3 Mistakes Parents Should Avoid when Helping their Child get a College Scholarship

Every parent wants their baby to go to college, here are 3 common mistakes you should avoid.

1. Failing to prioritize freshman year - Colleges scholarships are based on the overall grade point average and testing scores of the student-athlete. While many parents focus on the final years to buckle down academically, freshman year is the most vital year for a student. If a student does poorly in their freshman year it can be harder to recoup in the later years. Whereas, if there is a strong start to their HS career the student is on the road to success.

Waiting until the junior year is way too late and by Senior year colleges are already sending acceptance letters to students in the spring before graduation. In order to best prepare your son or daughter to be eligible to obtain a wholesome athletic/academic scholarship, make sure that their freshman has NO failing classes. It is also extremely important that they are enrolled in the necessary A-G Required classes such as math, science, and language arts. These are mandatory for top universities.

2. Leaving money on the table - Student-athletes are eligible to obtain both academic and athletic scholarships. Every year money is left on the table due to a lack of knowledge by the student's parent or failure to negotiate a higher offer. it is imperative for parents to make sure their child is applying for all the free money that is out there. For example, the California grant is a merit-based scholarship that awards students financial aid money based on their GPA.

While I was in college at Azusa Pacific University, I received $10,000 each academic year simply for having a 3.0 GPA in High School. Even if you wish to attend a school outside of CA you will surely find additional grants and scholarships for students to apply for in every state. In many cases, grants are awarded to participants simply because they took the initiative to apply while many others did nothing and there was no one else to be awarded.

3. Relying on the coach - while the head coach has a unique opportunity to position your child to earn a scholarship, it is not necessarily his or her job to do so. The job of the coach is to win games and develop players, not pass the ball to your child every play so they get a scholarship. You should certainly leverage your coach and the team as an additional tool, but take full advantage of outside opportunities too.

Parents, please let your child pursue additional opportunities where your kid can develop and get recruited. Let your child get involved with College camps, Club teams, Tutoring, and Networking groups. These are great ways to help facilitate the recruiting process of your children. When you position your child to be surrounded by other kids that have similar college dreams, it creates a successful environment and amplifies their ability to get noticed by college recruits.