If you are a high school student-athlete who has the goal of playing any college sport at the NCAA Division I or Division II level you must submit your "core" class high school transcripts and standardized test scores (ACT or SAT) to the NCAA Clearinghouse.
Division III
These requirements currently do not apply to Division III colleges, where eligibility for financial aid, practice and competition is governed by institutional, conference and other NCAA regulations.
Right now (after the Christmas holiday) break is the best time to go to work on this. Why now and not at the end of your junior year? My reasoning is that soon the high school baseball season will start and it will be too easy to put this very important piece of the recruiting puzzle off to the side and forget about it.
Here is what the NCAA recommends:
"Students should register with the clearinghouse after the completion of their junior year in high school. At this time, a transcript, which includes six semesters of grades, should be sent to the clearinghouse from the high school. Additionally, students should have their SAT or ACT test scores forwarded directly to the clearinghouse whenever they take the exam."
You can send your Clearinghouse forms in early -- it will not delay the process. At the end of your junior year you simply ask your high school guidance counselor to forward your transcript (updated).
Your final transcript (at the end of your senior year) will also have to be sent to the NCAA, by your high school.
How Do I Get The Clearinghouse Information?
Your school guidance counselor should have the NCAA packages, they are free.
From the NCAA:
"Your counselors can obtain registration materials, at no cost, by calling the clearinghouse at 319/337-1492."
In order to be registered with the clearinghouse, you must complete the student-release form and mail or fax the top (white) copy of the form to the clearinghouse along with the $27 registration fee. Give the yellow and pink copies of the form to a high-school official who then sends the yellow copy, along with an official copy of your high-school transcript, to the clearinghouse. Your high school should keep the pink copy for its files. After graduation and before the school closes for the summer, your school also must send the clearinghouse a copy of your final transcript that confirms graduation from high school.
Several additional points about the NCAA's initial-eligibility requirements should be emphasized:
