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Suniti's Advice Corner

NCAA SAT & ACT Requirements

Posted by Suniti Mathur on Fri, Jun 09, 2017

Are you ready to be a student athlete in college? As you probably know by now, your athletic ability, while important, isn’t the only requirement for being on a collegiate sports team. Your grades and your test scores are also important.

For Division I and Division II sports teams in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA), there are different GPA and test score requirements for eligibility. Essentially, your test scores and your GPA need to balance each other out. So if your GPA isn’t the highest, you’ll need higher test scores in order to compensate. 

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Here’s a quick review of NCAA definitions.

Division I

These schools have the largest student bodies and the most funding due to large scale television contracts, alumni funding and the sheer size of the school. In addition, the NCAA grants Div. 1 programs the most scholarships. However, the high school GPA and test score requirments are most rigorous in this divison. 

Division II

These schools are smaller and there are fewer funds for their athletic departments. The NCAA grants fewer scholarships than Division I teams. Students who don’t meet all the academic requirements for Division II may be eligible for partial qualification. Partial qualifiers may do all of the same things as full qualifiers except for compete during the first year of college.

Division III

This division has the largest number of particpating schools. The majority of high school student athletes going on to compete in college end up in Div. 3. The NCAA has no set GPA or test score requirements, but it is left up to the school and their athletic department to decide on academic elibility. So for more information on that see your prospective schools website.

Redshirt Athletes

Student athletes participation is delayed or suspended in order to lengthen their eligibility period. They may attend and take classes at the college or university, practice with the team, and dress for play, but they may not compete in games. One reason that students might be redshirted is low GPA. In the case of Division I sports, students with a GPA below 2.3 are eligible for redshirt only.

Note: The NCAA does set their own GPA and test score requirements for Division III.

The tables below will show you the NCAA SAT and ACT requirements for eligibility. Note that the NCAA doesn’t look at your composite (average)ACT score between sections, but rather your total score added up. Learn more about the ACT here. Additionally, the SAT is looked at as a total score added up between each section as well. Learn more about the SAT here. 

You might not be sure whether to take the SAT or ACT. Find out which one might be better for you here. 

TABLE: Division I GPA and Test Score Requirements

GPA

SAT Total Score

ACT Total Score

3.550 and above

400

37

3.525

410

38

3.500

420

39

3.475

430

40

3.450

440

41

3.425

450

41

3.400

460

42

3.375

470

42

3.350

480

43

3.325

490

44

3.300

500

44

3.275

510

45

3.250

520

46

3.225

530

46

3.200

540

47

3.175

550

47

3.150

560

48

3.125

570

49

3.100

580

49

3.075

590

50

3.050

600

50

3.025

610

51

3.000

620

52

2.975

630

52

2.950

640

53

2.925

650

53

2.900

660

54

2.875

670

55

2.850

680

56

2.825

690

56

2.800

700

57

2.775

710

58

2.750

720

59

2.725

730

60

2.700

740

61

2.675

750

61

2.650

760

62

2.625

770

63

2.600

780

64

2.575

790

65

2.550

800

66

2.525

810

67

2.500

820

68

2.475

830

69

2.450

840

70

2.425

850

70

2.400

860

71

2.375

870

72

2.350

880

73

2.325

890

74

2.300

900

75

2.299

910

76

2.275

910

76

2.250

920

77

2.225

930

78

2.200

940

79

2.175

850

80

2.150

960

81

2.125

970

82

2.100

980

83

2.075

990

84

2.050

1000

85

2.025

1010

86

2.000

1020

86

Note: GPAs are from a 4.0 scale, and below 2.3 qualify for redshirt only.

TABLE: Division II Full Qualifier GPA and Test Score Requirements

GPA

SAT Score

ACT Total Score

3.300 and above

400

37

3.275

410

38

3.250

420

39

3.225

430

40

3.200

440

41

3.175

450

41

3.150

460

42

3.125

470

42

3.100

480

43

3.075

490

44

3.050

500

44

3.025

510

45

3.000

520

46

2.975

530

46

2.950

540

47

2.925

550

47

2.900

560

48

2.875

570

49

2.850

580

49

2.825

590

50

2.800

600

50

2.775

610

51

2.750

620

52

2.725

630

52

2.700

640

53

2.675

650

53

2.650

660

54

2.625

670

55

2.600

680

56

2.575

690

56

2.550

700

57

2.525

710

58

2.500

720

59

2.475

730

59

2.450

740

60

2.425

750

61

2.400

760

62

2.375

770

63

2.350

780

64

2.325

790

65

2.300

800

66

2.275

810

67

2.250

820

68

2.225

830

69

2.200

840 and above

70 and above

Note: GPAs are from a 4.0 scale, and below 2.3 qualify for redshirt only. 

TABLE: Division II Partial Qualifier GPA and Test Score Requirements

GPA

SAT Score

ACT Total Score

3.050 and above

400

37

3.025

410

38

3.000

420

39

2.975

430

40

2.950

440

41

2.925

450

41

2.900

460

42

2.875

470

42

2.850

480

43

2.825

490

44

2.800

500

44

2.775

510

45

2.750

520

46

2.725

530

46

2.700

540

47

2.675

550

47

2.650

560

48

2.625

570

49

2.600

580

49

2.575

590

50

2.550

600

50

2.525

610

51

2.500

620

52

2.475

630

52

2.450

640

53

2.425

650

53

2.400

660

54

2.375

670

55

2.350

680

56

2.325

690

56

2.300

700

57

2.275

710

58

2.250

720

59

2.225

730

60

2.200

740

61

2.175

750

61

2.150

760

62

2.125

770

63

2.100

780

64

2.075

790

65

2.050

800

66

2.025

810

67

2.000

820 and above

68 and above

Note: GPAs are from a 4.0 scale, and below 2.3 qualify for redshirt only.

Source: From the NCAA website.

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Tags: For Students, For Counselors, sat, act, International Students

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