College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Standardized Test Scores in Relation to NCAA Eligibility


May 22, 2019

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

Any high school student-athlete who wishes to play NCAA Division I or II sports in college must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Standardized test scores are one part of the equation for determining if the student-athlete meets NCAA academic requirements.

If a student-athlete has Division I or Division II schools on his/her college list, it is the responsibility of the student-athlete to check that the high school courses which he/she is taking are accepted by the NCAA. To search for a high school’s NCAA-approved courses, visit the NCAA Eligibility Center High School Portal. Here, the student-athlete will enter his/her high school’s name and will be directed to a page which will allow him/her to search all of the NCAA-approved courses his/her school offers.

To be eligible to play NCAA Division I, student-athletes must meet the following criteria:
  • 16 core courses
  • GPA of at least 2.3 in those core courses
  • Earn a certain ACT/SAT score matching his/her core-course GPA on a Division I sliding scale
  • For more detailed information on NCAA Academics Requirements for Division I, click HERE.

To be eligible to play NCAA Division II, student-athletes must meet the following criteria:
  • 16 core courses
  • GPA of at least 2.2 in those core courses
  • Earn a certain ACT/SAT score matching his/her core-course GPA on a Division II sliding scale
  • For more detailed information on NCAA Academics Requirements for Division II, click HERE.

Standardized test scores from SAT and/or ACT must be sent directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center, by using the NCAA Eligibility Center code 9999 from the testing agency.

Note: There are no athletic scholarships available at the NCAA Division III level. Therefore, there is no NCAA Eligibility process necessary for high school student-athletes wishing to pursue Division III college athletics.

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of May 27, 2019) – Timeline to Begin the NCAA Eligibility Process
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