High School Athlete

[82954411]

Hey guys, I have been looking around the board and there is a lot of great stuff on here. I was just wondering if I could make it at a D 3 program. I played safety for a Florida team last year..we made it to the final four, so the competition is good. My fastest 40 is a 4.72, bench 215, clean 205, squat 400. I have a 4.2 weighted gpa, in mostly honors classes and made a 27 on my first ACT. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[Ralph Turner]

Hey guys, I have been looking around the board and there is a lot of great stuff on here. I was just wondering if I could make it at a D 3 program. I played safety for a Florida team last year..we made it to the final four, so the competition is good. My fastest 40 is a 4.72, bench 215, clean 205, squat 400. I have a 4.2 weighted gpa, in mostly honors classes and made a 27 on my first ACT. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

What do you want for a major in college?

What do you want to do for a living/profession?

Do you have a geographical preference for a certain portion of the country?

Have you look at what type of academic scholarships that you might earn?

Do you have the mental tenacity to stay with the schedule and demands of a student/athlete in D-III?

Those five questions are a good start.

[82954411]

I am planning on going into something buisness probably finance related. Here is where I am stuck... I can get a full tuition scholarship at many big time schools in the southeast. For example Alabama, or Mississippi State, but I would really like to have the chance to continue playing football. It has been a way of life for as long as I can remember.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

The best thing to do is to research schools that are close to where you would like to continue your education, contact their Football and Admissions Departments and see what kind of scholarships, Grants, Financial Aid you would qualify for.

Private Schools are going to be very expensive, but most of them offer some sort of financial aid packages that can help offset the total tuition and board costs.

Look for a school where you will feel comfortable academically as well as athletically.  Without seeing you play, your statistics look fine.  DIII football is NOT glorified High School Football, especially the top 30 or so programs in the division.  Don't come in expecting to play, but work hard, and you will be rewarded.

I currently live in FL (Near Tampa) and so does another regular poster from the OAC board, so if you have any questions you can send us a Private Message and we can answer them off the boards if you wish.

[Ron Boerger]

As you probably know, there aren't any D3 schools in Florida.  If you want to stay in the general area, have a look at Birmingham-Southern College, which is about as close as you're going to get.  It's a school with very good academics, has nice new facilities for football (and most other sports, having recently stepped up to D3 from D1), and the young football program should be challenging for a conference championship and the automatic playoff bid that comes with it in the next few years.

Huntingdon and LaGrange are two schools also in the area, but IMO you'll find better academics and resources at B-SC.

Edit:  By the way, here is a map showing the locations of schools which play Division III football.  There are a couple of new programs not shown, and at least one program (Colorado College) that sadly no longer exists.