What You Need
to Know About
Sport-Study
Guiding a student athlete through the different academic and athletic paths is quite a challenge! To help you we have answered the most frequently asked questions concerning the process towards NCAA and U Sports.
The NCAA includes universities separated in 3 divisions – Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3. Except for rare exceptions, all university sports are played within the same division. Divisions are determined by the budget allocated by the university in each sport and often (not always) the competition level is higher in Division 1 than Division 2 or 3. However, divisions have no impact on the academic quality of the university. There are excellent academic universities in Division 3, and there are weaker academic universities in Division 1.
What’s important is to find the best “fit”.
NCAA universities start analyzing academic results in secondary 3 (grade 9) and up to CEGEP (or secondary 6, if applicable). So, the process starts pretty early. However even if the student-athletes start the process at the end of high school or CEGEP, it isn’t too late! The process can still be executed in a very efficient manner.
NCAA Division 1 and 2
Universities offer academic and athletic scholarships. The athletic scholarships are granted by team coaches, at their discretion, according to their available budget. The academic scholarships are given by university admission teams and solely depends on academic results.
NCAA Division 3
Universities offer only academic scholarships. There are various academic scholarships, and you don’t necessarily need the best results to access to them.
Not necessarily! There are great Canadian universities with superb athletic programs. It is thus important to keep an open mind and examine all options to make the best decision, whether that implies a Canadian or American university.
Prep schools are the equivalent of high schools up to secondary 6 (Grade 12). It is an option to consider during or after high school in Quebec, just like the CEGEP. There are “prep schools” in Quebec, in the rest of Canada and in the United States. The NCAA represents the United States university associations, just like U Sports does in Canada. These associations manage sport in universities while prep schools are at high school level. We work through all these steps, helping families make decisions at the prep school, CEGEP, and university levels.
This essentially depends on the student-athlete and their sport. There are sports where it is better to enter around 18 years old (such as tennis, golf, soccer, etc.) For some sports, a later entry, around 20-21 is better (such as hockey, alpine skiing, etc.). It is important to adapt according to the sport and the student-athlete’s preparation level. Whatever age the athlete decides to make the move, it is important that he continues his studies. It enables us to design a plan that allows him to pursue their studies full time, even if university admission happens later.