With a soccer scholarship at a college or university in the USA, you can have the unique experience of a student-athlete. In this unique system, you will complete your bachelor’s degree under the best academic conditions and at the same time have the opportunity to develop your skills under the highest quality athletic conditions.
The sporting conditions at the colleges are similar to those of professional clubs in the German 2nd Bundesliga: their own stadium, a modern training ground, well-kept pitches and their own rehabilitation center ensures optimal medical care. You usually travel to away games the day before in a large team bus or even by plane and spend the night in a hotel with the whole team.
In addition to full-time coaches, the team has access to fitness trainers, support staff, physiotherapists and doctors on a daily basis. The athletes are the secret stars on campus, even in everyday university life; if the physical and time demands become too high, your professors are happy to give you more time for coursework. Everyone around you is eager for you to reach your full potential on and off the court.
A soccer scholarship in the USA gives you a double opportunity: studying at the best colleges/universities in the USA and a performance-oriented soccer education – possibly leading to a contract in the MLS.
Studying in the USA has many advantages: There is no numerus clausus, yet the quality of university education is very high: on average, one lecturer supervises only 20 students. At the same time, sport is highly valued and is taken into account by the professors. You also learn the English language perfectly. After completing your Bachelor’s degree in the USA, you can go on to do a Master’s degree at any European university. It is also possible to finance your Master’s degree with a soccer scholarship in the USA.
The campus of an American university offers you everything that others only know from movies. Like a miniature city, everything that makes up your student life is within walking distance: Libraries, gyms, cafés, restaurants, bars, cinemas, pool facilities and much more. You can take sports courses such as Crossfit, bouldering, tennis or surfing, join a theater group, participate in campus radio or TV.
You will be accommodated in modern “student dorms”, which are equipped with additional common rooms. Here you will have the opportunity to switch off or chat with fellow students over a game of pool, table tennis or FIFA. As you can see, team spirit is not only practiced on the field in the USA: thanks to the typical American “community spirit”, it will be easy for you as a freshman on this campus to make contacts, make friends and immerse yourself in American culture.
The scholarship, and therefore studying in the USA, enables you to complete a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree while also being supported as a competitive athlete; both in an extremely professional setting. The value of an annual scholarship is between 20,000 and 40,000 dollars. This amount includes tuition fees, a student apartment on the university campus and your meals. Athletes are usually also provided with teaching materials and even tutoring.
Successful placement at an American university is based on the following components:
To study at a US college/university, you need either a higher education entrance qualification (Hochschulreife/Abitur) or the Fachabitur, just like in Germany.
We have deliberately specialized in the elite. This means that you should play in the U19 Bundesliga at youth level. If you are currently playing in the second-highest division (e.g. Regionalliga or Verbandsliga), you should have gained one year of playing experience in the U17 or U19 Bundesliga. As a younger senior player, you should at least be playing regularly in the Oberliga (fifth highest division).
It is important to us that we not only place you, but that you firstly receive the highest possible scholarship and secondly that you are a regular in your team right from the start. If you fulfill the above criteria, you have the perfect prerequisites for this.
If you don’t quite meet the above criteria, but are a top performer in your team and believe that you still have what it takes, please fill out the opportunity assessment and we will get back to you with honest and transparent feedback.
The best time to apply is approximately 1 year before the start of your studies in the USA. The winter semester in the USA begins at the end of August, the summer semester in mid-January. The formalities – Duolingo test, translation of your certificates and NCAA registration – should ideally be completed around six months before you leave the country.
As soon as you have provided us with sufficient video material, we will edit your personal highlight video and actively introduce you to all college coaches. Interested coaches will then get in touch with you. Together with your family and our counselor, you decide which college suits you best. The coach will then send you a National Letter of Intent and as soon as you sign it, nothing stands in the way of your studies in the USA!
This recruitment process usually lasts from around mid-November to April (if you start your studies in August). Finally, you need to take care of your visa and get yourself in shape for the short and very intensive preparation!
Below you will find a list of all administrative costs that you will incur throughout the application process. Vista Athletics only charges the services listed under “Application fees”. All other services, such as tests, translation of certificates, visa and eligibility to play, are unfortunately unavoidable and are part of every application process. We will of course support you in completing all the formalities.
A placement fee is only due upon acceptance of the study place. The payment is annual – spread over your entire stay in the USA – with the following amounts:
Your advantages: If you drop out of your studies early, all further installments are waived. In addition, we will be your reliable point of contact throughout your studies and, if necessary, we will arrange a summer program for you.
Master
If you would like to complete your Master’s degree on a soccer scholarship in the USA or Canada, a one-off placement fee of €2,500 (including VAT) will be charged due to the shorter duration of the course.
Transfer
If you are already studying in the USA or Canada but are looking for a new challenge, we will support you in changing your place of study. You will receive further information on the exact process and what you need to consider when transferring after you have completed the opportunity assessment. The placement fee for a transfer is €1,500 (including statutory VAT).
The additional costs include possible costs for insurance and flights etc. They can vary greatly depending on the university or may not be incurred in some cases. You should expect to pay around €1000 per year for health insurance. The outward flight at the start of your studies and the return flight at Christmas or during the semester break will cost around €400 – €800.
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