Academic Performance

Regardless of your pathway beyond Berkeley High School, the stronger your academic record (GPA, SAT/ACT, course load), the more competitive you will be within the admission and recruiting process. Athletic programs want strong, capable and resourceful students that don't just complete the bare minimum. They want athletes who know their role as a student, understand time management, and how to access resources that help amplify their academic outcomes.

The basic expectation for academic performance should be obvious: the higher your grades, the better. A student with a 3.0 GPA is far more academically prepared than a student hovering around a 2.50 GPA. In fact, even though the minimum GPA qualifer to participate in BHS athletics is a 2.0 for each grading period preceding the start of a season, the baseline GPA for NCAA-bound Division I athletes to play beginning their freshman year is 2.30. Any student between a 2.0 and a 2.3 may still earn admission to the university, but will have to red shirt their freshman year.

Academic Coursework: Every student at BHS follows a pre-determined academic pathway to graduate. From this coursework, the NCAA Clearinghouse monitors academic readiness with their core course requirements. The core course requirements are fulfilled from English, math, science, social and specifically-approved electives. If a student takes and passes all the courses deemed appropriate by the standard BHS pathway, they will fulfill the NCAA requirements with room to spare. However, if a student needs to retake certain courses because of failing grades, they will lose some of their latitude.

During your first meeting with the Athletics academic support provider you will learn about the NCAA Clearinghouse and the GPA and SAT/ACT threshold that you must fulfill in order to be eligible to play in Division I, II or III and/or the NAIA.  The TSA will go over your specific academic record and help you determine your successes and areas for focus.  Moreover, while the TSA is not a counselor, they will work with your counselor in order to make sure the right classes are taken so that you are eligible upon graduating from high school.