Cheerleading Scholarships: Requirements and Opportunities
Cheerleading is a demanding activity that requires significant time, effort, and skill. Recognizing the dedication of these young athletes, various organizations and institutions offer cheerleading scholarships to reward their achievements both on and off the mat. These scholarships aim to support student-athletes in their academic pursuits while acknowledging their contributions to school spirit and athletic entertainment.
Types of Cheerleading Scholarships
Cheerleading scholarship opportunities vary widely from program to program. Generally, the more competitive and established the cheerleading program is, the more funding they have for student-athletes. While few schools will offer a full scholarship for cheerleading, many colleges provide scholarships worth $500 and $1,000 per year to compensate cheerleaders for their participation on the team.
Athletic Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded based on cheerleading skills and potential. Coaches prioritize scholarships based on a variety of factors. Coaches want to bring on recruits who can take their routines to the next level. Make sure that your skill set stands out. Your skills need to align with what their team can do.
Academic Scholarships: Some college cheer programs award academic scholarships to student-athletes who maintain a certain GPA. These scholarships recognize athletes for their academic achievements in addition to their athletic abilities.
Combination Scholarships: Some scholarships consider both athletic and academic merit, providing financial assistance to well-rounded student-athletes.
Read also: Unlocking Potential: Posse Scholarship
Eligibility Requirements
While specific requirements vary depending on the scholarship, some general criteria often apply:
GPA: Many cheerleading scholarships require a minimum GPA. For example, the CCA Cheer Scholar program recognizes athletes who maintain a 3.0 or above GPA based on a 4-point system and a 4.0 or above based on a 5-point system. The Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association (OCCA) requires applicants to have a 3.5+ GPA by the end of their junior year.
Cheerleading Experience: Most cheerleading scholarships require applicants to be active members of a cheerleading squad. The Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches Scholarships, for example, is open to high school seniors in Wisconsin who are on a cheer team and whose coaches are WACPC members.
Essay: Many scholarships require applicants to submit an essay. For example, the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan Scholarship requires applicants to submit an essay answering "How Competitive Cheer has Impacted my Life." The Athlete Honors Scholarship Program requires individuals to submit a 300-500 word essay.
Letters of Recommendation: Some scholarships require applicants to submit letters of recommendation. The Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan Scholarship requires two letters of recommendation. The Athlete Honors Scholarship Program requires two letters of recommendation.
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Skills and Abilities: Coaches want to bring on recruits who can take their routines to the next level. Make sure that your skill set stands out. Your skills need to align with what their team can do. Watch social media clips of the team, both in competition and at games. Are your jumps and tumbling as good as theirs?
Finding Cheerleading Scholarships
Several resources can help aspiring cheerleaders find scholarship opportunities:
College Cheer Programs: Contacting the cheerleading coach at colleges of interest is a crucial step. As recruits research the colleges they’re interested in, they should look into that program’s history to see if cheerleaders can receive athletic aid.
Cheerleading Organizations: Organizations like the NCA and the United States All Star Federation offer scholarships for student-athletes who want to pursue college cheerleading.
Online Scholarship Platforms: Websites like Scholarships360 and NCSA can help connect student-athletes with relevant scholarship opportunities.
Read also: Foundation Scholarship Details
USA Cheer College Program Directory: Use this directory to find Cheerleading scholarships, STUNT scholarships, competitive cheer programs, game day cheer programs, or both!
Standing Out From the Competition
Like any scholarship, cheer scholarships are competitive. To earn money for your education, you’ll have to stand out.
Highlighting Skills and Achievements: To be eligible for a Division 1 cheerleading scholarship, you need to be able to make an impact on the squad right away, no matter the position. These coaches look for cheerleaders with elite tumbling, stunting, dance and jump skills. Create a recruiting video to showcase skills: College cheer coaches can’t evaluate every recruit in person. They use videos to get to know the skills of prospective student-athletes. Some programs require videos that showcase specific skills before the student-athlete can try out for the team. It’s important to present your skills and send them to college coaches at the schools you’re interested in. The earlier you get on a coach’s radar, the better chance you have at receiving an invitation to try out and make the squad.
