Is Student Athlete Scholars Legit or Scam? Here’s the truth you have been waiting for. Being a student athlete can open many doors, but it also comes with unique challenges.
Finding scholarships as a student athlete can be difficult, so many turn to outside organizations promising help. One such program gaining attention is Student Athlete Scholarships (SAS).
But are their scholarship guarantees and assistance legitimate, or is SAS actually a scam preying on student athletes? In this in-depth article, we’ll take a close look at Student Athlete Scholars and determine whether they deliver on their promises or not.
Also Read: Is Student Athlete Scholarship Organizations Legit or a Scam?
What is Student Athlete Scholars?
Student Athlete Scholars, or SAS, is a for-profit company that claims to help student athletes find and secure scholarships for college. Founded in 2012, SAS works exclusively with high school student athletes to guide them through the scholarship process.
Their main promise is a “full ride scholarship guarantee”, meaning they guarantee to find scholarships covering full tuition, room, board, and fees or your money back.
On the surface, this seems like a great deal for student athletes struggling to pay for college. But are these types of blanket guarantees too good to be true? Let’s examine exactly what SAS offers and how they operate to see if their programs truly deliver or merely promise more than can be realized.
Student Athlete Scholars Programs and Services
Student Athlete Scholars offers two main programs and services to help student athletes:
Scholarship Guarantee Program – For a fee of $2,495, SAS promises to find a full-ride scholarship for the student athlete’s choice of colleges and sports. If they are unable to secure full funding, the student gets their money back.
Elite Prospect Program – For $8,495, Student Athlete Scholarships provides “premium” recruiting services including highlight video production, exposure at tournaments/showcases, private coaching, and application assistance. They claim this virtually guarantees multiple full-ride scholarship offers.
In addition to these programs, Student Athlete Scholars offers consultations and free resources on their website about the recruiting process. They have a database of over 15,000 colleges claimed to help match athletes to the right schools. SAS consultants also provide profile evaluations, resume assistance, and editing of essays, applications, and letters of interest.
So at first glance, their full-service approach targeting both recruiting optics and backend application/matching support seems potentially valuable for student athletes. But do their programs truly deliver as promised?
Let’s examine real customer experiences and analytics to see if Student Athlete Scholars is legit or a scam.
Is Student Athlete Scholars Legit or Scam?
Upon extensive research, nearly all independent reviews of Student Athlete Scholars paint them as a scam rather than a legit operation. Here are some of the main issues routinely reported:
No evidence any students actually received the “full-ride scholarship guarantee”. Numerous complaint posts say Student Athlete Scholarships failed to deliver any scholarship offers after payment.
Overly broad and unrealistic promises. Guaranteeing a full-ride to any school for any sport is statistically very unlikely given scholarship limitations.
Lack of transparency. Student Athlete Scholars refuses to divulge specifics on placement rates, average aid amounts, represented students/alumni, or list of schools/sports actually placed.
Aggressive sales tactics. Many reviews note pushy consultants pressuring for quick decisions and downplaying feasibility of promises made.
Questionable credentials. Student Athlete Scholars consultants have no proven history of recruiting success or documented placements to back their claims.
Failure to respond to complaints. Numerous posts from dissatisfied customers note inability to get refunds or any substantive response from Student Athlete Scholars.
Deceptive/misleading website. Pages imply greater legitimacy through NCAA affiliate labels but no official partnership actually exists.
Considering the overwhelming consistency in these complaints across many review platforms, it’s difficult to view SAS as anything other than a scam preying on student athletes under the guise of helpful recruiting services. Their refusal to substantiate flashy promises or address real customer grievances raises major red flags.
Let’s explore one example in more depth.
Student Athlete Scholars Story: “It Was 100% a Scam”
To get a firsthand account, I came across a post on the Reddit college athletics page from a student who went through the Student Athlete Scholarship process. Paying the $2,495 for their scholarship guarantee program, he had high hopes. But it ended up being a frustrating experience:
“Student Athlete Scholars strung me along for months with promises of scholarships coming any day. But the deadline came and went with nothing. Every time I pressed for answers, they had an excuse. Finally when I demanded a refund as guaranteed, they refused and stopped responding to me altogether. It was 100% a scam that wasted almost a year of my recruiting timeline.”
This student went on to explain how SAS consultants pressured him to put all his recruiting efforts through them rather than working angles on his own. They downplayed concerns over feasibility and kept reassuring more offers were right around the corner. Ultimately, no legitimate offers materialized as promised.
Stories like this are far too common in independent reviews. Despite Student Athlete Scholarship claims of many placements over the years, not a single verifiable success story from a real student could be found across extensive searches.
Aggregate consumer reviews also rate Student Athlete Scholars a dismal 1-star or below universally. This overwhelming preponderance of evidence makes it clear SAS is very likely not operating on the level.
The Reality: Scholarships are Hugely Competitive
So while the concept of Student Athlete Scholars services may seem ideal, the reality is recruiting for athletic scholarships is an extremely competitive process with no guarantees. A few key facts put SAS’s promises into proper context:
- Only about 2% of high school athletes end up receiving athletic scholarships each year, even for premier sports like football and basketball. The odds are stacked against anyone expecting guaranteed assistance.
