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College Sports Chances

July 8, 2010 Updated Jul 8, 2010 at 4:03 PM EDT


The odds of a high school athlete playing in college vary depending on the sport. What's more, if your child star is hoping that athletic skill will result in a scholarship, it turns out there is a much easier way of getting money for college: an academic scholarship. This is because the odds are against you when it comes to sports: the chances of a high school baseball player making a college team aren't great: 1 in 14. The odds only get worse for football, tennis, golf. And for high school basketball players? Only 1 in 27 will play in college. In other words, experts say, most high school athletes won't play in college. Dr. Malcolm Anderson, a psychologist, says that "If that's the only thing this kid does, he is putting all his eggs in one basket. He needs to be studying, he needs to be involved in an instrument, he needs to be involved in community service, he needs to be involved in other things so that when basketball fails because of his ACL injury in his junior year, he has other things to fall back on." In fact, he says, a much better way to get accepted into college and get money is with good grades and high test scores. Some kids each year get athletic scholarships, but far more receive academic scholarships. Dr. Anderson adds that "It's not nearly as glamorous. And so nobody really pays attention to them. But there's a dozen kids for that one kid that got the football scholarship."
Experts say dedication to sports is fine, but it's not a sure fire way to get into college or pay for it. Dr. Rick VanHaveren,a psychologist says that "Hopefully you have a plan B. So if you don't, and you've put all your eggs into that athletic basket and it doesn't pan out, you know, what are you left with?" Studies show athletes who play lacrosse have the best chances of getting a sports scholarship: one in eight will play in college.

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