Dreaming of being a professional athlete starts at the college level for most. In order to play college athletics, high school students must first become academically eligible to play. This process is called adhering to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Clearinghouse eligibility guidelines.
Athletes and High School Core Courses
Each high school in the United States is required to submit specific core course information to the NCAA. This information includes course descriptions of all classes offered in the areas of English, math, science, social, and world languages. The NCAA reviews the information and determines if the courses are related to college preparatory level. If so, the classes are deemed NCAA approved classes. If not, the classes are deemed NCAA not approved classes.
The NCAA requires that college bound athletes obtain a specific number of approved courses in order to be eligible for college level athletics. For Division I eligibility students must obtain 16 core courses in specific areas, and for Division II the number is 14. Student who do not achieve the required number of core classes are deemed ineligible.
Athletes and Grade Point Average
Once a high school athlete takes the number of approved core courses, the next step is to recalculate the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA). Unlike a high school GPA that encompasses all high school courses taken, the Clearinghouse uses only the core course grades to form an NCAA GPA. The Back to College website has a great calculator to recalculate GPA’s. If a student takes a class under a Pass option, NCAA will deem the "P" grade as a D.
Athletes and Standardized College Testing Score
Another step the high school athlete needs to complete is to take either or the SAT or ACT. Upon receiving their test results, the student athlete needs to add the sections of the test together. This number is called the test score index. The test score index does not include the writing section for either test.
Athletes and NCAA Eligibility
One a high school athlete takes the proper number of core courses and a standardized college entrance test, they are now able to determine their eligibility for the Clearinghouse. For Division II colleges students must obtain a Core GPA of at least a 2.0 and a test section index of 1010 on the SAT or 86 on the ACT. For Division I colleges students need to use the NCAA Clearinghouse’s sliding scale.
The NCAA Clearinghouse determines a high school athlete’s preparedness for college level success. Students who can not meet the eligibility standards are declared ineligible to play at a Division I or II level. Meeting the eligibility standards ensures that the student athlete is ready to participate academically at a college level.
High school student athletes need to begin planning out their high school course plan as soon as ninth grade. NCAA Clearinghouse often changes the requirements every couple of years, so continued communication with an advisor or guidance counselor will ensure the student’s success at becoming NCAA Clearinghouse eligible.
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