- Colleges have limited scholarship funds to spread across an entire team. While walk-ons may eventually earn aid, promises of matching any athlete to any school are unrealistically broad.
- Scholarship amounts depend entirely on the individual evaluation of a student athlete’s talent and fit within a team by college coaches. Outside companies have no direct influence.
- The recruitment timeline is lengthy, often taking over a year. Legitimate athletic placements require ongoing relationship cultivation, not quick results trainable by for-profit services.
Given these inherent difficulties, any organization guaranteeing specific scholarship outcomes without transparency on success rates seems very suspect. And considering Student Athlete Scholarships refuses to share placement stats or details, their legitimacy remains unproven at best – and likely a scam based on preponderance of evidence.
Avoiding Scholarship Application Scams
As the cost of college continues rising, more student athletes will logically seek outside help to boost recruiting chances. But it’s crucial to be wary of organizations that promise unrealistic scholarship guarantees without transparency. Some tips for avoiding scholarship scams include:
- Research any company thoroughly, checking multiple independent reviews rather than just their own marketing.
- Beware of blanket promises that sound too good to be true, like 100% placement rates regardless of talent level or competitiveness of the sport.
- Ask for transparent data on placement rates by sport and school, as well as contact details of past clients as references.
- Don’t rely solely on outside companies for recruiting – develop your own relationships directly with coaches too.
- Consider lower-cost or free advising options from high school guidance counselors and college coaches first before paying thousands out of pocket.
- Verify an organization is legitimately helping you develop as an athlete and student holistically, not just focused on quick scholarship profits.
- Never pay any company upfront or sign exclusive representation contracts before securing real offers in writing.
Weighing all available information, Student Athlete Scholars fails to meet standards of transparency, client references, independent verification, and realistic promise-making. All signs point to them operating more as a recruiting scam than legitimate placement service.
Student athletes deserve better than opaque “guarantees” that seem designed more for sales than student success. With diligence, athletes can avoid becoming victims of scholarship-promising recruitment mills like SAS appears to be.
Student Athletes Scholarship Scam: Focus on Your Talent, Not Guarantees
In the end, no outside company should be able to “guarantee” athletic scholarship outcomes – that control lies with student athletes and college coaches alone. While recruitment assistance services may potentially provide value, legitimacy requires verified results rather than vague promises. For students, the wisest approach is focusing inward:
- Develop your skills, stats, and credentials as an athlete through competition and rigorous training over years.
- Maintain excellent grades and test scores to appeal to academic standards of schools considering you.
- Take initiative building relationships directly with coaches whose programs suit your abilities.
- Highlight character and leadership through volunteering, awards, and stellar recommendations.
- Consider all postsecondary options, not just Division I or full-ride expectations that set you up for disappointment.
Real opportunity arises from honing your gifts and work ethic, not empty outside guarantees. With diligent preparation and marketing of proven talent, student athletes can feel secure pursuing their dreams without needing to gamble on questionable quick-fix schemes.
By concentrating on athletic development and leadership firsthand, any recruitment help received stands to genuinely enhance existing merit rather than promise results unlikely to materialize. With passion and perseverance, every dedicated student athlete controls their own future.
In summary, while Student Athlete Scholarships and similar programs present themselves as helpful solutions, available evidence strongly suggests they are more scam than legitimate placement service. Student athletes deserve transparency into real placement outcomes if trusting organizations with their recruiting process and thousands in fees.
Considering SAS refuses to provide basic data to substantiate promises while complaints of lackluster results abound, they do not appear to operate with the integrity or student-first mission claimed. Their flowery guarantees seem designed more to profit off aspirations than deliver valuable assistance.
Until proven otherwise through independently verifiable outcome reports, approaches like SAS should be regarded with high caution or avoided entirely.
The Lessons of SAS: Trust Must Be Earned in Recruiting
For any student athlete questioning services like Student Athlete Scholarships, some valuable lessons emerge:
- Trust is not a right but something that must be earned over time through proven track records, not just positive marketing.
- Outcomes matter most – be wary of organizations refusing transparency into real placement rates and client satisfaction.
- Beware promises that sound too good to be true without limiters on sports/school fits or talent qualification caveats.
- No outside party can guarantee college coaching decisions highly dependent on individual evaluation.
- Free and prudent options through guidance counseling deserve consideration before pricey guarantees.
- Develop your abilities firsthand as an athlete and leader rather than gambling on quick recruiting fixes.
While help from knowledgeable advisors can boost exposure, the control lies with each student’s documented preparation and appeal to prospective coaches. Package marketing alone rarely supplants merit in the selective recruiting world.
Going forward, aspiring athletes would do well focusing on organic development and relationship building within their reachover questionable paid guarantees of uncertain benefit. With patience and perseverance, opportunity finds the proactively prepared.
In the absence of transparency Student Athlete Scholarships refuses, the balance of information suggests caution is warranted in their case. For legitimate guidance, student athletes are best served developing strong networks within the coaching community directly and weighing affordable assistance options verified by independently verifiable results.
With diligent preparation of abilities, character and fit, every dedicated student athlete holds the power to shape their own path to continued success.
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