Likelihood of Tennis Scholarships for Girls

[LMK5]

I have 3 girls playing, ages 11, 11, and 13. After all the time and expenses involved in playing serious tennis, I sometimes ponder what the end game is for all this. After all, you can play just for fun and that's OK with 2 of my kids, but one of my kids takes it much more seriously. When I think of a good set of goals for her, I first think of possibly winning a 12U satellite tournament this year, then later playing in high school and maybe in college after that.

When it comes to college, I wonder what the likelihood of gaining a scholarship is for girls. With Title 9 in force, it would seem that it is easier for girls to get tennis scholarship money than it would be for the boys. Is that true? In any event, how likely is it for girls to have tennis help them gain entrance into better colleges, assuming their grades are also good?

 

[Soianka]

I have 3 girls playing, ages 11, 11, and 13. After all the time and expenses involved in playing serious tennis, I sometimes ponder what the end game is for all this. After all, you can play just for fun and that's OK with 2 of my kids, but one of my kids takes it much more seriously. When I think of a good set of goals for her, I first think of possibly winning a 12U satellite tournament this year, then later playing in high school and maybe in college after that.

When it comes to college, I wonder what the likelihood of gaining a scholarship is for girls. With Title 9 in force, it would seem that it is easier for girls to get tennis scholarship money than it would be for the boys. Is that true? In any event, how likely is it for girls to have tennis help them gain entrance into better colleges, assuming their grades are also good?

Yes, it is easier for girls to get a scholarship as more are available per team.

Having just gone through the recruitment process with my daughter, I don't think it is terribly difficult to get a tennis scholarship. It is much more difficult to get a scholarship to a top D1 program, but there are many tennis program throughout the country, so if they keep playing, chances are, they will be able to get a scholarship somewhere.

I think the best part though, that you mention, is helping them get into a better school. And the answer to that is a resounding yes.

They have to be great students also, but since there are so many great students, tennis can help them get noticed and in many cases the coach will offer formal support of their applications to some really great schools.

 

[tennis5]

For girls, yes, it is possible to get a full ride for a 4 star.

( my friend's daughter just got one and she was closer to 200..)

For boys, the answer is quite different....

 

[andfor]

I know of 2 star girls getting full rides to DII schools.

 

[LMK5]

I know of 2 star girls getting full rides to DII schools.

Can you tell me what is meant by "2 star," "4 star," etc.?

 

[dbordel]

Can you tell me what is meant by "2 star," "4 star," etc.?

http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/about/TopProspects.asp

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

when you question expenses and think of scholarship as a ROI, then it is a fail

 

[TennisNinja]

when you question expenses and think of scholarship as a ROI, then it is a fail

Especially since you won't necessarily be choosing from schools with great academic reputation.

 

[sureshs]

I have 3 girls playing, ages 11, 11, and 13. After all the time and expenses involved in playing serious tennis, I sometimes ponder what the end game is for all this. After all, you can play just for fun and that's OK with 2 of my kids, but one of my kids takes it much more seriously. When I think of a good set of goals for her, I first think of possibly winning a 12U satellite tournament this year, then later playing in high school and maybe in college after that.

When it comes to college, I wonder what the likelihood of gaining a scholarship is for girls. With Title 9 in force, it would seem that it is easier for girls to get tennis scholarship money than it would be for the boys. Is that true? In any event, how likely is it for girls to have tennis help them gain entrance into better colleges, assuming their grades are also good?

A high school senior at my club just got a scholarship to a small religious University (frankly, one that I have never heard of). She practices every day, is from a lower income family I presume (only coach is father, no private lessons), and was in her school team. Her level is somewhat above mine - though my serve is slightly better. She would be a good match-up for the average male club 4.5, and would probably end up winning due to better fitness. That gives you an idea of what it takes.

I don't know how much her scholarship is - free ride or something else. But it tells me that if your income level is not too high and you have several children (she has 2 siblings) to raise, and you search widely and don't limit yourself to name brand schools, it is possible to leverage a high school tennis position at the NTRP male 4-4.5 level to get a college education with a good amount of the expenses paid - plus have the satisfaction of continuing to play.

 

[BMC9670]

when you question expenses and think of scholarship as a ROI, then it is a fail

I agree. There have been other threads on this and any way you slice it, tennis as "an investment" that will pay off with scholarship or prize winnings is a losing battle. A better way to look at it as an investment in your child and giving them the game for a lifetime and all that comes with it - life lessons, social connection, self-esteem, health, drive, and on an on. If she can get a scholarship, then it's a nice bonus, but as an investment, the math just isn't there.

 

[2kJosh]

I have 3 girls playing, ages 11, 11, and 13. After all the time and expenses involved in playing serious tennis, I sometimes ponder what the end game is for all this. After all, you can play just for fun and that's OK with 2 of my kids, but one of my kids takes it much more seriously. When I think of a good set of goals for her, I first think of possibly winning a 12U satellite tournament this year, then later playing in high school and maybe in college after that.

