Private schools, in particular military academies, are well-positioned to give you a competitive edge for college athletic scholarships. In fact, as noted by various resources, whether you agree with this or not, private schools on average gain more titles and this, in turn, positions athletes to have a competitive advantage for sports scholarships.
To put yourself in an even better position for a sports scholarship, you might want to consider a private military academy. Military academies for high school typically offer boarding and day options, robust fitness and team sports and provide the structure, discipline, and motivation to help you become a top athlete and well-developed person.
Whether you hope to gain entrance to a private or public university, your high school athletic record is a great way to enhance college applications and apply for athletic scholarships.
As a case in point, let’s take a look at Army & Navy Academy (aka “ANA”) to explore how this military academy has shaped high school scholar-athletes since their founding in 1910. Not only have they won numerous California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championships in various team sports, but students have received academic and athletic scholarships to top universities in the U.S. and abroad. Check out all the athletic, fitness, and sports options available at this military boarding school in Carlsbad, (San Diego County), California.
Last, but not least, Army & Navy Academy also has an impressive roster of notable professional athletes as part of their alumni that will inspire you to dream big and push your full athletic potential.
Now, let’s take a look at how to get a sports scholarship to help pay for your college tuition (partial or full-ride). As you will see, the path, the navigation, and the actual earning of a sports scholarship require much more than just physical skills and talents. To make yourself worthy of earning an athletic scholarship to a college of your choice, you need to stand out and develop a strategy.
We also provide valuable resources to NCSA and more below.
The Unique Path to Athletic Scholarships and Military Academies
- Focus – Army & Navy Academy athletics offers a program like no other private school on the West Coast. Set on a historic beachfront campus, this private college prep school offers the option to live on campus so you can train and focus on your personal athletic goals.
- Time – A real-time benefit is that your parents won’t need to spend time shuttling you to games or practice sessions. Your time after academic classes can be spent focusing on your chosen sport.
- Ranking – Known as the “Warriors,” Army and Navy Academy is ranked as one of the best boarding schools in several sports by Boarding School Review, Private School Review and other websites.
Preparing for Athletic Scholarships: A Military Academy Perspective
If you want to get a college scholarship, whether academic or athletic, it’s all about planning and preparation. This means learning how to balance all aspects of your life and learning real-world life skills and leadership.
- Advantages – There are many advantages of attending a military academy if you’re a high school athlete. At ANA, the faculty, coaches, and staff will help you prepare for college and life. Attending a boarding school like ANA will push you to become a highly responsible, self-disciplined, and ethical person.
- Life Skills – To get a sports scholarship, you need to develop critical life skills such as time management, decision-making, organization, communication skills and much more. Coaches at Army & Navy Academy make a point to develop excellence by helping students set goals and “crush them.”
- Leadership – Stellar West-Point style leadership training will set you apart. It is not surprising that the ANA “Warriors” try to learn from and emulate top professionals, including the NFL, NBA, World Series, World Cup, The Masters, Wimbledon, and the Olympics.
- Role Models – Students at ANA benefit from role models on campus and also from watching athletic leadership in action. In fact, the Canadian Football League (CFL) has held its football tryouts at its state-of-the-art athletic facilities which include: Duffield Sports Center, Bliss Stadium and Maffucci Field.
- Location – The campus is near top colleges and universities as well as within driving distance to renowned sports centers such as PetCo Park, Los Angeles Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, Rose Bowl Stadium and other sports venues.
Navigating Athletic Scholarships: The Military Academy Experience
Attending a military academy during your high school years offers you the unique opportunity to receive personal counseling, coaching, and mentorship to reach your goals and apply for athletic scholarships.
- College Counseling – At Army & Navy Academy, you begin college planning as early as middle school, but ramp things up in your freshman year. Counselors will help you search for colleges and offer workshops and personal support.
