Most soccer families start the recruiting process believing in two possible outcomes: a full scholarship, or nothing. Neither picture is accurate. Soccer is an equivalency scholarship sport at every division level where athletic aid exists, which means coaches divide a pool of money across their roster however they choose. A coach can offer your athlete 15%, or 40%, or 75% — whatever fits within the program's total scholarship budget. Full rides happen, but they're rare. And the families who understand how the math actually works are the ones who make smarter decisions about which schools to target and which offers to accept.
The other thing most families don't know: men's and women's soccer have significantly different scholarship limits at D1. That difference shapes everything about how coaches recruit at each level, and it changes what a competitive offer looks like depending on the program.
How soccer scholarships actually work
Soccer uses the equivalency model, not the headcount model. In a headcount sport (women's volleyball, D1 basketball), every scholarship must be a full ride. In an equivalency sport, the coaching staff has a pool of money equivalent to a certain number of full scholarships, and they can divide it any way they want.
The NCAA doesn't mandate how a coach distributes equivalency money. A D1 women's soccer program with 14 scholarships could give one player a full ride, ten players partial awards, and twelve players nothing. Or it could spread money more evenly across the whole roster. The distribution depends on how the coach values positional scarcity, roster balance, and recruiting leverage.
This has two practical consequences for families. First, when a coach mentions "scholarship money," that tells you almost nothing on its own. The only question that matters is: "What percentage of a full scholarship are you offering, and what does that dollar amount actually cover at your school?" Second, a partial offer that looks small in percentage terms can represent significant money depending on the school's cost of attendance. A 30% scholarship at a school where cost of attendance is $65,000 per year is worth $19,500 annually — more than some full athletic scholarships at lower-cost schools.
Soccer scholarship limits by division
These are per-program limits — what each school is allowed to offer across its entire roster. They are not per-player limits.
| Division | Men's scholarships | Women's scholarships | Type |
|---|
| NCAA D1 | 9.9 | 14 | Equivalency |
| NCAA D2 | 9 | 9.9 | Equivalency |
| NCAA D3 | 0 | 0 | None (merit/need-based aid only) |
| NAIA | 12 | 12 | Equivalency |
| NJCAA D1 | 18 | 18 | Equivalency |
| NJCAA D2 | 9 | 9 | Equivalency |
The men's vs. women's D1 gap deserves attention. Women's D1 programs have 14 scholarships — 41% more than the 9.9 available to men's programs. Both sports field rosters of 25–30 players. The math is straightforward: women's programs can distribute money to more players, and the average partial award tends to be larger. Men's D1 soccer is the more financially constrained side of the sport.
NAIA is worth noting here. At 12 scholarships for both men's and women's programs — more than D1 men's soccer — NAIA can offer meaningful equivalency money in smaller, less competitive environments. For athletes who aren't D1 caliber but have strong technical ability, NAIA soccer programs are regularly overlooked and often actively recruiting.
What a realistic scholarship offer looks like
At D1, the average scholarship offer in men's soccer falls somewhere between 20% and 40% of a full scholarship. Women's D1 programs, with 14 equivalencies, can offer slightly more per player on average — 30% to 50% is common, though elite programs that recruit international players often concentrate money at the top of the roster and offer less to depth players.
At D2, total scholarship pools are smaller, but D2 schools often combine athletic aid with academic merit aid in ways that D1 programs can't. A D2 school might offer 20% athletic scholarship plus a 15% merit award based on academic credentials — yielding a 35% total discount that competes with many D1 partial offers. Families targeting D2 should always ask whether athletic and academic aid can be stacked, and run the net price calculator on the school's website to understand what the actual out-of-pocket cost will be.
D3 programs offer zero athletic scholarship dollars. That doesn't mean D3 is automatically more expensive than D1 or D2 — the coach can advocate in admissions, merit aid and need-based aid can be generous, and D3 schools vary widely in institutional aid generosity. But the financial aid calculation at D3 is entirely separate from the recruiting process.
One parent in our research described an experience common in soccer: their daughter received D1 interest that materialized as 15% partial offers from two programs, while a D2 program close to home offered a 40% package. They initially dismissed the D2 offer because of the division label. When they calculated actual four-year costs, the D2 program was $80,000 cheaper over four years. The division label and the financial reality pointed in opposite directions.
How to evaluate a partial scholarship offer
A scholarship offer is a number that needs to be converted to dollars before it means anything.
Step 1: Get the cost of attendance.
Every school publishes a "cost of attendance" figure that includes tuition, room, board, books, and a personal expense allowance. This is different from tuition alone. A $55,000 cost-of-attendance school with a 30% scholarship offer means $16,500 off — and $38,500 still owed per year.
Step 2: Ask what the scholarship covers.
Some scholarships cover tuition and fees only. Others cover tuition, room, and board. The coach's percentage may refer to a specific subset of total costs. Confirm exactly what's included in writing.
Step 3: Ask whether aid can stack.
At many schools, athletic scholarships can be combined with academic merit awards and need-based institutional grants. This matters more at D2 than D1, but it's worth asking at every level.
Step 4: Ask about renewal.
NCAA athletic scholarships are awarded one year at a time. Ask the coach directly: "Under what conditions would this scholarship not be renewed?" Most scholarships are renewed routinely, but injury, transfer, or coaching changes can affect them.
Step 5: Calculate the four-year total.
A 25% scholarship at a $65,000/year school costs your family $195,000 over four years. A 50% scholarship at a $35,000/year school costs $70,000 over four years. The percentage is a distraction. The number you need is the four-year out-of-pocket cost, and the only way to get it accurately is to run the net price calculator on each school's website.
The bottom line
Soccer is not a full-ride sport for most athletes. It's a sport where partial scholarships — 20%, 30%, 50% — are the norm, where the average offer looks nothing like the full rides families see on social media, and where a 25% offer at a school your family can't afford is worth less than a 20% offer at a school with lower sticker cost and stacking academic aid.
The families who navigate this well are the ones who do the math. Run the net price calculator on every school generating real interest. Ask coaches exactly what percentage they're offering and what it covers. Don't dismiss D2 or NAIA programs because the division label sounds less prestigious — the financial aid outcomes at D2 and NAIA are often better than families expect. And before building a target list, make sure your family has a realistic number for what you can afford per year — that number should filter every school you put on the list, not just the financial aid offer that comes at the end.
For a broader look at how scholarships work across all sports and divisions, college athletic scholarships walks through the head count vs. equivalency framework in full detail. If you're still orienting to the soccer recruiting process as a whole — timelines, what coaches look for, when to start outreach — the soccer college recruiting timeline covers the full picture.