Contract signed, and now most of it's done? That's what we thought after Mia signed her contract at Francis Marion University (FMU) in Florence, South Carolina. Wrong! Because what was next on the agenda was a whole lot of bureaucratic paperwork. And that's not just something you find in Germany, but also in the USA. In the fourth part of our blog series "The Road to a Tennis Scholarship in the USA," . This will be the last installment before Mia's departure in August. So, all the formal hurdles have been cleared, and the college tennis adventure can begin in just under eight weeks.
Signing the contract was a huge relief for Mia and us parents. Even though the application process and the decision itself were ultimately very quick, simple, and straightforward, this phase, running parallel to her final high school exams, was quite intense. It was all the more wonderful to know that the contract with her dream university was finalized. This meant Mia could put all the upcoming enrollment activities on hold and focus entirely on her final exams. She was also encouraged in this by Sandy from uniexperts , part of Keystone Sports, who always emphasized that the final exams had absolute priority. So uniexperts of the situation, and we agreed that we would continue after the written exams.
The final high school exams were over, and then the enrollment process began. The uniexperts Admissions Team responsible for this. Steffen Thies became Mia's contact person. He proved to be an important and simply wonderful partner during this rather tricky phase – and still is. The university itself also has an administration team that communicated the necessary steps very well via email and always responded quickly to questions. Nevertheless, there were many points where, to be honest, we didn't know which documents should be filled out and how. And this is where Steffen, his expertise, and above all his calm and structured approach, were and are invaluable.
But what exactly had to be filled out and submitted?
To be recognized as an athlete student, Mia had to register with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) . The NCAA is a kind of association to which many college sports teams, including FMU, are affiliated. Therefore, every student athlete must register with the NCAA before beginning their studies. If the team plays in the NAIA (National Athletic Association), however, a different registration agency is responsible. Registration requires submitting language test results, officially certified transcripts, a comprehensive questionnaire, and other documents. The cost: US$160.
After FMU submitted all the necessary documents, Mia received the I-20 form . Only with this form can an appointment for an F1 student visa be scheduled at a U.S. embassy. It's not possible to apply before then. An account must then be created at the consulate – a process that isn't exactly intuitive, and Steffen was once again a helpful savior. Once the account was set up, Mia made an appointment at the U.S. embassy in Munich. Other embassies in Germany are located in Frankfurt and Berlin. Generally, applying for an F1 student visa requires a personal appearance, an interview, and bringing a considerable amount of documentation. This includes, of course, the passport, into which the visa will be issued. The passport will then be mailed to the embassy a few days after the interview.
The whole process is also quite expensive, as in addition to the visa application fee of US$185, a SEVIS fee (="Student and Exchange Visitor Information System") of US$350 must also be paid.
Health insurance was a bit of a long story . According to uniexperts, if you have private health insurance, you should try to have your private policy, or rather a corresponding international tariff from your private insurer, recognized by the university. First, we had to clarify with our health insurance company which international tariff we needed to switch to and what services were covered by this new policy. The university has specific insurance requirements for F1 students that must be met. We forwarded these to our health insurance company and received a confirmation letter with a coverage guarantee, which we then sent to the university. This involved a few rounds of revisions before everything was finalized.
Liability insurance for your stay abroad is also recommended .
Mia is in regular contact with the university, or rather with her coach Jay. He always gives her updates about the league matches and everything else happening at the university in terms of tennis. Apparently, a clay court is currently being built, and Mia has already been featured as a new member on the FMU tennis website .
The next few weeks are definitely going to be very exciting. We've already booked the flight, but the luggage situation is still a bit of a concern. How are we going to fit all our luggage for four months until the Christmas holidays into a 23-kilogram suitcase? It's really helpful to stay in touch with the coach or future teammates and ask them. What should we absolutely bring, what can/should we buy there, and what might be provided? Mia definitely wants to get an international driving permit – it might come in handy at some point.
Things are sure to get interesting in the last few weeks before departure.
What will certainly also be very helpful is the Orientation Day on July 15, 2023 , which offers an ideal opportunity to get helpful tips from uniexperts staff and, in particular, from alumni. Topics such as "Travel Planning - Tips and Tricks Before Departure" and "College Life - Insights from Alumni" will be discussed during the Orientation Day. There will also be a Q&A session where some personal questions can certainly be answered. The Orientation Day is part of the Keystone Sports College Tennis Showcase event from July 13-16, 2023, in Leverkusen . Mia will be participating virtually in the Orientation Day – because her graduation ball is in the evening!
By the way, you can get this via TennisTraveller A 10% discount is available for showcase participation. coupon code "TT10" in the corresponding field during registration
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLEGE TENNIS SHOWCASE
I had the opportunity to interview Steffen Thies, Head of Admissions at uniexperts, part of Keystone Sports. Have a listen and learn many interesting points that are important during the admissions process.
If you have any questions about college scholarships in the meantime, or if you'd like to know specifically how we approached things, feel free to contact me anytime
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