship. Hispanic students got an $8,000 scholarship. But they had to apply for the scholarship. Make sure you take advantage of all of the free money available.

3. Improve your GPA and ACT/SAT Test Scores. Colleges give free financial aid based on your GPA, Class Rank, and ACT/SAT test score. The higher your GPA, the more free money you get. The higher your ACT/SAT score, the more free money you get. The difference between a 3.3 and a 3.6 GPA can be thousands of dollars a year in free money. Do everything you can to get the best grades you can get. There are colleges that will give you full academic scholarship if your grades are high enough. Make sure your grades help you in the financial aid process.

95% of high school football players getting a scholarship are going to get an offer for a partial scholarship. This is a huge honor and milestone, and should be celebrated. I want to make sure you have the right knowledge available to make the best decision for you and your future.

The Bottom Line

Make sure before you sign that you know the bottom line. This is one of the most important factors to consider. When I say financial aid, I am not talking about the value of the football scholarship. I am talking about the total value of the financial aid you will receive and then the cost of attendance. One school might offer you $1000, and another might offer you $3,000. But the school that offered you $1,000 might end up costing you less money. Look at the cost of tuition, room and board, and additional expenses. Then look athlete total financial aid package. When you look at your package, make sure you know what are grants, and what are loans. Grants don't have to be paid back, loans do. You want to do everything you can to avoid student loans if at all possible.

At the end of the day, not all offers are the same. Depending on the level of football, the financial value of the offer will vary greatly, and you must ask the coach HOW MUCH the offer is for, and how much will it cost you to go to school there. You need to know the bottom line.

This is one small part of the recruiting process. There is so much more that you need to know to give yourself an advantage. I spent a good portion of my coaching career at the college level recruiting, and at the high school level coordinating the recruitment of our student athletes. I signed over 100 kids as a college coach, and had over 200 high school players that I coached earned scholarships at all levels of football. I work with high school coaches all over the country helping them to get their kids recruited. I educate parents and prospects on the recruiting process.

Recently I made my recruiting webinar available online for parents and prospects. This has hours of valuable information that will help you with the entire recruiting process. It has everything you need to navigate the recruiting process. For less than the cost of attending a college camp, you can learn everything you need to know to increase your chances of earning a college athletic scholarship! Click the link below to take advantage! I have put this on sale for a limited time! Click HERE to save 50% for a limited time!