If you've been searching for squash scholarships in America, start with the fact that will save your family the most time and money: they barely exist. College squash is not an NCAA sport, and the programmes your child would most want to play for are at universities that give no athletic money at all.
That's less bad than it sounds, because squash offers one of the best admissions advantages in American university sport. For a strong junior player with decent grades, it can mean a real shot at universities that are effectively closed to everyone else. You just have to know what you're actually chasing.
How US college squash is organised
Intercollegiate squash in the United States is governed by the College Squash Association, a body supported by US Squash, and not by the NCAA. There are varsity programmes for men and for women, plus a substantial number of club teams. The CSA's national team championships are held in early March. The CSA has said publicly that it wants to grow to 40 varsity teams on each side.
Because the NCAA isn't involved, there are no NCAA scholarship limits to talk about, and no NCAA rules capping what a programme can offer. In practice this doesn't help you, because the strongest programmes are concentrated at institutions that don't give athletic scholarships as a matter of policy: the Ivy League by conference rule, and the top liberal-arts colleges because Division III forbids athletic aid entirely.
| Where the strong programmes are | Examples | Athletic money |
|---|---|---|
| Ivy League | Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown | None. Ivy rule. |
| Top Division III colleges | Trinity (CT), Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Haverford | None. Division III rule. |
| Other varsity programmes | Drexel, Rochester, St. Lawrence, Franklin & Marshall, Naval Academy | Varies by programme. Division III schools give none, and the CSA says only a few teams can offer any athletic aid. |
| Club programmes | Many large universities | None, and no recruiting support. |
Trinity College in Connecticut is worth noting for European families, because it's a Division III liberal-arts college that has been a national squash power for decades and recruits internationally. Harvard, Princeton, and Penn have all been at or near the top of the men's and women's rankings in recent seasons.
What you're actually competing for
The prize in squash recruiting is a coach's support in the admissions process. At a university with a single-digit acceptance rate, that support can decide the outcome. Squash rosters are small, the recruiting pool is international, and Ivy coaches actively watch the junior events that UK and European players already enter. A player who would be a long shot as a general applicant can become a likely admit as a supported recruit.
Two other things come with it. Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, for example, meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students and are need-blind for international applicants, and other selective colleges have similar policies, so a family that qualifies can end up paying far less than the sticker price.
For most players, a partial squash scholarship isn't on the table, but a coach-supported place at Harvard or Williams can be, and that's worth more.
What coaches actually look at
Squash coaches recruit from results they can interpret and from relationships. For a UK or European junior, the things that get read are:
- Results at events American coaches follow. The British Junior Open is widely regarded as one of the biggest events in junior squash, and coaches pay close attention to it. European Junior Championships results, national championship placings, and county or regional finals all help.
- Rankings. England Squash, Scottish Squash, and other national junior rankings; European Squash Federation rankings; and any PSA ranking, which carries real weight even at the bottom of the professional list.
- US Squash rating. If your child has played in the US at all, they may have one, and coaches use it to calibrate against domestic recruits. If they haven't, don't invent an equivalence; give the coach results and let them judge.
- Video. Full games, not highlight reels. Coaches want to see movement, length, and how a player builds a point, none of which survives editing.
- Trajectory. A player who has improved sharply over two seasons is more interesting than a player who peaked at 15.
The CSA itself makes a point that surprises families: juniors routinely underestimate whether they're recruitable, rankings aren't always the best guide to a player's potential, and communicating directly with coaches matters more than the number next to your name. Plenty of players end up on varsity rosters as walk-ons. If your child loves the game and is willing to train, there is very likely a team somewhere in the CSA.
Why the test score decides more squash recruitments than the squash does
Most families don't see this coming. Because squash's strongest programmes are all at academically selective universities, every serious recruitment runs through an academic pre-read, and coaches have a limited budget of academic latitude to spend.
Ivy League universities use an Academic Index for recruited athletes, combining converted grades with SAT or ACT scores; the figures are not published, and coaches commonly describe it as a band that each team's recruits must average within. A coach therefore has only a limited number of "low index" slots per year, perhaps one or two in a sport with rosters as small as squash.
Now consider the coach's position. Two juniors, similar British Junior Open results, similar trajectory. One has an SAT score near the university's median; the other has no score, or a weak one. The first costs the coach nothing. The second costs them a scarce slot they may need for an exceptional player. It's an easy call for the coach, and it happens every recruiting cycle.