- What GPA do you need for a full-ride scholarship? According to Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), a for-profit organization that assists middle school and high school student-athletes connect with college coaches, “you need a GPA of 2.5 or above over 16 core classes, and your ACT/SAT scores must be high enough that they meet the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) minimum standards when combined with your GPA. Although 2.5 is the minimum goal, a higher GPA will set you apart from other athletes competing for scholarships.”
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- What colleges give the most athletic scholarships? Check the College Scholarship Stats website for current lists. In California, for instance, check out Stanford, USC, UCLA, UCI, UCSB, UCSD, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, University of San Diego, Pepperdine, Pomona College, Claremont-McKenna College, San Diego State University and others noted as noted on Niche’s website.
- Coach Guidance – At the core, the impressive coaches at this military academy care about every athlete and will help you gain life skills in leadership, team-building, and self-discipline. They will help you navigate the process of interacting with recruiters and provide references as needed on college and scholarship applications.
- Faculty Guidance – The faculty at this military academy wants every senior in high school to gain entrance to their top picks for college, so they help you stay on top of homework, offer individualized support during tutorials and evening office hours, and ultimately help you elevate your grade point average (GPA). Many faculty even coach sports themselves.
- Mentorship – You really “need a village” to help you navigate and earn a sports scholarship. The Cadet Life staff at ANA provides support to help you set goals, follow the daily schedule, acquire good life habits, enjoy dorm life and be punctual for athletic training and games. Known as “TACS” on campus, they act as trainers, advisors and coaches to students (aka “cadets”).
Earning Athletic Scholarships: Insights from Military Academy Recruits
Attending Army & Navy Academy, whether you attend as a day or a boarding student, can help you get a college sports scholarship through their college prep support systems, networks, and their impressive history of championships.
- Networking – Army & Navy coaches are quite familiar with how to get scholarships for athletes and can help you network to get the scholarship you have in mind. Ultimately, they want to see every team reach its full potential but also want to help every individual athlete.
- Alumni -. Make a point to attend Alumni Weekend to get to know ANA alumni as they may provide tips to get college and athletic scholarships. Remember, they were once students at ANA and may also have contacts at their Alma mater at some of the best universities in the U.S.
- Professional Athletes – A long list of professional athletes have attended ANA and have been the recipients of sports scholarships to top universities. Some alumni have even gone on to play at the professional level. Check out the Hall of Fame to learn more.
- Championships – If you visit the Duffield Sports Center gym at ANA, you’ll see a long array of CIF championship flags adorning the walls. This will inspire you to have big dreams and make bold choices as you prepare for college and life.
- Athletic Recruiting – Don’t be surprised if you’re approached by colleges and universities for athletic scholarships while attending this Army & Navy. Recruiters make a habit of attending games in San Diego and beyond. A recent case in point is an ANA graduating senior, whose position is defensive tackle and he’s headed to USC on a full-ride athletic scholarship.
- Use the NCSA Guidelines – NCSA links are noted below under resources to help you get a partial or full-ride scholarship. They detail a strategy and provide valuable information about how to prepare a highlight or skills video, get evaluated, and find a recruiter.
The path, the navigation, and the earning of an athletic scholarship involves acquiring, not only athletic skills, but a solid academic record, good character, leadership skills, and life habits.
In short, don’t rely just on your physical abilities to get a sports scholarship. Keep your grades up and develop as a person. If you’re not currently attending a military boarding school, consider applying. It will help you develop yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially. It could also really pay off in getting into the college of your dreams with a student-athlete scholarship.
Military Academies Clarification: If you happen to be interested in applying to one of the U.S. military academies, like West Point or Annapolis, attending a private military high school could make a big difference. To clarify, military academies (aka “military schools”) are college prep middle and/or high schools, but a few have a PG year. No military service requirement is imposed at this level.
These secondary schools are not to be confused with the college level U.S. Military Service Academies which include: U.S. Military Academy at West Point (USMA), U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis (USNA), U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marines and U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Resources:
College Recruiting Guide for High School Athletes
Questions about Athletics at Army & Navy Academy – Contact us now.