Download the list of NCAA core courses offered at your school, and the NCAA Core Course GPA Calculator worksheet before you meet with your guidance counselor.
Review the NCAA core course requirements with your counselor. You will need to take and pass a minimum of 16 core courses before graduation. Take at least one approved core course in each of the following: Math, English, Natural/Physical Science and Social Science or Foreign Language.
Create your free NCAA profile account. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to complete the initial registration.
Review your transcript with your guidance counselor to ensure you’re on track to meet the NCAA core course requirements. Take at least one approved core course in each of the following: Math, English, Natural/Physical Science, and Social Science or Foreign Language.
Take the PSAT to familiarize yourself with standardized tests like the ACT and SAT.
Receiving D1 or D2 interest? Create an NCAA Certification Account. Cost is $100 for athletes in the US, U.S Territories, and Canada.
Have your counselor send your current transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Review your transcript with your guidance counselor to ensure you’re on track to meet the NCAA core course requirements.
Take at least one approved core course in the following: Math, English, Natural/Physical Science, and Social Science or Foreign Language.
Take your first ACT and/or SAT. This will give you time to take it again if you need to. Use your school’s four-digit school code to have your scores sent to the NCAA. The NCAA sliding scale is designed so that if you have a higher GPA, you can have a lower SAT/ACT score – and if you have a higher test score, you can have a lower GPA.
Review your transcript with your guidance counselor to ensure you are on schedule to meet the NCAA core course requirements. Make sure you are on track to complete 10 of the courses by the end of the year. Remember that seven of these courses will be “locked in.”
Have your counselor send your transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center after completing your sixth semester.
Review your transcript with your guidance counselor to ensure you’re on track to meet the NCAA core course requirements. You should know the exact courses you will need to take to achieve eligibility based on your meeting at the end of your Junior year.
Take your second or third ACT and/or SAT if necessary. Use your school's four-digit school code to have your scores sent to the NCAA.
Complete your amateurism questionnaire within your NCAA Certification Account.
If you’re enrolling in the Fall Semester, request your final Amateurism Certification within your NCAA Certification Account on or after April 1st. April 1st (Fall Semester) and October 1st (Winter/Spring semester) are just the first, not the only day you can request Amateurism Certification.
Have your counselor send your final high school transcript and proof of graduation to the NCAA Eligibility Center.