NCAA Guidelines for Course Registration

If you are planning to attend a Division I or Division II college you need to start thinking about the courses you are taking. You should consider the following: the core courses required, if you have repeated a grade or gone to an International HS, and what you need to do. NCAA has specific requirements for eligibility.

Core Courses Required

There are 16 core course requirements for a Division I and II colleges.

Course	Division I	Division II
English	4 years	3 years
Math (Algebra I or higher)	3 years	2 years
Natural/Physical Science (1 year of lab if offered by high school)	2 years	2 years
Additional English, math, or natural/physical science	1 year	2 years
Social Science	2 years	2 years
Additional Courses (in foreign language, nondoctrinal religion/philosophy, or any area listed above)	4 years	3 years

Repeating a Grade

From the time you enter ninth grade for the first time, you have four years or eight semesters to complete your core-course requirement. This is critically important for students who have repeated a grade.

When repeating a grade upon entering Deerfield, you may lose NCAA credit for one or more classes-often in English, occasionally in Math-taken at your previous school. If NCAA deems that two courses duplicate each other, they will deny credit for one. As a result, we recommend that Juniors double up on English by adding a senior English. If you would like to appeal their decision, you may submit materials (course descriptions and syllabi) from both courses. The latter works best when you have a Division I or Division II college already interested in you. Otherwise, NCAA will not review your courses until your last year in high school (junior year for repeat students), which is often too late to make a change.

Overt interest from a Division I or II college can be a powerful catalyst. If a college is interested in you, they can act on your behalf in facilitating an early decision of eligibility, which could obviate the need for you to double up on English. Final approval would be based on a completed transcript.

From the time you enter ninth grade, you have four years or eight semesters to complete your core-course requirements. This is specifically important when you are repeating a grade.

You should consider that you might have lost credits for one or more classes taken before entering Deerfield, specifically English or Math. If there is duplication in the curriculum of the class you took at a previous high school and that of DA, you will need to obtain a syllabus of that course from your prior high school. This will help determine if the class is in fact a duplicate or can be counted toward your NCAA course requirements.

What You Need to Do

(This list and more detailed information can be found on the NCAA website.)

Freshman and Sophomores

• Start planning now!
• Work hard to get the best grades possible
• Take classes that match your high school’s list of NCAA courses.
• If you fall behind, use summer school sessions before graduation to catch up.

Juniors (or students in their third-year of eligibility)

• At the beginning of your junior year, log on to the NCAA Eligibility Center website at eligibilitycenter.org and register.
• Register to take the ACT, SAT, or both and use the NCAA Eligibility Center code “9999” as a score recipient. (Test score requirements are listed on the website.)
• Double check to make sure that you are taking courses that match your high school’s list of NCAA courses.
• Request that your high school official transcript be sent to NCAA Eligibility Center after completing your junior year.-No Faxes (go to NCAA Transcript Request form or see Ms. Loveland in Academic Deans Office).
• Prior to registration for your senior year, check with the academic dean’s office and the NCAA Eligibility Center to determine the number of core courses that need to be completed your senior year.

Failure to meet requirements could result in you not being able to play Division I or Division II sports in college.