The new SAT and other academic eligibility requirements

Make sure you are aware of the academic entrance requirements for your colleges and sports programs of interest. It's extremely important to remember that "student-athlete" starts with the word student. All of the athletic talent in the world doesn't mean much if you don't put in the effort in the classroom. 

The College Board's President reported last week that the SAT will be undergoing some major changes including making the dreaded essay optional, returning the test to a 1600 scale, and removing arcane vocabulary words. The New York Times wrote a great article covering the story. These changes will be starting in the Spring of 2016.

For all college-bound students, the process of choosing and applying to colleges has many steps. Student-athletes who plan on playing college sports are often faced with several additional ones including registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center (for NCAA Division I and II programs only). The NCAA Eligibility Center certifies whether prospective college athletes are eligible to play sports by reviewing the student-athlete's academic record, core courses, SAT® or ACT scores, and amateur status to ensure conformity with NCAA rules.  To better understand eligibility standards for a link on the College Board's website.