International Studies

Why Student-Athletes thrive after graduation

Many people look to the USA as an option to help propel them onto something further in the future. Whether it is professional sports, a master's program, a dream job, or something else, we work with many student-athletes who have their own dreams and use the USA as a steppingstone to do this. Whatever your final destination may be, the four years you spend competing at a high level within your sport and studying towards your academics help you develop, learn, and continue to grow as a person.

Naturally going to a university in a different country can provide obvious benefits to the student moving away from home. However, the unique balance a student-athlete must encounter helps prepare an individual in their next step. Many employers love the possibility of hiring a former student-athlete due to the different experiences they go through during their four years of studying and competing. Below we have listed our top 6 advantages of how being a student-athlete in the USA college system can provide many benefits for your future:

1. Time-keeping skills

When you are on a scholarship or playing a sport in college, you are not just studying full time as a regular student would be. You will also be competing in your sport at a high level. Most of the time this will result in training nearly every day during your main season. Training sessions can include specific training within your sport but also further strength & conditioning sessions, tactical or classroom sessions, recovery sessions, and general technical or fitness sessions. Therefore, you are learning to balance competing in your sport daily with matches, games, meets, or events throughout the week as well as studying towards your degree. Your time management is key to make this work and all student-athletes have the assistance and tools they need to help them create this balance while at college. This is a trait many student-athletes find beneficial when they get into the real world as they are used to coping with numerous tasks at once. An employer likes to hire a previous student-athlete due to the skills they pick up such as timekeeping itself.

2. Discipline created through a balance of sports & academics

Discipline is created through the environment within the sport you compete in. Of course, timekeeping skills are related, but the discipline is built on the foundation of working hard within your sport. In the USA at college level, as a student-athlete, you are essentially treated and expected to behave as a professional athlete. This means creating an individual discipline within yourself but also matching the expectations set by the coach, team, and college. On-campus you are known as a student-athlete and having a good attitude, working hard, and being disciplined are all prerequisites that are expected within college. Again, it is more valuable life skills you learn that can help you in your next chapter of life after graduation.

3. Diversity of being in a foreign country

Studying in a foreign country is a life-changing experience that will not only look good on your resume but look good to a future employer too. Studying abroad as a student-athlete allows you to experience a unique culture that you may not typically be accustomed to and meet a diverse range of people worldwide. The United States is the only place you can be a student-athlete where you study towards a degree and play or compete within a sport at a high level. Therefore, the diversity offered and opportunities to gain a scholarship provides you with a new way of learning and a new way of teaching. It provides you with the opportunity to make life-long friends and being a student-athlete provides a tight-knit culture that resembles a family away from home. You will have the opportunity to be fully immersed in a new culture where you can pick up on new traditions, holidays, vacations, or experiences that may be different than what you usually do in your home country.

4. Confidence and Independence

Anything new at first may seem daunting but stepping outside of your comfort zone is where you will grow as a person. Naturally going to study in a different country will enhance your confidence and independence and allows you to leave a mark on the world with your own two feet. The experience as a student-athlete and the environment you dive into will help you become more confident in so many different areas of your life. One of the biggest changes we see from the student-athletes we send to college is how much they have grown in confidence to achieve their goals as a result of going down this pathway.

5. Brush up on your English Language

For those that do not speak English as their native language, it is a fantastic opportunity for you to be surrounded in and around others to brush up on your language skills. Student-athletes from all across the world, who speak many different languages, use it as a chance to improve their English-speaking skills. By being in an environment with other students you will absorb more English and feel more comfortable than you ever have before. There will be help on hand if you needed extra tutoring or assistance to help you feel at ease with your English.

6. Network you create

The network you create as a result of attending college in the US can lead to many possibilities or opportunities in the future. As a student-athlete, you will have an enhanced network within your sport through your teammates and coaches. At the college you attend, you can network with others who are studying towards the same degree or have the same interests and hobbies that you may have. You will also have a network through us at CSUSA to help you reach your next step after college wherever you wish to end up. The network you can create by being a student-athlete is massive and something that can open up more doors in the future for you.

There are endless opportunities for you after graduating from college in the United States. This is more than a college placement service. This is an engagement to work on your future together. Through our Pursue network we can assist with:

Pursue Pro – if you’re good enough to compete at the next level – we have had many examples of CSUSA clients going professional after college – in MLS and leagues back in Europe.
Pursue Education – We work with universities around the world and can provide excellent options for master’s degrees and further education.
Pursue Career – We have partnered with major recruiting firms to create a program that starts before they even begin studying in the USA – we can advise and help plan ahead.
Pursue Capital – Financing and mentoring of start-up businesses.

The only question left now is, what are you waiting for?