Academic Scholarships

Overview

Academic scholarships are merit-based awards given to students based on their classroom performance, including GPA and standardized test scores. These are the primary form of aid at NCAA Division 3 and Ivy League schools, where athletic scholarships are not permitted. In other divisions, student-athletes can often combine academic scholarships with partial athletic scholarships to cover more of the cost of college. In equivalency sports, strong academics make a recruit more valuable because they may qualify for merit aid that does not count against the team's athletic scholarship budget.