Ok so they give 100% full scholarships. Okay. I have to find out what the scholarship actually covers, because I have no money whatsoever, maybe I can find a job there, anyways, a few questions: 1) does it cover the expenses for food? or is there some free meal plan for athletes? 2) does it cover rent, or a place to live or a dorm room on campus? 3)phone bill, does it cover your phone calls? if not, are there phones available that I can use for free?(to call home) 4) do they give tennis equipment? like a tennis bag or backpack? So, here are my questions, anyone that has been to Duke, please, if you know, answer!! I will be very grateful!
Duke is the #2 ranked women’s college tennis program and they recruit blue chip players and primarily American tennis players (look at the roster). They recruited the #2, 6, and 7 American ranked junior for the 2015 class. Are you top 50 ITF? They don’t give these things away like candy. They don’t cover travel back and forth to home or phone calls.
Yeah, I did look at the roster. I am an American. Top 50 ITF? Most of those girls just played in tournaments, they didn’t win any of them, they weren’t event close to the finals of those tournaments.???
All that will matter after determining you are qualified to attend Duke academically (as a recruited athlete) is that the coach wants you on the team. Find his info here http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=152612 and email or call him to get started with real answers, not opinions, to all of your questions.
- Food, yes. 2. Rent, yes. 3. Phone bill? Probably not, but might be included in incidental costs when calculating living expenses. 4. Tennis equipment? Yes, more than you could possibly need.
For tennis, many players only get partial scholarships, though, so they can split it among the roster. This is particularly the case for men’s tennis since it has fewer scholarships than women’s to give according to NCAA limits, so more women probably get 100%, but I don’t know the numbers at Duke. Definitely recommend to contact the coach as mentioned above.
Probably not top 50 ITF is required, but top 50 USTA for sure. I played Club Tennis at Duke (wasn’t good enough for men’s varsity – and didn’t want to dedicate the time anyways), and the team won club nationals a few years ago (no scholarships, though – it was a coed competition even though the teams are separate in practice and most other matches).
Good luck.
Thank you so much!!! Oh and one question, does it matter if you were in the top 50 USTA of a certain state under 12?
Not sure I understand your question. Top 50 within a state when you were 12 is not going to cut it. Need to be top 50 within the entire US in the 18 and under division. I was top 30 in the entire Midwest when I was 12 but Duke’s varsity tennis team couldn’t care less about that; it’s meaningless. What are you ranked? Do you routinely make national hardcourts? (Was always in Kalamazoo for boys, not sure for girls). To have a chance of a tennis scholarship at Duke, you should be already having a lot of top D1 coaches contacting you without you even reaching out.
I asked about ITF because from your questions, it seems you don’t have any understanding of the American system. Perhaps you are really young? What is your TR ranking? Are you a blue chip or at least a 5 star? Top 50 of most states (except CA & FLA) is a probably a 1-3 star, that won’t get you in a place like Duke. The 50th player in CA is 200 nationally, the kid ranked 25 in Georgia is 500 nationally, big differences from top states to all the rest. So even in the best state for tennis (CA or FLA), 50 isn’t going to get you in a top 10 school for tennis. And a 12 ranking means nada. You don’t play 12 year olds in college, they only look at 18 rankings, and check 16 rankings to see if going up or down in ability/accomplishments. Agree with bluedog, for schools like Duke, USC, UF, UNC, Stanford, UVA, UCLA, etc., coaches already know you and are recruiting you if you are worthy of attending, a top player doesn’t have to call those coaches. Top players are on the coaches radar early in high school. Tennis is a very small sport, talent wise.
@neogeezer made an important point; I have not read any response from the OP. Duke’s Woman’s Tennis team is not only perpetually highly ranked, in general its student-athletes are also very academically proficient. While recruitment is an admissions “hook,” over the years I’ve become convinced that Woman’s Tennis – as well as the large majority of Duke’s intercollegiate sports, especially the so-called “Olympic/non-revenue” sports – principally recruits students who do quite well in EVERY phase of Duke undergraduate life, specifically including their substantial scholastic requirements. Obviously, a student-athlete who is so overwhelmed with Duke’s academics that she cannot also concentrate on her sport, her teammates, and the necessary travel, practice, conditioning, team discussions, and so forth is not going to be an ideal student-athlete. Therefore, it is important for the OP candidly to assess her readiness to prevail in the most crucial part of a Duke’s undergraduate educational experience: the classroom, the library, the laboratory, etc.
That’s true for American players, but the OP is a US citizen living and training in Russia (from another thread), so she’s an international. She’s a 2016.
It’s not necessary to be a Top 50 ITF junior to be considered a Bluechip (or equivalent, for an international). There are only two American 2016 Bluechips ranked under 50. Seven are ranked over 1000. Eight don’t even have an ITF junior ranking.
So you can imagine how many international players there are out there who might be recruit-worthy 5-Star or Bluechip equivalents (without a TRN ranking). Hundreds. There’s likely over 100 in Russia alone. The OP could very well be a 5-Star or Bluechip equivalent, flying completely under any college coach’s radar.
She’s asking about “…top 50 USTA of a certain state under 12,” because she probably moved to Russia in her early teens. If the state she’s referring to is CA or FL, she might actually be very good, providing she worked hard on her game in Russia. It would help her cause if she actually had an ITF junior ranking, but she will certainly need results/ video/recs to establish her playing ability.
Academic ability is another matter, as @TopTier discussed.
If @TheFutureDiana used only one thread, I’m sure things would be clearer!