FAQs
General FAQs
The main diplomas are the "Bachelor's degree" and the "Master's degree". The Bachelor is equivalent to a license but requires 4 years of study. The Master generally requires 2 additional years. There are also bac+2 called “Associate degrees”, which are most often found in “Junior colleges” (or “Community colleges”).The main diplomas are the "Bachelor's degree" and the "Master's degree". The Bachelor is equivalent to a license but requires 4 years of study. The Master generally requires 2 additional years. There are also “Associate degrees”, which are most often found in “Junior colleges” (or “Community colleges”).
It is quite possible to study in the USA after one or more years of study abroad. We provided assistance for the transfer of university credits to the USA. However after more than 3 years of higher education, it becomes complicated to leave for NCAA eligibility questions. In any case, do not hesitate to contact us to find out more about your chances.
There are 3 college sports leagues: NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA.
In NCAA, the American territory is divided into a multitude of conferences which evolve at different levels: Division I, Division II and Division III. Division 1 is the most competitive and includes the largest universities.
The NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) federates the “Community Colleges” and “Junior Colleges” which are small schools offering a 2-year university cycle to obtain an Associate degree.
Any amateur athlete who enters college has 5 college years to compete in the NCAA, this is called eligibility. During these university years, athletes must maintain their eligibility, in particular by validating a certain number of credits per semester with a certain average. In other words, in the event of school failure, an athlete will lose his eligibility and therefore his sports scholarship. There are many rules and we will guide you before departure and on site.
When you join an American university as a student-athlete, you have a lot of responsibilities. Your team is counting on you, your coach is counting on you, your teachers are counting on you. Sporting goals are sometimes very high. The competitions in which the students participate bring together thousands and up to tens of thousands of spectators. The infrastructures and all the staff behind you will give you the keys to be at the top physically. Only without a sufficient university level, the adventure can quickly come to an end. If you do not validate your credits in class, you will make yourself ineligible.
Going professional is complicated, and not the primary goal when you embark on this adventure. But afterwards, everyone can write their story. We will be there to support you.
Once you have been officially accepted into the university, and received the I-20 document, then you must apply for a visa at the United States Embassy in your country (or generally any capital where there is a embassy). The visa is generally obtained in less than 20 days between making the appointment and receiving the visa at home.
The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) is a mandatory test to enter an American university in the first year of study. The SAT includes a written comprehension MCQ, a mathematical part and an optional essay since 2016.
The ACT is also accepted by universities.
These tests are required by universities as well as by the NCAA to determine eligibility, but are not mandatory in Junior Colleges (or C “community Colleges”)
The majority of diplomas are recognized internationally. For example, it is possible to integrate a Master in France after a Bachelor in the USA, and vice versa. Apart from certain regulated professions (eg medicine), it is possible to consider a professional career in France or abroad with an American diploma. You should know that American universities are internationally popular and occupy the top places in the world rankings. (Example: Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, UCLA…).
USA Connect ME FAQs
We ideally advise you to register 12 months before the desired departure date. Indeed, a departure to the United States requires a lot of preparation, involvement, motivation, and administrative procedures. There are several phases, including putting together the file, then registering for the tests, producing a recruitment video, researching USA Connect, etc.
The sooner you do it, the more chances you have of carrying out your project, and avoiding inconveniences (bad test scores), but also disappointments.
Even if you do it very early, and your file is complete many months before departure, the offers can come late. Do not worry and remain confident, it is not uncommon for departures to be completed a few weeks before departure.
When you sign with a university, you agree to practice your sport on behalf of the university and to give the maximum during competitions. This also comes with regular attendance and regularity in training.
ALL of our student-athletes travel to the USA with insurance. Sometimes university insurance is mandatory, other times students can take out insurance in their country. University insurance can be supported by a full scholarship. In any case, we will study with you the best option.
There are agency fees for all personalized support and follow-up with USA Connect Agency. You also need to budget for test registration, NCAA registration, visa, and airfare. We will give you the complete list of these costs on consultation.
Unfortunately no. Vis-à-vis the NCAA, universities are only authorized to pay transportation costs to and from the athletes' home countries. However, during university competitions, transport and accommodation costs are fully covered by the university.
Before departure, we ensure that you meet and discuss with your coach and that you get in touch with your future teammates/teammates.
However, if you don't like the university or the environment of your college, it is possible to transfer to another college at the end of a semester or the academic year. Moreover, almost all students who start in Junior College (NJCAA) then transfer to the NCAA, directly in the 2nd or 3rd year.
At USA Connect, we take into account the preferences of our athletes. Our goal is that athletes using our service are happy once there, and we understand that the location of universities can be an important factor.
However, obtaining a scholarship in the United States is also a certain lottery. Many criteria are taken into account: the coach's needs at a given time, number of scholarships available, admission criteria... This is why we try to ensure that our athletes keep an open mind and consider all the proposals they will receive.
No athlete is immune to injury. But in the universities you will have all the necessary elements at your disposal so that you can recover as well as possible. Indeed, most universities have developed equipment and a competent staff available to athletes for recovery.
Scholarship FAQs
Scholarships can be athletic (“athletic scholarship”) or academic (“academic scholarship”).
Each year, American coaches have a more or less significant budget depending on the resources of the university. They are free to distribute this budget as they wish, within the limits of the rules imposed by the NCAA (or the sports federation in question). Depending on the level of the athlete and the interest that a coach has in him, he can offer him a more or less important sports scholarship.
Academic scholarships can be combined with sports scholarships. These scholarships are conditioned by the academic level and the results of the admission exams. The academic level is therefore very important, both for admission and for the scholarship.
A year at an American university costs between 10,000 and 60,000 euros.
There are different categories of fees:
- Scholarship fees
- Housing
- The food
- School books and university materials
- Health insurance (sometimes)
The university scholarship can cover one or more categories of costs and the value of the scholarships awarded varies according to the sports and university level. Up to you !
Each year, thousands of scholarships are made available for universities to recruit and create the most competitive teams possible.
It is possible to obtain a scholarship for the start of the school year in January, in particular for so-called “Winter” or “Spring” sports (from January to May): tennis, swimming, athletics, golf. For sports taking place in the fall, and whose season then ends in mid-November, it is a little more complicated, but some coaches like to recruit new players 6 months in advance.
We make every effort to offer student-athletes the best possible offer according to their profile and budget. 4 criteria are fundamental for us: Geography, sporting level, school level and financial aspect. The last one is fundamental for the good reason that obtaining a "full education" in a good university (academic and sports) remains exceptional. The requirements of each young athlete vary and if we hope to integrate a top university, it is often with the help of the family budget.
A sports scholarship is signed for one year. In practice, it is renewed throughout the university course. It may increase depending on your sports performance, if it was not complete at the start.
An injury or poor sports performance cannot be a reason for loss of scholarship. However, very poor academic results or any evidence of indiscipline can cause you to lose your scholarship.
The scholarships come from the universities. They can be of a sporting, academic nature, or on social criteria (very rare for non-American students).
University sport in the USA is highly developed. Due to the extensive media coverage of university competitions and TV rights, universities have large budgets. This is what allows them to offer scholarships to athletes so that they can make the university shine through their results.
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