Scholarships
Cheerleading Scholarships, How College Cheer Scholarships Work
Cheer scholarships exist, but they work differently from most college sports. Here is how schools award them, what to ask, and how to get your athlete in front of the coaches who decide.
The basics
How college cheer scholarships work
Cheerleading is not an NCAA sport. That means no NCAA scholarship limits and no NCAA recruiting calendar for cheer. Each school decides on its own whether the spirit program offers aid, how it is funded and who controls it.
Where aid exists, the coach usually recommends athletes after tryouts, and the school awards the money through athletics, the spirit program or financial aid. Awards are commonly set one year at a time.
Some junior colleges and smaller four year schools treat competitive cheer as a varsity sport and use it to recruit. Acrobatics and tumbling and STUNT are separate sports built on cheer skills, with their own teams and their own aid.
Kinds of support
What a cheer award can look like
- Partial tuition A share of tuition, the most common form where a program has athletic aid.
- Book or fee stipend A fixed amount toward books, fees or program costs.
- Housing or meals At some schools, part of room or board instead of tuition.
- Program costs covered Uniforms, shoes, travel and camp paid by the program.
- Academic aid Merit scholarships from the school that a strong student can often add.
- Private scholarships Awards from cheer organizations, community groups and foundations.
Before you accept
Questions to ask every program
- How much is the award, and what exactly does it cover?
- Is it for one year or several, and what does renewal require?
- What are the commitments: practices, game days, competitions, appearances?
- What costs does the athlete still pay, like uniforms, travel and camp?
- How does it combine with academic or need based aid?
- Is the offer in writing, and who at the school signs it?
Get seen
Coaches offer aid to athletes they know
A recruiting profile puts skills videos, level, graduation year, teams and titles in front of verified college coaches. The parent runs it and receives every contact request. The profile is free, and Recruiting Pro adds featured placement, more videos and the list of coaches who viewed it.
Are there cheerleading scholarships in college?
Yes, at some schools. Cheer is not an NCAA sport, so there are no NCAA scholarship limits for it. Each school decides whether its spirit program offers aid, how much and on what terms. Many programs offer none.
How much does a cheer scholarship cover?
It varies widely by school. Awards range from a book stipend or a small tuition discount to a larger share of tuition, and at a few schools more. Ask each program what it offers and get the terms in writing.
Is a cheer scholarship renewed every year?
Usually it is awarded one year at a time and depends on staying on the team, meeting the grade requirement and meeting program commitments. Ask what renewal requires before you accept.
Can cheer aid be combined with academic scholarships?
Often it can, but rules differ by school and by the kind of aid. Ask the financial aid office how a spirit award affects the rest of the aid package.
How does a recruiting profile help?
A coach can only offer aid to an athlete they know about. A recruiting profile puts skills videos, level and graduation year in front of verified college coaches, and their requests come to the parent.