When it comes to college, I wonder what the likelihood of gaining a scholarship is for girls. With Title 9 in force, it would seem that it is easier for girls to get tennis scholarship money than it would be for the boys. Is that true? In any event, how likely is it for girls to have tennis help them gain entrance into better colleges, assuming their grades are also good?

You said you daughter is a satellite player right? If that's the case it is extremely unlikely unless she starts playing open tournaments. It is true that girls have a higher chance of getting a scholarship seeing that they have six full rides and two half rides, where as man only have four full rides and two half rides.

But I wouldn't worry too much if your daughter doesn't show results too soon because they really don't look at rankings till about 16s & 18s.

Best of luck.

 

[Misterbill]

You said you daughter is a satellite player right? If that's the case it is extremely unlikely unless she starts playing open tournaments. It is true that girls have a higher chance of getting a scholarship seeing that they have six full rides and two half rides, where as man only have four full rides and two half rides.

But I wouldn't worry too much if your daughter doesn't show results too soon because they really don't look at rankings till about 16s & 18s.

Best of luck.

Please do not publish inaccurate information about scholarships. We do not want recruits and their parents to be misinformed, do we?

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit men's programs to the equivalent of 4.5 scholarships. The coach may allocate the equivalent of 4.5 scholys in his discretion

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit women's programs to 8 scholys that may be allocated to no more than 8 players. If a women's school is fully-funded, 8 women may get full-rides. If a school is not fully-funded, then the coach has discretion to allocate the amount of money available as long as no more than 8 women receive any athletic scholarship money.

Here is one of many readily-available links

http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/ncaa-recruiting-tennis-scholarships.htm

 

[tball2day]

........................

 

[10ismom]

Please do not publish inaccurate information about scholarships. We do not want recruits and their parents to be misinformed, do we?

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit men's programs to the equivalent of 4.5 scholarships. The coach may allocate the equivalent of 4.5 scholys in his discretion

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit women's programs to 8 scholys that may be allocated to no more than 8 players. If a women's school is fully-funded, 8 women may get full-rides. If a school is not fully-funded, then the coach has discretion to allocate the amount of money available as long as no more than 8 women receive any athletic scholarship money.

Here is one of many readily-available links

http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/ncaa-recruiting-tennis-scholarships.htm

MisterBill,

Are the numbers of scholarship for each team or each year?

If for each team, how can one tell (without asking coaches), there are possible scholarships available for that team? Do you guess, looking at the team websites, if there is a member of the team graduating ?
If there are so many kids on the team already, how can one knows there might be an oppourtunity for scholarship.

 

[Misterbill]

MisterBill,

Are the numbers of scholarship for each team or each year?

If for each team, how can one tell (without asking coaches), there are possible scholarships available for that team? Do you guess, looking at the team websites, if there is a member of the team graduating ?
If there are so many kids on the team already, how can one knows there might be an oppourtunity for scholarship.

There are the equivalent of 4.5 scholarships for men, and 8 full scholys for women..........covering each entire roster.

There is no way to tell how many are available, definitively, without asking the coach. Some coaches list the number of scholys available on their team's TRN page. At tournaments with "coaches' recruiting days" there are often booklets published that have this type of information.

Also, you can do some self-sleuthing by checking the TRN page for the players on a college team you are interested in. If a player lists that he/she received an offer and signed an NLI, you can be pretty sure that player has received a scholy.

Two caveats here, though. First, players, not TRN, are the sources of this information so there is no guaranty that it is 100% accurate. Second, in the case of the men, you may be able to figure out who got some scholarship money, but of course you can not determine what fraction of the 4.5 any particular player received.

Bottom line.........you can't know for sure without talking to the coach.

 

[dbordel]

MisterBill,

Are the numbers of scholarship for each team or each year?

If for each team, how can one tell (without asking coaches), there are possible scholarships available for that team? Do you guess, looking at the team websites, if there is a member of the team graduating ?
If there are so many kids on the team already, how can one knows there might be an oppourtunity for scholarship.

I asked the same questions in the college forum - http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=410955

 

[10ismom]

Thanks MisterBill and dbordel.

 

[tennis5]

A high school senior at my club just got a scholarship to a small religious University (frankly, one that I have never heard of). She practices every day, is from a lower income family I presume (only coach is father, no private lessons), and was in her school team. Her level is somewhat above mine - though my serve is slightly better. She would be a good match-up for the average male club 4.5, and would probably end up winning due to better fitness. That gives you an idea of what it takes.

I don't know how much her scholarship is - free ride or something else. But it tells me that if your income level is not too high and you have several children (she has 2 siblings) to raise, and you search widely and don't limit yourself to name brand schools, it is possible to leverage a high school tennis position at the NTRP male 4-4.5 level to get a college education with a good amount of the expenses paid - plus have the satisfaction of continuing to play.

