The recruiting process
Every athlete's route is a little different, but these are the stops almost everyone passes through. Here's roughly what happens at each one, and where I can help.
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Before anything else
Decide if it's right for you
Be honest about why you want to go, and about what you'd be giving up: time at home, a say in your schedule, and some of your summers.
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Research realistic programmes
Work out which divisions and schools fit your level, your budget and the degree you want, with a healthy mix of reach, target and safety schools.
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Alongside your research
Get your eligibility moving
Register with the NCAA or NAIA eligibility centre, order official transcripts and book any tests a school asks for. It all takes longer than you'd expect.
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Build your recruiting profile
Your best results with dates, your grades, a short introduction and, for team sports especially, a few minutes of clear video. A coach should get it in under a minute.
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Contact coaches
A targeted list of schools, short personal emails with your key results up front, and polite follow-ups. Nobody's coming to find you, so you go and find them.
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Calls with coaches
Video calls with coaches. You're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you, so ask to speak to a current international athlete.
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Compare your offers
Know what each offer covers and doesn't, whether it's for one year or four, and what you'd actually pay. Don't stop the process until it's signed.
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Admission and your visa
Apply to the university, receive your I-20, pay the SEVIS fee and book your visa interview early, because waiting times differ by country.
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Arrive and settle in
International orientation, a bank account, a US number and a full training load, all in your first few weeks. The first semester is the hardest, and it gets better.
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Make the most of it
Find your rhythm with training, classes and life away from home, and plan your degree, work options and life after your last season.
The side you don't usually hear about
The highlights are easy to find. What's harder to find is what it's actually like to arrive alone, train twice a day and keep your visa, your grades and your head in order. This is my account of it, start to finish. Not just the tip of the iceberg.
What gets posted
What it's actually like
Written from experience
Every part comes from going through it as an international athlete, including the parts that didn't go to plan.
No promises
I can't promise you a scholarship, and the guide doesn't try to. It's what to expect, what to ask and what to watch out for, so you can make your own call.
Built for internationals
Visas, eligibility, homesickness, budget and transfers, as I experienced them as someone who isn't from there.