The first time you need to consider whether America is a possibility for your daughter is in year 9 at school when she takes her options. To be eligible for America she will need to pass her SAT and have GCSEs in English, maths, a science and a social science.
Many students don’t elect a social science, and as a consequence they have to go back and take a further GCSE before being eligible. These GCSEs must represent a grade of “C” average and the higher the average GCSE grade, the lower the SAT requirement.
GBTG recommend that the SAT is taken in the first year after GCSEs while maths and english are still fresh in their minds and then given that it can be taken multiple times this provides the best chance of getting the highest possible score.
Another eligibility criteria is that if your daughter wants to compete in NCAA college tennis, she will only have a six month window from when she ceases to be in full-time education before beginning in America. She cannot, say, leave school after her GCSEs, play for a couple of years, and then decide to go to university in the States. Also, by full-time, it is usually considered that she needs to be doing a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent qualifications. There is more than one USA college pathway and please look out for our guide to college tennis which is coming soon.
The Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence is not needed for America, however it can count as an A-level equivalent when taken alongside others.
There are several companies offering university scholarship placement services, and prices range from £750 to £1200. Although GBTG have no direct recommendations, a simple Google search will bring up the names of the many companies who provide this service.