Tips on applying to college and universities for playing college
squash
This article is written for multiple audiences, namely:
International squash playing students seeking financial aid based on
their squash
playing abilities
International squash playing students seeking admission in top
universities but not
so interested in financial aid
US squash playing students seeking admission to top universities
The problem is admission and financial aid are extremely complicated
and the rules differ from school to school. However there are a few basic
principles common to most institutions which I will outline. If you can
grasp these principles then you will have a much better chance of
predicting your success at gaining admission and financial aid.
It so happens
that the best squash playing colleges in the US are also the
most academically competitive schools ( Ivy league schools such as
Harvard, Yale and Princeton ). Typically one is admitted to those
schools by attending a private 'feeder' school. A feeder school is an
exclusive and selective school that prepares its students for admission
to the Ivy league. The majority of its graduating class end up in the Ivy
League. Typically feeder school's students come from very wealthy and/or
influential families.
Feeder schools are located in every country. For example, Pakistan
has two, Karachi Grammar School and Aitchison College. The admission
staff already know what the feeder schools are in all countries. So
if you did not attend one of those feeder schools you are immediately at
a disadvantage.
While 'Feeder schools' dominate Ivy League school admissions, recently in
the past 10-30 years the policies are changing towards a more heterogeneous student body.
Diversity is an often abused buzz-word you will see mentioned in college brochures.
While I do agree the top universities are becoming more diverse, the
rich elitist feeder school base still supports the whole system.
If you don't go to a feeder school then your chance to get admitted to
the top universities depends on two things:
Top academics, i.e SAT's, AP classes, etc
Achieving excellence in one or two extra-curricular activities, such
as Squash
Now the tricky part is figuring out how much weight to give to
academics and squash. For most schools academics are the priority,
however, this may not be the case for schools looking to raise the status
of their squash program. For them they can admit a student with below
average academics relative to their student body on the basis of their
squash playing abilities.
If you are serious about playing squash competitively then first visit
the College
Squash Association website and contact the coaches for the top 10
ranked squash colleges. They will be able to direct you better about
which tests to take, what credits are needed, etc.
As far as scholarship, almost no university offers any scholarship just
on merit of squash. What they offer is called 'financial aid'.
Financial aid is similar to scholarship in that it is mostly 'free
money' for the student with some portion of loans and work-study. The
main difference between scholarship and financial aid is that financial
aid is awarded after these two conditions are satisfied:
Does the applicant have the academic qualifications to enter the university?
Can the student afford the tuition? Afford means the parents have
sufficient assets and income to pay the full tuition and room and
board. The university looks at both parent's income, even if one is
divorced! If the combined income of the parents is close to USD 125,000
there will be NO financial aid.
Only if 1 and 2 are met can the applicant get financial aid. For this reason
financial aid is very competitive and only the best academic students
will get them. The squash coaches may have some pull on this , but not
much. Ultimately it's his own strong academics that will get him into
the university and a good financial aid package. Squash is secondary.
For US students, most colleges offer need-blind admissions, which
means they first admit you then figure out how much financial aid they
can offer you. So your inability to afford the tuition has no
effect on your chance of admission. However admission is not need-blind
for international students. Financial aid is much more limited so only
the best applicants who can afford the tuition will get in.
Apparently
there are a few need-blind schools for International students. They are
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Williams, Middlebury and Dartmouth recently. However
my guess is the financial aid they offer you will not be as
generous as the financial aid
offered to a US student, but that remains to be confirmed.
SAT is probably the most important test.
Scoring high on the verbal section is important as that is the more
difficult one for international students. I used to prepare by going
through the SAT prep. books and doing all the practice tests, plus
making a huge list of words and definitions.
On the other hand, some other universities are not so competitive
with admissions and may be able to offer financial aid if your scores
are not so good.
Here is the list of schools that are not as academically competitive as
the Ivy League schools. However, even some of these colleges do have high
admission standard.
I am not sure all have strong squash programs. Only
those with
strong squash programs are likely to have financial aid for
international student. Best to contact their coaches. If you want I can
phone some of them too in case they do not reply to your email as
sometimes emails gets lost in spam.
Bard College , Annandale o-h NY
Bates College , Lewiston Maine
Bryant College, No Smithfield RI
Colby College , Waterville Maine
Conn College , New London CT
Denison University , Granville OH
F&M, Lancaster PA
Hamilton College, Clinton NY
Hobart College, Geneva NY
Kenyon College, Gambier OH
Lehigh, Bethlehem PA
Middlebury College, Middlebury VT
Northeastern, Boston MA
Notre Dame, Notre Dame IN
Penn State, State College PA
Univ of Rochester, Rochester NY
St. Lawrence University ,Canton NY
Trinity College, Hartford CT
Tufts University, Medford MA
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY
My advice to
prospective students is to focus more on academics and getting the grades up.
Just keep
playing squash for fun and the improvements will come, but do not overdo
it. If you are at a top level by age 18 , then over-training is not going
to get you there. You are much better spending your time on your
academics rather than squash. And yes, your participation in squash will help your admission
prospects since it demonstrates commitment to a well-respected sport. Of
course being well rounded in other extra curricular activities is
important too .
Here is an interesting video about squash at Trinity College:
