The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#4) – 10 questions for University of Tampa golfer Justine Bayle

The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#4) – 10 questions for University of Tampa golfer Justine Bayle

Our French golfer, Justine Bayle, was kind enough to get on the Sports & Study USA Hot Seat and answer some of our questions about her experience at the University of Tampa and about the recruiting process in general. Justine is a Freshman at UT this year and has had a tremendous first season with the Spartans. Before that, Justine was a very accomplished junior golfer at the international level and was rewarded with a scholarship to play golf at one of the very best schools here in Florida. It was a huge pleasure to work with Justine and her family and to now watch her progress over here in the United States. Check out the video below for some very insightful information about college golf and about Justine's experience!…
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How to earn the biggest possible scholarship?

How to earn the biggest possible scholarship?

Almost every athlete's goal is to earn the biggest possible scholarship. While this is not necessarily the best approach, most families simply do not have the funds to spend extra money on a college education. So very often, limiting the cost to the bare minimum is what families are looking for and it is something that we as a college placement agency always try to accomplish for you. Now, in order to attain that goal, there are a ton of things you can do as a student-athlete to help your cause. Since we did not want to bore you guys with a massive list of dos and don'ts, here are five tips, some of them maybe unexpected for some of you, that will maximize your scholarship opportunities: Stay Eligible: Sounds…
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The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#3) – 10 questions for our soccer expert Timo Suerstedt

The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#3) – 10 questions for our soccer expert Timo Suerstedt

1. Where did you go to college and what sport did you play? I played college soccer at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.  2. What made you come to college in the US? My former coach told me that there is an opportunity to go to the USA and attend a university over there. His best friend was a coach, and he connected us. He introduced me to the world of college sports in the US and ever since then I knew I wanted to come to college and play soccer over here. And it is definitely one of the best decisions I ever made. 3. What do you enjoy the most about helping young athletes with the transition of coming to college? The experience I made was so unforgettable…
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The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#2) – 10 questions for our swimming expert Alex Knykhin

The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#2) – 10 questions for our swimming expert Alex Knykhin

Where did you go to college and what sport did you play? I was a swimmer at Drury University in Missouri.What made you want to come to the US? I really wanted to combine my swimming and my college degree and America is the only place where your academic schedule does not interfere with your sports training. Also, American colleges have top notch infrastructure that gave me the opportunity to swim in the best pools, lift in the best gyms, and be coached by some of the best coaches in the sport.What do you enjoy the most about helping young athletes with the transition of coming to college? I enjoy helping athletes come to the United States because it was a dream of mine to come over here and I…
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The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#1) – 10 questions for our founder Patrick Hanauer

The Sports & Study USA Hot Seat (#1) – 10 questions for our founder Patrick Hanauer

Where did you go to college and what sport did you play? I played four years of college golf at Abilene Christian University in Texas followed by a couple of years as a college golf coach.What made you come to the college in the US? To be honest, it was a difficult decision. And I feel like most young athletes struggle with the decision and almost everyone is going to have some doubts and concerns. But in the end, after doing one year of university over in Europe, I knew I needed to come to college in the US, as it was impossible to combine university studies and golf in Europe. And when I say impossible, I really mean it. And let’s face it, who is good enough and ready…
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A day in the life of a college golfer

A day in the life of a college golfer

A question we get asked by a lot of athletes and their parents is how the days of college athletes typically are structured? While every sport has slightly different schedules and there might also be some variations depending on the day of the week or the time in the season, here is what a typical day looks like for a college golfer: 5.30am: Wake up 6am-7am: Morning workout (typically 2-3 times a week during the season and up to 5 times a week during the offseason) 7.30am: Breakfast 8am-11am: Classes (this can vary a bit depending on your major, your personal schedule or whether you are a freshman, senior or grad student) 11.30: Lunch 1pm-6pm: Team Practice or 18 holes of team qualifying 6.30pm: Dinner 7.30pm-8.30pm: Howework or Study Hall…
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Our most important piece of advice ever!!!

Our most important piece of advice ever!!!

While every athlete might prioritize different factors when making his or her college choice, we at Sports & Study USA are always there to give you our advice and to help you make the right decision. Very often, the perfect school for one athlete will not be the best possible decision for another. This can be because of the sport you compete in, your playing level, or what your longterm goals are. However, here is one advice that we typically give to all our athletes: If you are not sure which school to pick among several options, maybe consider the one that has the best academics! Chances are, that you will need your college degree at some point in your life when applying for a certain job or when changing…
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Can you compete in more than one sport?

Can you compete in more than one sport?

While it is pretty uncommon to compete in more than one sport as a college athlete, it has definitely been done before. It mostly depends on which sports you wish to compete in, as the seasons should not overlap. For example, sports such as tennis and golf have very similar seasons that run basically all year long, so that combining those two is almost impossible. Participating in american football and baseball on the other hand is possible, since the american football season takes place in the fall semester and baseball is mostly played in the spring. So finding out when your sports are played is always going to be the first step if you are interested in competing in multiple sports. In addition to that, you also need to discuss…
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How difficult is it to transfer between universities?

How difficult is it to transfer between universities?

Transferring between universities has gotten a lot easier and also more common over the past few years. Back in the early 2000s, college coaches could literally block transfer requests by any of their athletes. This is no longer allowed so that you are no longer “stuck” at a school if things are not going as planned. However, there are some procedures to follow and it is very important to not break any transfer rules, so that you do not jeopardize any of your eligibility. Each governing body will have slightly different rules to follow, but in general the first step will always be to notify your coach or the athletic department of your school that you are planning to transfer. Before that happens, you are not allowed to contact any…
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The importance of maximizing exposure

The importance of maximizing exposure

The competition for sports scholarships in the United States is extremely high. As a matter of fact, it has grown tremendously over the past decade and will continue to do so. We always talk about the importance of an athlete standing out in the recruiting process and doing all the right things in order to impress coaches and to beat out other athletes of the same level. This is definitely true and an extremely important thing to keep in mind. However, in this blog post we want to talk about the importance of exposure and how you can further improve your chances of getting that dream scholarship that you are seeking. While this does not necessarily apply for team sports as much as it does for individual sports, it still…
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