Preparing to receive a women’s college basketball scholarship is not difficult, but it does take a bit of work. It is always easier to be prepared for the opportunity than to rush when the opportunity presents itself. When a college coach calls, the first thing they want to know is your academic status. Present yourself as an organized person running your business by having that information already gathered to provide it to you. Below is how you can achieve this.

1. Find out what core courses are required for your graduating class.

A basic course should:

o Be an academic course in one or a combination of these areas:
English, mathematics, natural/physical sciences, social sciences,
foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy;

o Be a four-year college preparatory;

o Be at or above your high school’s regular academic level (not
remedial, special education, or compensatory courses); Y

o Be completed no later than the student’s high school graduation date.
Your class [as determined by the first year of enrollment in high
school (ninth grade) or the international equivalent].

2. Register and take the ACT test. Ask your guidance counselor for an ACT packet.

3. Meet with your guidance counselor. Evaluate what basic courses you have taken and need to take. You must also determine your current grade point average for core courses.

4. Assess what score you need to get on the ACT compared to your core course grade point average.

5. Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse). You have to be registered to be eligible to play college basketball.

You can visit http://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net to see a breakdown of core courses and register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Also, if your guidance counselor doesn’t have an ACT packet, visit http://www.act.org.

When to start working on these steps? Well, I’ll tell you when not to start: your senior year. At that point, it may be too late.