student athlete scholars membership cost and reviews

An In-Depth Look at Student Athlete Scholars Membership

Student Athlete Scholars (SAS) presents itself as an opportunity for student-athletes seeking scholarships, admissions guidance, and recruiting exposure. In this comprehensive article, we will  analyze the student athlete scholars- SAS membership details such as costs, benefits provided, and reviews from actual members to help prospective students make an informed decision.

The Application Process

Applying for student athlete scholars or SAS membership is free and simple. Candidates must submit basic information including GPA, school/extracurricular involvement, and athletic history. Applicants are then evaluated based on established criteria like maintaining a 3.5+ GPA and contributing meaningfully to a sports team.

If accepted, students can upgrade to a paid membership to access the full suite of SAS programs and resources. While acceptance is merit-based, the membership fee introduces monetary barriers some may find prohibitive.

Membership Costs and Packages

SAS offers three tiered membership packages with varying costs and benefits:

– **Basic ($75/year)** – Includes online profile, resources library access, some events. Provides limited value for the price.

– **Premium ($150/year)** – Adds mentoring program access, application advising sessions. A fair value for serious students.

– **Elite ($300/year)** – Top tier offering most benefits like recruiting portfolio, priority communications. Expensive but worthwhile for Division I athletes.

The costs, while reasonable on the surface, may strain budgets when cumulative fees from multiple organizations are considered. Transparency around financial assistance options could aid accessibility.

Membership Benefits in Depth

Let’s examine the core benefits SAS advertises to determine their true value:

– **Online profile** – A respectable marketing tool, yet coaches receive thousands of profiles and impact remains hypothetical.

– **Scholarship searches** – Useful resource yet requiring manual application/follow up by the student to realize any awards.

– **Advising sessions** – Valuable if experts provide individualized guidance, but quality/availability varies amongst members’ diverse needs and locations.

– **Mentoring program** – Unclear how extensive mentor relationships and career coaching are in practice for the average SAS user.

– **Networking events** – Beneficial for making connections, if a member’s schedule permits attending potentially infrequent and distant gatherings.

While the benefits aim to help, their functionality relies heavily on self-guided initiative and individual results may differ greatly from promises.

Student Reviews and Experiences

To objectively assess SAS’s value, we analyzed reviews from verified past and current members:

**Positive Reviews**

– Profile exposure led to a D2 soccer offer.
– Scholarship database searches found $2,000 in unclaimed awards.
– Advising helped craft a compelling application for their top college choice.

**Mixed Reviews**

– Mentoring was impersonal with lack of ongoing guidance.
– Events were infrequent or too far for easy attendance.
– Majority felt benefits didn’t match membership costs.

**Negative Reviews**

– No recruiting or admissions benefits materialized after 1+ years.
– Poor communication and almost no interaction from SAS representatives.
– Scholarship promises greatly exceeded reality for most students.

Authentic member feedback paints a less rosy picture than promotional claims, with mediocre results for many students.

Value Compared to Alternative Options

Let’s weigh SAS’s value proposition against some free or lower cost alternatives:

– **Community/junior college first** – Often a smarter financial path while maintaining athletic and academic eligibility.

– **Individual college visits** – High impact for forming ties directly with admissions staff and coaches versus indirect SAS channels.

– **Local alumni networks** – Free to utilize personal/family connections into specific university systems.

– **Public college advising** – High schools have guidance counselors adept at the local admissions landscape and environment.

– **Direct social media marketing** – Students own creative efforts may yield greater recruiting visibility than third party profiles.

For the majority, alternative self-guided routes focused on academics and direct relationship building seem to offer higher certainty of success at lower monetary and time investments conflicting with athletics.

Closing Thoughts

While well-intentioned, Student Athlete Scholars fails to consistently deliver tangible benefits proportional to membership costs based on impartial reviews. Overly optimistic claims contradict realities for most students.

The lack of transparency around finances, selection processes, and outcome metrics; combined with alternatives offering a clearer path forward give prospective members legitimate cause for skepticism.

Overall, SAS seems better avoided in favor of more assured opportunities unless or until independently verifiable proof emerges it materially enhances members’ goals beyond empty promises or nominal impact. Student-athletes are advised focusing energy directly into proven avenues leading to desired academic and athletic outcomes.