This is a question we get asked very often, as it is something that most international athletes and their parents have not experienced to this magnitude in their home country. However, here is the good news! Once you are part of a college team in the US, basically every sports-related expense will be paid for by the university or college.
This starts with all the expenses related to your actual tournaments and games. So all your travel, food and entry fees while competing for your college team will be taken care of. On top of that, you will receive a bunch of team gear, not only for tournaments and games, but also for practice and even to run around campus. This is also the case for specific equipment that is needed in certain sports such as rowing or cycling. The school will provide these to you, so that you don’t have to worry about anything.
Practice is also something that will be offered to you by the university free of charge. While in some sports this is the case everywhere, in individual sports such as tennis or golf, lessons can be very pricey and getting them for free is not something a lot of student-athletes are used to. However, once you become a college athlete, this is another expense your parents will not have to worry about anymore.
Lastly, and this is also something we get asked a lot, but what happens if you get injured in practice or while competing for your college team? Who pays for the medical bills and who takes care of you getting back on the court, field or in the pool? The answer to this is also very simple and one that student-athletes from abroad like to hear. It is the school that will handle that, or its athletic department to be more precise. Obviously, it is in the team’s best interest, to get you back to 100% as soon as possible, so they will always take good care of you whenever you have some kind of injury. Athletic scholarships cost schools a lot of money, so they want to have you healthy as much as possible so you can help your team win and be successful. So if something happens to you while practicing or during a match, game or tournament, don’t worry, the school will make sure you are taken care of and that you get back with your teammates as quickly as possible!