Mia's path to a tennis scholarship at a US college - part four: the enrollment process and lots of formalities
Signed the contract and now most of it is done? That's what we thought after Mia signed Francis Marion University (FMU) I thought wrong - because what was now on the agenda was a lot of bureaucratic paperwork. And it's not only available here in Germany, but also in the USA. blog series "The path to a tennis scholarship in the USA", we will explain to you all the formalities that need to be completed, what you need to pay attention to and where there are one or two pitfalls. It will be the last part of the blog series before Mia's departure in August. In this respect, all formal hurdles were overcome, so that the “college tennis” adventure can begin in just under eight weeks.
Signed the contract and then fully concentrated on graduating from high school
Signing the contract really took a load off Mia's and our parents' hearts. Even though the "application process" and the decision ultimately went very quickly and was simple and problem-free, this phase, parallel to the Abitur preparations, was still quite "intensive". It was all the nicer to know that the contract with the university of my choice was finalized. In this respect, Mia was able to put all of the upcoming activities for the enrollment process on hold and concentrate fully on her Abitur exams. Here she was also encouraged by Sandy from uniexperts , part of Keystone Sports, who always said that the Abitur has absolute priority. So uniexperts about it and we agreed that things should continue after the written Abitur exams.
Let's start with the enrollment process at the university
The Abitur exams were completed and then the enrollment process began. The so-called Admission Team is responsible for this at uniexperts . Here Steffen Thies became Mia's contact person. And he became an important and simply great partner in this rather difficult phase - and still is. The university itself also has an administration team that communicated the necessary steps really well by email and always responded quickly to questions. However, there were many points where we honestly didn't know which documents should be filled out and how. And here Steffen, his expertise and above all his calm and structured manner were and are simply worth their weight in gold.
But what exactly had to be filled out and submitted?
- Financial Statements : the university requires a guarantee of coverage from the bank for the tuition fees incurred. Here we had to have our bank issue a corresponding letter confirming our “liquidity”. In addition, a so-called Certificate of Financial Support be submitted, in which you must provide various information about paying the tuition fees. In addition, the Athletic Financial Aid Agreement be signed, which covers the amount of the athletic scholarship.
- Officially confirmed school certificates : at first we thought that the translated school certificates would be sufficient for enrollment at the FMU. However, an official confirmation of the certificates was then required. These in turn can only be issued by two official bodies in the USA. We had the certificates officially translated and confirmed by Josef Silny, which cost time and also some money.
Registration with the NCAA
In order to be recognized as an Athlete Student, Mia had to register with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) . The NCAA is a type of association that many college sports teams have joined, including FMU. As a result, every student-athlete must register with the NCAA before beginning their studies. However, if the team plays in the NAIA association, a different registration office is responsible. To register, in addition to the language test results, you must also submit officially confirmed certificates, a comprehensive questionnaire and much more. Cost: US$160.
I-20 and then the student visa can be applied for
After the FMU had submitted all the necessary documents, Mia received the so-called I-20 document .
Only with this document can you apply for an appointment for an F1 student visa at an American embassy. Before that this is not possible. You then have to create an account at the consulate - a not exactly self-explanatory process, in which Steffen was once again a helpful "savior in need". After the account was created, Mia made an appointment at the American embassy in Munich. By the way, other embassies in Germany are in Frankfurt or Berlin. Basically, to apply for an F1 student visa, you have to appear in person, complete an interview and bring a lot of documents with you. Of course also the passport, in which the visa comes. The passport will be sent by post a few days after the interview. The whole thing is also quite an expensive part, as in addition to the visa application fee of US$ 185, you also have to pay a SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) fee of US$ 350.
Don't forget: the topic of insurance
A slightly longer story was the topic of health insurance . According to uniexperts, if you have private insurance, you should try to have your private health insurance, or rather a corresponding private international tariff, recognized by the university. The first thing that had to be clarified with the health insurance company was which international tariff needed to be changed to and which services were covered by this new insurance. The university has defined insurance benefits for F1 students that must be met. We passed this on to our health insurance company and received a confirmation letter confirming coverage, which was then sent to the university. Here there were one or two “iteration loops” until everything was finalized.
Liability insurance for your stay abroad is also recommended .
What other preparations are there?
Mia is in regular contact with the university, or rather with her coach Jay. He always gave her updates about the league games and what else was happening at the university when it came to tennis. A clay court is currently being built and Mia has already been introduced as a new addition to the FMU tennis website .
The next few weeks will definitely be very exciting. We've already booked the flight, but the issue of luggage is still a bit "worrying". How is the luggage supposed to fit into a 23 kilogram suitcase for four months until the Christmas holidays? It's really helpful to keep in touch with your coach or future team mates and ask questions. What should you definitely bring with you, what can/should you buy on site and what can you get provided if necessary? Mia definitely wants to get an international driver's license issued - maybe it will be helpful one time or another.
Things will certainly be exciting here in the last few weeks before departure.
Orientation Day at the Keystone Sports Tennis College Showcase in July
What will certainly also be very helpful is the Orientation Day on July 15, 2023 , which offers an ideal opportunity to receive helpful tips from uniexperts employees but especially from alumni. Topics such as "Travel planning - tips and tricks before departure" and "Life at college - insights from alumni" will be discussed during Orientation Day. There will also be a Q&A session where some personal questions can certainly be answered. Orientation Day is part of the Keystone Sports College Tennis Showcase Event from July 13th - 16th, 2023 in Leverkusen . Mia will take part in Orientation Day virtually - prom is calling in the evening!
By the way, you can get it via TennisTraveller a 10 percent discount for showcase participation. coupon code "TT10" in the appropriate field when registering
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLEGE TENNIS SHOWCASE
Still questions?
I was able to conduct an interview with Steffen Thies, Head of Admission at uniexperts, part of Keystone Sports. Feel free to listen and find out many interesting points that are important during the admission phase.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about college scholarships or would like to know specifically how we approached things, please feel free to contact me at any time
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