Road to a Scholarship
Hello, my name is Gerry Besselink and Bernard Harris and I go way back as competitors, and most important, friends. Bernard asked me to put together a checklist of advice on how to go about connecting with Colleges/Universities in the States. This with the hope of maybe attaining an athletic scholarship.
College basketball can be an amazing basketball experience and excellent opportunity to get a university degree. It can also be a terrific stepping stone to a pro career as well.
Below are some things to think about if you are serious because it is very difficult to earn a scholarship:
-Are you a serious student/athlete? You have to keep your grades up. This is not just about basketball.
-Get your highschool transcripts in order. Talk to your school counselor about getting them translated into english.
-TOEFL – English test to see if your language skills are good enough – Fee involved
-PSAT – is the practice SAT for preparation.
-SAT – is the college aptitude test to see if you qualify for College/University – Fee involved
-NCAA Eligibility Center Registration – this sees if you are on track to qualify for College/University in the States – Fee involved
-Gather video! Up to date highlight videos plus Game video – I believe best to put them on a Youtube link for easy access.
I am not an expert, but I have helped many Finnish Prospects connect with Schools and Coaches and attain scholarships. Scholarships that could be worth up to a quarter of a million dollars over 4 years. A lot of info can be found on line of course. There are also services which help you connect with schools out there at a cost.
I hope this helped a bit as to some of the things to think about that need to be covered if playing College sports is your goal.
Thanks for your time,
Gerry