The process of being accepted into a university is not easy. Here are some of IJGA’s secrets to university admissions for golf student-athletes.
Every day, we spend hours with teens applying to university. They tell us how they base a good part of their self-esteem on whether an institution deems them smart enough or good enough. To students who have barely glimpsed the challenges of life, getting into university serves as the ultimate validation for their level of ability, potential, work ethic and societal acceptance.
There are tests to take, retake and retake again until you achieve the score you need. There is a mountain of paperwork just to apply and essays to write. There are golf coaches to contact and golf teams to meet. Juniors and seniors at IJGA have an advantage that takes a huge weight off. They have a team of people working to ensure they have everything they need to go to university.
In 2017, IJGA had 100 percent university placement. Nineteen graduates went to 19 different schools with 10 on scholarship. This isn’t unusual at IJGA, as the IJGA College Placement team and coaches work every year for every student to help them achieve their university admissions goals. The IJGA College Placement team works with the golf coaching team to address feedback from university coaches on what skills and characteristics the university teams are looking for to encourage students to build their resume and toolbox for recruitment.
Being recruited and offered a scholarship to play collegiate golf requires a tremendous amount of talent, hard work and dedication. Despite the challenge of playing collegiate golf, 96 percent of IJGA golfers continue on to play at the collegiate level. Coaches look for specific sets of skills on the course and not always a particular handicap or scoring average.
Here are some skills university coaches value for admissions
- A passion for golf
- Coachable – ability to continue to develop
- Must embrace a team environment
- Desire to earn a university degree
- Certain levels of scoring/ball control
- High level of self-resilience and commitment
IJGA’s university admissions tips for student-athletes
- Keep an accurate list of tournaments and results to share with interested coaches.
- Make a list of wants and goals, which will help you to choose and apply to the right universities and the right golf teams.
- Target schools that meet your academic ability and golf skills.
- Showcase in your application why you would be a good fit for that particular university.
- Seek advice on writing letters, communicating with coaches and narrowing down options. Ask questions!
- Build your tournament profile to challenge yourself against better players and continue to play according to your coach’s development plan.
- Plan to visit universities.
