According to the NCAA, only 2 percent of high school athletes are awarded athletics scholarships to compete in college. This small number means high school student-athletes and their parents need to have realistic expectations about receiving an athletic scholarship to play sports in college. Academic, not athletic, achievement is the most reliable path to success in life.
Overview
The National Collegiate Athletic Association operates under a series of policies that are used to determine if a high school athlete is academically eligible to participate in Division I or Division II athletic programs. There is no flexibility or appeal process for prospective athletes who do not meet these requirements. It is also important to note that being eligible to play Division I or II athletics, does not guarantee the student athlete a spot on the team or scholarship money.
The chart below outlines the process that must be followed to ensure that student athletes meet all NCAA requirements and are included in the eligibility determination process. The subsequent pages of this document provide greater detail on each step.
The Key Players In The Recruitment Process
Not every student athlete is going to follow the exact same path through the recruitment process. In some instances, college coaches will approach the student, other times the student will reach out to the college, and in a third scenario high school coaches will contact colleges on behalf of the student. Some students will be recruited as early as Middle School while others will not get attention until Senior Year. Regardless of how this process plays out, it is imperative that all key people receive regular updates to ensure that all academic requirements and timelines are met.
Regular updates about recruitment between these three
groups are essential to help ensure that each
student-athlete maximizes his/her potential for eligibility.
A prospective college athlete needs to start taking Core Courses during freshmen year of high school, but a guidance counselor will not know to schedule these classes if he/she is not made aware of the student’s aspirations to play Division I or Division II athletics.(see Core Courses below for more info)
College coaches will primarily have contact with the student/parents and the high school coach. In the event that a college coach contacts a Guidance Counselor, the counselor will only discuss the student’s academic standing or release information if a signed Transcript Release Form is on file from the student.
Core Courses– as part of the eligibility process, students are required to complete 16 NCAA-approved courses in the following content areas:
Division I / Division IIEnglish / 4 years / 3 years
Math (Algebra 1 or higher) / 3 years / 2 years
Natural/Physical Science
(1 year of lab if offered by the high school) / 2 years / 2 years
Additional English, Math, Science / 1 year / 3 years
Social Science / 2 years / 2 years
Additional Courses from English, Math, Science,
Foreign Language, or Comparative Religion/Philosophy / 4 years / 4 years
10 of the 16 Core Course requirements must be satisfied once the student has completed six semesters of high school
7 of those first 10 Core Courses must be from the English, Math and Science Content Area
Grades earned in those 10 Core Courses are "Locked In" for the purpose of calculating the final Core Course GPA. Any retakes of the first 10 Core Courses for grade improvement must be completed prior to Senior Year
The list below indicates the Somerville High School courses that have been approved by the NCAA as Core Courses. This list is updated annually based on any additions to the Somerville High School course catalog.
English / Math / Science / Social Science / World LanguageAP English / Advanced Algebra / AP Biology / AP European Hist / AP French
Creative Writing / Algebra 1CP / AP Chemistry / AP Gov and Pol / French 1CP
English 1CP / Algebra 2CP / AP Physics 1 / AP Human Geo / French 2CP
English 1H / Algebra 2H / AP Physics 2 / AP Psychology / French 2H
English 2CP / AP Calculus AB / Biology CP / AP US History / French 3CP
English 2H / AP Calculus BC / Biology H / Big History / French 3H
English 3CP / AP Statistics / Chemistry CP / Crime & Civil Law / French 4CP
English 3H / Calculus / Chemistry H / Economics / French 4H
English 4CP / Geometry CP / Comp Anat & Phys / Human Conscience / French 5CP
English 4/Comp 1 / Geometry H / Marine Biology / Psychology / AP Spanish
Journalism / Pre-Calculus CP / Physics CP / US History 1CP / Spanish 1CP
Shakespeare / Pre-Calculus H / Physics H / US History 1H / Spanish 2CP
Women’s Studies / Statistics CP / US History 2CP / Spanish 2H
World Studies CP / Spanish 3CP
World Studies H / Spanish 3H
Spanish 4CP
Spanish 4H
Spanish 5CP
GPA Calculation
The NCAA recalculates a student’s GPA using only the Core Courses on his/her final high school transcript. The NCAA uses a 4.0 scale and converts from Somerville’s 100-point scale using the following conversion.
NCAA ConversionSHS Grade / CP Level / Honors or AP
100-90 / 4 / 5
89-80 / 3 / 4
79-70 / 2 / 3
69-65 / 1 / 2
The converted grade is then multiplied by 0.5 credits for a semester course or 1.00 credits for a full year course to compute GPA quality points. The quality points from all core classes are then added together and the sum is divided by the total number of credits to determine a final GPA. Important to note: an 80 and an 89 receive the same weight according the NCAA and the difference between a 79 and an 80 is significant.
The following is a sample GPA conversion using only a small set of core courses:
Course / Year-End SHS Grade / NCAA Conversion / NCAA Credits / Quality Points / NotesEnglish 4CP / 79 / 2 / 1 / 2
AP Physics 1 / 87 / 4 / 1 / 4 / Converts to a 4 because it's AP
US History 2CP / 89 / 3 / 1 / 3
Intro to Sociology / 95 / 4 / 0.5 / 2 / One semester course
Music / 100 / n/a / n/a / n/a / Is not an approvedCore Course
SHS GPA = 90.617 / NCAA GPA = 3.143
SAT/ACT Sliding Scale– once the student’s GPA is recalculated by the NCAA, it is compared to the student’s SAT and/or ACT scores. Students with a higher GPA are able to use lower SAT/ACT scores, while students with a lower GPA must earn higher scores on those tests in order to maintain eligibility. A complete listing of this sliding scale is available in the Appendix A of this document. The student is responsible for reporting his/her scores directly to the Eligibility Center using School Code 9999. Any test scores submitted by Somerville High School will not be considered official.