Because the athletic gaps between the top junior recruits in squash are narrow, the academic number is very often the actual tiebreaker. Our page on the SAT and ACT for recruited athletes sets out target ranges by tier and explains the Academic Index in full, and the pre-read guide explains the 1 July deadline the whole plan works backwards from.
For an academically strong player the work is usually smaller than expected: a British student doing A-level or IB maths already knows most of the maths the SAT tests. What's missing is normally Desmos technique, a handful of American terms, and practice with the adaptive format. See SAT vs GCSE maths.
Timeline for a UK or European squash player
| School year | Squash | Academics |
|---|---|---|
| Year 11 | Compete at the British Junior Open and national events. Build a target list of 12-20 CSA programmes across tiers. Start filming full games. | Take a practice SAT and a practice ACT over the summer; pick one. Book a spring Year 12 test date early; UK centres fill months ahead. |
| Year 12, autumn | Email coaches directly with results, ranking, video, and academic details. Squash coaches read these; the sport is small enough that a good email gets a reply. | Begin preparation. One session a week fits around training. |
| Year 12, spring | British Junior Open and European results. Update coaches after each event. | Sit the SAT in March, May or June (6 March, 1 May or 5 June 2027) or the ACT in February, April, June or July (international dates: 12-13 February, 2-3 April, 11-12 June or 9-10 July 2027). Retake if needed. |
| Summer after Year 12 | Visits where possible. Verbal conversations with coaches become concrete. | Academic pre-reads from 1 July. Score must be in hand. |
| Year 13, autumn | Apply Early Decision or Restrictive Early Action by 1 November. Likely letters follow for Ivy recruits. | Treat a final retake as a backup only. |
Some background on me. Nearly twenty years teaching the SAT and ACT, and I played college basketball at St. Mary's College and Whittier College. I recently helped a fencing recruit earn a perfect 36 on the ACT, which led to his recruitment at Johns Hopkins. Across my students, families have received more than $200,000 in scholarships.
From a family in Germany. "Blake's SAT preparation was a game-changer for my son, especially as an international student aiming for a top score to secure admission to highly competitive US colleges. Blake's personalized strategies and patient, encouraging guidance were instrumental in boosting my son's score by an impressive 110 points. This improvement definitely played a significant role in helping him get into one of his dream schools."
Daria Salus, SAT parent (Google review)
Get the academic side right
See what score your target programmes need: Do you need the SAT or ACT to be recruited? Then see how tutoring works for UK and European students, or the individual pages: SAT tutoring, Digital SAT tutoring, ACT tutoring, all available online. Sessions run 4pm-7pm UK and 5pm-8pm Central European time, so they fit after school and around training. Or get in touch for a free 15-minute call.
New to US recruiting? Start with US university sports recruitment explained for UK and European families, or compare squash with other sports on which US sports actually give scholarships. Other sports: rowing, fencing, tennis, golf, sailing. Planning the year: SAT timeline for UK students.
Frequently asked questions
Are there any squash scholarships in the USA?
Very few, and not at the programmes most families want. Squash isn't an NCAA sport, and its strongest teams are at Ivy League and Division III institutions where athletic aid is prohibited. A handful of other varsity programmes may offer some assistance, but you should not plan around athletic money in squash.
What is the College Squash Association?
The governing body for intercollegiate varsity squash in the United States, supported by US Squash. It runs the team rankings and the national team championships in early March. It is separate from the NCAA.
How good does a UK junior need to be?
For Ivy and top Division III recruitment, generally a player competing at the sharp end of national junior events with credible British Junior Open results. But the CSA is broad: with 60-plus men's and 40-plus women's teams including club programmes, players well outside that level find places. Contact coaches rather than assuming from a ranking.
Does the British Junior Open matter to American coaches?
Yes. It's widely regarded as one of the biggest junior events in squash, and US college coaches follow it.
Do I need an agency to be recruited for squash?
No. Squash is a small, well-connected sport, and coaches routinely respond to direct emails from players with real results. What an agency cannot do is raise your Academic Index.
What SAT or ACT score does a squash recruit need?
It depends on the university. Coaches commonly talk about roughly SAT 1400-1520 or ACT 31-34 for supported Ivy League recruits, though no university publishes a range, and a score closer to the university's median makes a coach's job much easier. See our SAT and ACT page for targets by tier.
Programme counts and rankings reflect the 2025-26 CSA season. Policies and rosters change; confirm current details with each university and the CSA.