Athletes who receive full or partial scholarships can put themselves in a great financial spot. In addition to having the honor of representing their school as a student-athlete, they’re able to lessen the amount of debt they’ll incur upon graduation. Moves like this can help them get off to a great start once they decide to play professionally or enter the working world.
I was one of those lucky student-athletes who benefited from a full DI athletic scholarship. For four years, my books, room & board, tuition and meal plan were paid in full. However, this doesn’t mean all of my living expenses were covered. NCAA scholarships are designed to cover certain aspects of an athletes’ experience. If you’re unsure about what types of items are covered, below is a list of examples that I had to cover using my savings or through financial help from my parents.
What Your Athletic Scholarship Doesn’t Cover
Transportation. A scholarship doesn’t cover personal transportation. If you’re lucky enough to own or keep a car on campus, you are responsible for car payments, fuel, maintenance and more. The same goes for transportation to and from campus. Going out during your off time, taking an Uber, bus or train to visit friends, or that plane trip to return home for the holidays are all financial expenses that athletes need to cover.
Fines. If you get a parking ticket on campus, or have to pay a fine for violating a dorm policy, these are expenses that will come out of your pocket. I remember a few times I parked in the wrong spot on campus and had to come up with a few bucks to cover the tickets I received.
Clothes. Being on full scholarship meant I received a lot of gear to wear on campus: sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers, team backpacks and more. Being on scholarship, however, didn’t pay for every day clothes. Items like jeans, sneakers, undies, clothes to go out, and more were my responsibility.
Laundry services. My athletic department’s laundry service cleaned athletes’ uniforms, workout clothes and a few personal items (socks, sports bra’s etc.) daily. Laundry or other clothing services were not covered by my scholarship, so I had to make time to do my laundry and pay for detergent, dryer sheets, and other supplies.
Tech. I wasn’t much of a techie in school, but any device I owned was something I had to pay for. Cell phones, lap tops, speakers, tablets and others are an athletes responsibility to pay for. The same goes for dorm items like personal TVs, mini-fridges, and others.
Dorm stuff. Little items to make your dorm room feel like home can quickly add up, so athletes should budget for all dorm room items, another item not covered by your scholarship. These might include: shower caddies, bed linens, towels, storage bins and other items. While most items can be re-used each semester, you’ll have to budget in products that you should use and refill often, like cleaning products.
Bath items. I might be biased, but I feel like athletes go through more bath items, especially during preseason when those 2-a day or 3- a day workouts take place. Body wash, lotion, oral care, hair products and others aren’t covered by your scholarship.
I had to cover two sets of bath products (body wash, shampoo/conditioner, raisers, flip flops, etc.) since I was an athlete: one set for my dorm room shower and another set for my locker room shower. I had to refill these items as needed.
Extra snacks. In my opinion, my scholarship came with a very generous meal plan. I had access to three meals a day, which were really three ‘passes’ to entry to our dining hall. Once we were inside, we could eat as much as we wanted as breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style.
However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hungry all… of…the…time! Late nights and days when I felt like staying in my dorm room meant I had to search for extra food. If we had a day off and I wasn’t close to campus, this also meant paying for my own snacks and meals.
Additional classes. In some cases, you may want to take extra classes to get ahead academically, or you have to make up classes to remain eligible. You guessed it… this is an expense that your scholarship won’t cover. The best way to confirm your schools/teams’ policy is to speak with a coach or academic advisor. If they aren’t covered, you’ll have to find the funds to cover those classes.
Job placement services. If you’re close to graduating and are interested in hiring a job coach or resume writer- these are services that come at a cost that your scholarship won’t cover. Almost every school has a career services department where you can get career coaching, internship placement, and resume help for free. Use the resources available to you on campus first before working with an outside professional.