Hey guys I have a few questions
I heard that application process is totally different for athletes. Can someone explain to me about these leagues(NCAA etc)? Should I do both ACT and SAT?
Too broad a question. What specifically are you looking to understand?
Firstly, should I take both sat and act ?
Secondly, there are a few terms I saw: naia, ncaa, njcaa, cccaa. What are these organizations and what is the difference between them?
And finaly, is there some kind of online coaching program to guide me through the application? I cannot find in my country.
You don’t need to take both act and sat. Either one works.
Regarding admission for athletes: the process will vary by school and sport but being a recruited athlete usually starts with contacting the coach. Very few athletes are recruited. The application is the same for athletes but for those who are recruited by a coach the process might be a bit different in terms of timing and requirements.
NCAA and the rest are organizations that govern athletic competition between member schools.
If you are an athlete, you should start by determining whether you would be a competitive recruit in your sport, and if so at which schools. Then contact coaches at those schools.
The NCAA is the largest of the governing bodies for college athletics. Schools are under one of the groups you listed, and then further divided into conferences. All have rules about recruiting and academic qualifications.
Tell us your sport and which schools you are thinking about applying to.
This is a kind of a pet peeve of mine. A simply google search will give you all the answers you need about the difference between NCAA 1-2-3, NAIA, etc. However, if you’re looking for more specific information about a specific school or the CC experience with the recruiting process, then please ask. And as noted above, knowing your sport and ability will help us to help you.
Application process is not “totally different”. It is somewhat different. You will need a ACT or SAT, unless it is a school that is test optional. If you want more specific information, you will have to be less vague in your question.
It would be helpful to know what your sport is, what your athletic accomplishments are, and whether you are hoping for an athletic scholarship. The most important organization is the NCAA. The NCAA has three divisions - Division 1, or D1, schools are mostly large universities with big sports programs, plus the Ivy League schools. I know less about D2, but these seem to be mostly largish public universities. D3 schools are mostly LACs, liberal arts colleges. The D1 schools, except for the Ivies, can award athletic scholarships, as can the D2 schools. The Ivies and the D3 schools do not have athletic scholarships, but athletes can be recruited, which may give them a leg up in the admissions process. I think it would be very difficult for an international student to be recruited for D1 (or D2?) unless they were an international level athlete. D3 might be easier depending on the sport and whether the coach would want to see you play live. The process for D3 schools begins with contacting the coach and providing information about your accomplishments - you can find information about the coaching staff on the school’s website. They will almost always ask you to complete the recruiting questionnaire. We had difficulty with that because we live overseas and have only international phone numbers - the questionnaire would accept only US numbers and couldn’t be submitted without a phone number. We just explained this to the coaches and provided the same types of information they ask for in the questionnaire. You might also consider putting some video up on a YouTube site and providing a link so the coaches can review. If the coach is interested, they will pursue you. The situation will vary from division to division and school to school but in general a coach may have both slots and tips. A slot can sometimes be used for an athlete who falls below the school’s normal academic criteria but you would still need to comply with the school’s basic requirements - so if a school requires SAT or ACT, you would still need to comply with that (some schools are test-optional). A coach may have more tips than slots, and a tip can be used to provide some admissions advantage to a recruited athlete. So, as people say above, the process is not completely different from the normal admissoins process, but a recruited athlete may have some advantage.
My son is a D3 track athlete. He had an injury during his junior year season so didn’t try to get recruited, but he did contact and meet with all of the coaches at the schools he was considering. It was an important factor in his decision. I found an enormous amount of information about athletic recruiting here on CC, so I encourage you to look around. Also, if you can provide more detail both about your sport and your athletic accomplishments and your academic profile, people here will be able to provide you with more targeted advice.