<p>Hi!
I'm hoping anyone can answer some questions I have about scholarships. I live in Sweden and I would like to go to college in the US. I would like to get a bachelor in business (I hope that is the correct terminology), but I don't know what school yet. </p>
<p>I have good grades from the Swedish equivalent of high school and could probably get a good SAT/ACT score, and I also play soccer here in Sweden. Now the thing is I don't think I can compete for an athletic scholarship at a div 1 club but is there a possibility to combine an athletic scholarship to a div 2/3 school with an academic one? I would like to get as close to an all-paid funding as posssibilty, and then loan the rest of the amount.</p>
<p>Any help or advice you can give me is appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Do Div 3 give athletic scholarships? I didn’t think so, but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>As for combining scholarships at the schools that give both athletic scholarships and merit scholarships…</p>
<p>Yes, kids do do that. I know of a kid who has a “partial head” swimming scholarship and a “partial tuition” merit scholarship…so a chunk of his costs are covered. But, his parents still have to pay a chunk as well.</p>
<p>Your biggest problem will be finding schools that would consider your athletic talents strong enough to get a partial athletic scholarship that ALSO gives huge merit scholarships to int’ls. Not many schools give big merit scholarships to int’ls.</p>
<p>It will be VERY HARD to find such schools.</p>
<p>What is your sport?</p>
<p>how much will your country let you borrow? </p>
<p>How much will your family pay?</p>
<p>Div 3 schools don’t give athletic scholarships but the coach can help influence other merit scholarships. There are some athletic scholarships at Div 2 (though I don’t know which schools or how many slots for soccer).</p>
<p>Oops…I missed that he plays soccer.</p>
<p>That could make it harder to find scholarships. I don’t know a whole lot about this area, but I think that schools that field football often do not also field men’s soccer - except club/intramural - because of Title IX. </p>
<p>Also, I don’t know how likely it is for an int’l player (who isn’t spectacular) to get recruited. Recruiting is expensive, so I don’t know if schools spend much on looking for int’l players (who aren’t spectacular) if a similar skill-set can be found in the US. </p>
<p>Can anyone speak to this???</p>
<p>I think you need a broadened plan/strategy.</p>
<p>1) once you have scores, you will know which schools will likely give you big merit.</p>
<p>2) Find out how much your parents will contribute.</p>
<p>3) Keep in mind that scholarships generally do not cover personal expenses or international travel. </p>
<p>4) Keep in mind that you’ll have to show that you have ALL costs (including personal expenses and travel) covered before you can get a visa to come to the US.</p>
<p>5) Find out how much you can borrow from your country. Keep in mind that large amounts of debt is NOT good for an undergrad. Paying back such loans can ruin one’s adult life.</p>
<p>6) Find out what schools give athletic soccer scholarships and recruit int’ls.</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>Knew a fellow from Australia who came to the US on a combination athletic (soccer) and academic merit. He played for a D2 school. His scholarships covered most of his tuition, fees and room & board, though not travel and personal expenses. However, the coach was not happy with his “contribution” to the team and refused to support him (took away his FA) after his first year so he could offer it to another recruit. The student was not able find additional monies to pay to return to the US for a second year, even though he had appealed to the Dean to have his aid reinstated.</p>
<p>So the caveat is this–even if you play well enough to get financial support for your first year, you may not get that financial support after the first year. Soccer scholarships/team slots are both limited in number and extremely competitive. Coaches are always looking for that one player who will really boost the team. The coach may finance you for all 4 years or he may not. Your FA will be dependent on pleasing the coach, and on that coach remaining at the school.</p>
<p>Thanks alot for all these answers guys, it really helps with clearing it all up.</p>
<p>I can borrow $9,400 every 17 weeks, but only for tuition… not for living expenses.
My major would be Business I guess, I would like to go into entrepreneurial studies, but I don’t understand your college-system completely yet, hehe.</p>
<p>I’m going to find out the other things that you mentioned, thanks :)</p>
<p>I can borrow $9,400 every 17 weeks, but only for tuition…</p>
<p>that sounds like you can only borrow for a semester at a time. That can be a problem for getting your visa since you need to show funds for the ENTIRE year before you’re given a visa. </p>
<p>anyway…borrowing $20k per year is WWAAAAAAYYYYY TOOOOO MUCHHHH for an undergrad. You need to find a situation where the most you’ll have to borrow is less than $40k TOTAL for all 4 years. </p>
<p>How much will your family pay?</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing that up. The loan here in Sweden is a bit strange, I will have to look into it.</p>
<p>I have not discussed this with my family yet, have mostly been looking on my own, but here in Sweden university is free and you loan money from the state for living expenses so I don’t think the idea of paying lots of money “just” so that I can go to college in the US… seems like that dream is floating further and further away with every new post ;)</p>
<p>*and you loan money from the state for living expenses *</p>
<p>Just to help you…you **borrow **money from the state… The state is doing the loaning, not you. :)</p>
<p>I can understand many families being reluctant to pay for college in the US when there are lower cost options in their own countries. That’s probably why it is difficult for int’ls to go to school here. In the US, the belief is that the primary source of funds for college comes from the family.</p>
<p>Oh, thanks! Some of those things just stick and you can never get it right 
I’ll have to talk to the family and then we’ll see. Thank you to everyone who has been helping me!</p>