How an international (Non-US) shooter can get on a NCAA Team

First of all, everything on this page is just suggestions. NCAA has very stringent rules that changes every year. Therefore, you should use this page as a starting point and then look up current rules before taking any actions.

There aren't too many university's that is actually offering athletic scholarships for rifle. The NCAA rules dictates that it is only Division 1 and 2 that can offer athletic scholarships, so you should focus on these schools. A short example of schools that might have scholarships are University of Alaska Fairbanks, West Virginia University, University of Kentucky, University of Nebraska, Xavier University, Tennessee Tech + another 5-10 schools.

To be able to get a scholarship at one of the better schools, one can expect scores in the 570 for 3x20 and 1140 3x40 from 50 meters and air rifle scores in the 385/580 range to be able to get a scholarship. The quality of the shooters varies and some years lower scores will lead to scholarships while other years you might need World Cup experience to get into one of the top three schools. One other thing to consider is if you are eligible to join the teams. There are a few women only teams - University of Nebraska, University of Texas - El Paso etc. - and there are a few military schools that won't accept foreigners.

Send a mail or e-mail to the universities you are interested in, stating your interest and the kind of scores that you have done in major competitions. Give them your e-mail and phone number so they can contact you, and a tip is to advice them about the time differences between them and you.( I had a few schools calling 3am asking if I was interested - and I don't remember too much of the conversations......)

Once you have found a team that is interested in you and are willing to offer you a scholarship the hard part starts. You will need to pass the NCAA Clearinghouse and be admitted to the university.

The first thing you will need before you will be admitted to any university in the US is a passing score on the TOEFL test. The purpose of this exam is to make sure that you have enough English skills to be able function in a class room. You can get more information at the TOEFL webpage:
www.toefl.org This test is mandatory no matter of your current education.

If you haven't been in college for a year, then you will need SAT or ACT scores. These are tests in Math and English. If you have been in college for a year with a passing grade average, you can normally transfer to a University without the SAT/ACT requirements. Please refer to the NCAA Clearinghouse for further details.

After you have all these things taken care of, it will be time to apply for the university you are planning to attend. Contact the athletics department of the university and ask them to send you all the material you will need.

From there, all you can do is wait.