Emphasizing Academics: College coaches highly value recruits who maintain a high GPA and have solid test scores. In fact, some college cheer programs award academic scholarships to student-athletes who maintain a certain GPA.
Demonstrating Well-Roundedness: Make sure that in your applications, you go beyond cheer. Discuss how your experience as a cheerleader has affected your work ethic, your values, and your morals. Be sure to emphasize how you have balanced cheer with schoolwork, other extracurriculars, and your personal life.
Crafting a Compelling Essay: Writing scholarship essays is no easy feat, but we are here to help! Try out our resources on starting and ending a scholarship essay, responding to a “Why do you deserve this scholarship?” prompt, writing about yourself, and writing a 250 or 500 word essay. Once you’ve got those down, try our complete guide to writing a winning scholarship essay.
Specific Scholarship Opportunities
Here are some examples of cheerleading scholarships and related programs:
CCA Cheer Scholar Program: Recognizes athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4-point scale) or 4.0 or higher (on a 5-point scale). Junior and Senior athletes will be awarded a packet of scholarship awards from several Christian colleges who are a part of our scholarship program. Some are cheerleading scholarships and require securing a team position. Others are academic scholarships that require admission to the college or university as well as specific ACT or SAT scores.
Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches Scholarships: Awards $1,000 to high school seniors in Wisconsin who are on a cheer team and whose coaches are WACPC members.
Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan Scholarship: Awards between $1,500 and $6,000 to multiple applicants who submit the best essays answering "How Competitive Cheer has Impacted my Life."
Brandon Couch Perseverance and Leadership Award: A $2,000 award that considers student-athletes, team managers, student trainers, and cheerleaders who exhibit leadership, kindness, helpfulness, integrity, dedication, and sportsmanship.
NSHSS Student Athlete Scholarships: Awards $2,000 to three dedicated student-athletes who are passionate about and excel in their respective sports. Applicants must be NSHSS members in any grade of high school.
TrophyCentral Sportsmanship Scholarship Award: Offers $1,000 to an eligible high school senior who submits a written statement about their sportsmanship or acts of compassion.
Athlete Honors Scholarship Program: Annually awards between $500 and $1,000 to multiple high school juniors and seniors who have competed at any AmeriCheer Family of Brands competition.
Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association (OCCA) Scholarships: Awards scholarships totaling a minimum of $1,000 to Oregon High School and/or All-Star Gym Cheerleaders graduating in the class of 2026.
College Cheerleading Programs
If you’re looking to cheer in college, there’s a bunch of great universities to choose from - spread out all over the country. Some of these include the University of Kentucky, the University of Hawaii, University of Minnesota, and the University of Southern California. UCLA offers the Spirit Squad scholarship to its cheer team, as well as the dance team and mascots.
Additional Tips for Securing Cheerleading Scholarships
Attend College Clinics: College clinics are an important part of the recruiting process because they’re designed to teach recruits what skills and routines will be performed at that school’s tryouts. Recruits learn sideline cheers, stunts and the fight song, as well as the skills needed to compete on that squad.
Consider Attending a College Cheerleading Combine: Hosted by groups like USA Cheer, the national governing body for the sport, combines allow cheerleaders to show off their skills for coaches. The events are held in regional hubs, and attract coaches from around the country.
Know Your Best College Fit: Make sure the school is both an academic and athletic fit. Know the coach’s desired qualifications, review the team’s roster, follow their social media, view competition footage and review the school’s necessary academic acceptance information to best understand if you’d be accepted into the school and receive a spot on the squad.
Supplementing Cheerleading Scholarships
Almost all college cheerleaders supplement their athletic scholarships with other forms of aid to bring down their total college cost. While they most commonly receive funding from the college with need-based aid and academic scholarships, another avenue they can explore is applying for scholarships through cheerleading organizations and professional associations.
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