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How to Pick a College with Good Soccer Teams: A Guide to College Soccer Recruitment

How to Pick a College with a Good Soccer Team

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If you are a high school soccer player, hoping to take your soccer career to the next level. Your thoughts have more than likely wandered into playing college soccer.

Your first question is probably, “how do I pick a college with a good soccer team?”. Or indeed one good enough to help you excel in your skills.

Fortunately, there are many different college soccer programs to choose from. Some of these college soccer programs are more competitive than others. 

It is also important to note that scholarship availability will vary greatly depending on what Division you are aiming for. 

Division III soccer schools cannot give you financial aid as Division I soccer schools and Division II soccer schools can. Before you choose a college for soccer, it is important to identify what your goals are for soccer.

For example, some soccer players have a goal to just use soccer as a way to pay for college. If this is your goal, then a Division II school is best for you. The reason for this is that it will be much easier for you to get financial aid because their soccer programs are significantly less competitive. 

If you want to get financial aid to one of the country’s best schools, it will be very difficult unless you have good grades

The reason for this is that the college coaches will argue that they are the reason that you are going to that school in the first place.

However, if you have goals to be a professional soccer player, then you will need to think differently. Learning how to pick a college for soccer is much different than learning how to pick a college with a good soccer team, as this will be required if you want to play professionally. 

If you want to be a professional soccer player by going through the MLS Superdraft, then you should attempt to join one of the most competitive college soccer programs in the country. The reason for this is that most scouts will look towards the competitive colleges when considering you for the MLS Combine. Only players from the most elite colleges get invited to the combine.

It is important to note that it may be difficult for you to go to a Division I school right off the bat. Many Division I college soccer players transfer from less competitive programs after getting a few years of playing under their belts.

You may want to consider trying to play for a nationally ranked Division II program instead of playing for a lower-ranked Division I program. This will ultimately help you get better credentials that you can use when trying to get on a nationally ranked Division I college soccer program.

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