1. Approximately 18-24 months prior to your anticipated date of attendance at a university in the U.S., start your research. Using a database such as "Peterson's Career and College Quest" and Peterson's "Sports Scholarships and College Athletic Programs" (available at most Advising Centers) determine which universities offer the sport you play on a scholarship basis. From that list, determine which schools offer the major that you wish to study. Narrow the list down to approximately 70 schools (unless you're a potential Olympic star - then 8 or 9 should do!). If level of competitiveness is important to you, you might want to consider applying only to NCAA Division I schools. To find out more about NCAA and NAIA, investigate the websites listed on previous pages.

2. Research out the various schools on your list, find the name of the Head Coach for whatever sport you play. Hopefully you'll find an email address too, but, if not, then a physical address

or fax number is fine. To do this, go to the schools website. Most schools have a section for "Athletics" or "Sports. (In the US "Athletics" refers to all sports, not just track and field events). The following website contains an alphabetical listing of U.S. Colleges and Universities from which you can contact the institutions web sites and find the coaches of your particular sport:

3. Prepare a letter of introduction, as well as both a academic and sporting resume, which should include: your name, address, age, current grade level, contact information including email and fax if available, physical statistics such as height and weight, your interest in attending their school on a sports scholarship, and when you would be available to start your studies (see attached sample). DON"T turn this into a 10 page treatise!! Coaches receive so much in the way of materials from students, that a sweet and short resume is far preferred. If you play a non-measurable sport team sport such as soccer or basketball, you might want to consider having a video made of your prowess and telling the coach that you have one available, making sure that it is in the U.S. format.

4. Send the information to all of the coaches via the emails you collected from the college websites. If you were unable to find an email address, then send it via fax or normal snail mail. Make sure it is addressed for the attention of the Head Coach, including his or her name if possible.

5. Hopefully the coaches will contact you within a month or so. If you have heard nothing, write a short note, reminding them that you sent your information and are still interested.

6. Prepare a list of questions and keep it handy, should the coach phone you, you will be able to use the time constructively. Coaches usually phone when it's convenient for them, so if the time difference in your country is very different from that in the US, be prepared for middle of the night calls. Keeping that list handy, it comes in very useful at 3am!

7. If a NCAA school is interested in recruiting you, investigate the procedure for obtaining clearance from the NCAA. That information can be found on their website.

8. When taking the SAT's, be sure to report your scores to the NCAA (Code 9999) if there's even a small chance that you would be attending a NCAA school. You cannot receive clearance without sending in your SAT scores.

9. If you do not have email, you might want to get a free email account from Hotmail or Yahoo and use the services of an Internet Cafe. Email is a very important tool and it will be to your benefit to have access to it.