I think this is more of an unusual story, and I don't want new parents to think this is the norm.

If you live in a warm climate, have free courts, dad is a coach,
most folks are still going to have to spend some money.

The friend with the daughter who got a scholarship had sent her to an academy for 4 years, ( she lived there).
So, while she has most of school paid for, the expenses to get her there were more.

For a boy, IT WILL BE A DISAPPOINTING RIDE IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO GET SCHOLARSHIP MONEY TO OFFSET COSTS.
Most likely, not going to happen.
The boys should play for the love of playing tennis... and that's all.

 

[sureshs]

I think this is more of an unusual story, and I don't want new parents to think this is the norm.

If you live in a warm climate, have free courts, dad is a coach,
most folks are still going to have to spend some money.

The friend with the daughter who got a scholarship had sent her to an academy for 4 years, ( she lived there).
So, while she has most of school paid for, the expenses to get her there were more.

For a boy, IT WILL BE A DISAPPOINTING RIDE IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO GET SCHOLARSHIP MONEY TO OFFSET COSTS.
Most likely, not going to happen.
The boys should play for the love of playing tennis... and that's all.

In this case, the children are coached by Dad and the club is semi-public. It is like $275 a year for the whole family. I also don't think she played tournaments anywhere far away, so not much in travel expenses. Practice partners were other girls and boys in the club or the occasional adult like me.

In a very similar situation, another junior girl graduated 2 years ago but probably did not even target tennis but chose to major in a science field at one of the top schools in the nation. Dad was the coach, no private lessons, was in HS team, daily at the club.

I think by compromising on the school and the major, much leverage is possible.

 

[LMK5]

A better way to look at it as an investment in your child and giving them the game for a lifetime and all that comes with it - life lessons, social connection, self-esteem, health, drive, and on an on.

I agree. My question is more on the lines of expectations.

I know that lots of parents spend freely on private lessons, academies, tournaments, hotel rooms, etc. for their tennis-playing juniors, amounting to thousands of dollars per year. I'm wondering what the typical goals are for these parents. Certainly this level of financial commitment is not needed to gain the benefits of self esteem, life lessons, and social connections.

 

[sureshs]

I agree. My question is more on the lines of expectations.

I know that lots of parents spend freely on private lessons, academies, tournaments, hotel rooms, etc. for their tennis-playing juniors, amounting to thousands of dollars per year. I'm wondering what the typical goals are for these parents. Certainly this level of financial commitment is not needed to gain the benefits of self esteem, life lessons, and social connections.

Can they afford it?

 

[BMC9670]

I agree. My question is more on the lines of expectations.

I know that lots of parents spend freely on private lessons, academies, tournaments, hotel rooms, etc. for their tennis-playing juniors, amounting to thousands of dollars per year. I'm wondering what the typical goals are for these parents. Certainly this level of financial commitment is not needed to gain the benefits of self esteem, life lessons, and social connections.

I hear you. Two common scenarios I see are:

1. The parents are just rich and buy the best - no matter the goals or without even having a goal.

2. The parents think their child will be the next Federer or Serena and dump tons of money on those that agree with them and string them along.

I've seen and heard of plenty of both... not much talk of doing it for a scholarship. Most that can afford years of top training can pay for college.

 

[2kJosh]

Please do not publish inaccurate information about scholarships. We do not want recruits and their parents to be misinformed, do we?

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit men's programs to the equivalent of 4.5 scholarships. The coach may allocate the equivalent of 4.5 scholys in his discretion

At the D1 level, NCAA rules limit women's programs to 8 scholys that may be allocated to no more than 8 players. If a women's school is fully-funded, 8 women may get full-rides. If a school is not fully-funded, then the coach has discretion to allocate the amount of money available as long as no more than 8 women receive any athletic scholarship money.

Here is one of many readily-available links

http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/ncaa-recruiting-tennis-scholarships.htm

Sorry, I just misquoted one of my coaches. My main point though was that she said her daughter was a satellite player and if she would like a better opportunity to getting a scholarship she would have to start open tournaments soon.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[sureshs]

A high school senior at my club just got a scholarship to a small religious University (frankly, one that I have never heard of). She practices every day, is from a lower income family I presume (only coach is father, no private lessons), and was in her school team. Her level is somewhat above mine - though my serve is slightly better. She would be a good match-up for the average male club 4.5, and would probably end up winning due to better fitness. That gives you an idea of what it takes.

I don't know how much her scholarship is - free ride or something else. But it tells me that if your income level is not too high and you have several children (she has 2 siblings) to raise, and you search widely and don't limit yourself to name brand schools, it is possible to leverage a high school tennis position at the NTRP male 4-4.5 level to get a college education with a good amount of the expenses paid - plus have the satisfaction of continuing to play.

Turns out it is a full ride - everything paid - tuition, lodging, food, tennis expenses.