WHAT ARE SENIOR COLLEGES?

“Senior colleges” is the term this site uses for 4 year universities – as opposed to the 2 year Junior Colleges covered elsewhere on this site. These are the schools that award a full Bachelor’s degree, and men’s and women’s soccer at this level is governed by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), split into three divisions;

• Division I – the largest and most competitive division, and the only one that offers full athletic scholarships for soccer. Around 200 men’s programmes and a similar number of women’s programmes compete at this level.
• Division II – still highly competitive and scholarship-funded, but with a smaller scholarship pool per team than Division I. Many international student athletes find D2 offers a good balance of standard and funding.
• Division III – the largest division by number of schools, but D3 schools cannot offer athletic scholarships. Players can still receive academic and need-based financial aid, and the standard of football/soccer can be very good, particularly at the top end.

Some students transfer into a Senior College after 2 years at a Junior College – see the Junior Colleges page for more on that route.

Women’s Soccer – by Division

Division III doesn’t have a single public list in the same format, so the NCAA’s own rankings pages (linked above) are the best starting point for finding D3 programmes.