A minimum GPA of 2.3 along with the corresponding SAT/ACT scores are required to be eligible for athletic competition in the student’s first year of college
A minimum GPA of 2.0 along with the corresponding SAT/ACT scores are required to be eligible for Red Shirt status in the student’s first year of college.
NCAA Eligibility Center– this website serves as the central hub used to report and track all student data, high school information, and college recruitment. Each group has its own roles and responsibilities within this site to ensure that each prospective athlete is properly reviewed by the NCAA Eligibility Center to determine final eligibility upon graduation from high school.
Student Responsibility –
- Create a Certification Account and pay the $80 registration fee once a college coach has indicated that he/she will be placed on the college’s Institutional Request List (IRL). A student can create this account without consulting college coaches, but will end up wasting $80 if he/she is not officially recruited by a college program.
- Ensure SAT/ACT scores are reported to the Eligibility Center using School Code 9999
- After April 1 of his/her Senior Year, submit a request for Final Amateurism Certification Decision
- If a student has not received a firm commitment from a college and does not wish to pay $80 prematurely, he/she may create a free Profile Page and convert that Profile to a Certification Account at a later date.
Somerville High School Responsibility – update/modify the list of NCAA-approved courses as needed and upload a student’s final high school transcript upon graduation.
College Coach Responsibility – add the prospective athlete’s name to the college’s Institutional Request List. Only students listed on each college’s IRL will be receive a Final Amateurism Certification Decision. Any verbal or written commitment from a coach is null and void if this formal review has not occurred.
NCAA Eligibility Center Website
Costumer ServicePhone 877-262-1492Fax317-968-5100
Mailing AddressNCAA Eligibility Center
Certification Processing
PO Box 7136
Indianapolis, IN 46207-7136
College Board CEEB Code9999
Appendix A
NCAA Sliding Scale for SAT/ACT and GPA Requirements
New SAT Total Score(March 2016 or later) / Old SAT Total Score
(prior to March 2016) / ACT / Minimum GPA Required
400 / 400 / 37 / 3.55 or higher
410 / 410 / 38 / 3.525
420 / 410 / 38 / 3.525
430 / 420 / 39 / 3.5
440 / 430 / 40 / 3.475
450 / 430 / 40 / 3.475
460 / 440 / 41 / 3.45
470 / 450 / 41 / 3.425
480 / 450 / 41 / 3.425
490 / 460 / 42 / 3.4
500 / 470 / 42 / 3.375
510 / 470 / 42 / 3.375
520 / 480 / 43 / 3.35
530 / 490 / 44 / 3.325
540 / 490 / 44 / 3.325
550 / 500 / 44 / 3.3
560 / 510 / 45 / 3.275
570 / 510 / 45 / 3.275
580 / 520 / 46 / 3.25
590 / 530 / 46 / 3.225
600 / 540 / 47 / 3.2
610 / 540 / 47 / 3.2
620 / 550 / 47 / 3.175
630 / 560 / 48 / 3.15
640 / 560 / 48 / 3.15
650 / 570 / 49 / 3.125
660 / 580 / 49 / 3.1
670 / 580 / 49 / 3.1
680 / 590 / 50 / 3.075
690 / 600 / 50 / 3.05
700 / 600 / 50 / 3.05
710 / 610 / 51 / 3.025
720 / 620 / 52 / 3
730 / 630 / 52 / 2.975
740 / 640 / 53 / 2.95
750 / 660 / 54 / 2.9
760 / 670 / 55 / 2.875
770 / 680 / 56 / 2.85
780 / 690 / 56 / 2.825
790 / 700 / 57 / 2.8
800 / 710 / 58 / 2.775
810 / 720 / 59 / 2.75
820 / 730 / 60 / 2.725
830 / 740 / 61 / 2.7
840 / 750 / 61 / 2.675
850 / 760 / 62 / 2.65
860 / 780 / 64 / 2.6
870 / 790 / 65 / 2.575
880 / 800 / 66 / 2.55
890 / 810 / 67 / 2.525
900 / 820 / 68 / 2.5
910 / 830 / 69 / 2.475
920 / 840 / 70 / 2.45
930 / 850 / 70 / 2.425
940 / 860 / 71 / 2.4
950 / 870 / 72 / 2.375
960 / 880 / 73 / 2.35
970 / 890 / 74 / 2.325
980 / 900 / 75 / 2.3
990 / 910 / 76 / 2.299
1000 / 920 / 77 / 2.25
1010 / 930 / 78 / 2.225
1020 / 940 / 79 / 2.2
1030 / 950 / 80 / 2.175
1040 / 960 / 81 / 2.15
1050 / 970 / 82 / 2.125
1060 / 980 / 83 / 2.1
1070 / 990 / 84 / 2.075
1080 / 1000 / 85 / 2.05
1090 / 1010 / 86 / 2.025
1100 / 1020 / 86 / 2
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