All-Star Cheering In College

[WorkToWin]

So after watching Worlds I am dead set for cheering in college... but NOT on the sidelines. I don't want to cheer for my college. I want to cheer all star though out college on an international team. The problem is there is no way my parents would pay for cheering after high school. I do not have that much money saved at all. Especially since I will be trying to pay for college I have no idea how I would afford it. I can probably get a scholarship somewhere for the most part, which would be nice. I could get my college mostly paid for, and if I worked really hard I could possibly get a full ride depending of course on the college. But STILL, how on earth would any college student afford all star cheerleading? I love cheer so much that I would base my school on what's close to the team I chose. My current gym and area has no international teams, so it would also require out of state tuition. So has any one on here done international teams and made it work financially some how? Am I being unrealistic and need to take the 2nd best option and just cheer for my school? Thanks.

 

[SandeRae]

Unfortunately thats not an easy decesion to make. I know how conflicted you must feel because I am somewhat in the same predicament. Ill be going off to college next year, out of state, and there are going to be a lot of allstar gyms near by where I could cheer on an international team if I wanted to. My university (Auburn) also has a cheerleading team BUT I cannot try out until my sophomore year and its strictly sideline. Im so conficted in what to choose. I personally did not make my school decision based on gyms near by, that just happened to be a bonus. If I were you, dont base your school decision on cheerleading gyms. You have to attend school there for 4+ years and thats going to take up WAY more of your time than cheer. You have to be happy with what your doing in school so your not miserable because that could affect the rest of your life. Money wise, we all know cheerleading and college combined means huge exspenses. If you can get scholarships like you said. Apply for a buch (they have scholarships for like everything). Also see if and how much your parents or someone in your family is willing to contribute. If they know how important this is to you maybe they will budege a little bit. Also just keep saving money. And think about getting a part time job? I know it sounds like a lot but if you want it bad enough youll just have to make it happen any way. If you do decide to cheer allstar try talking to the gym about money. Maybe you can work for the gym to help cut tuition costs? Just some ideas. I hope it works out for you

 

[Ashley]

So after watching Worlds I am dead set for cheering in college... but NOT on the sidelines. I don't want to cheer for my college. I want to cheer all star though out college on an international team. The problem is there is no way my parents would pay for cheering after high school. I do not have that much money saved at all. Especially since I will be trying to pay for college I have no idea how I would afford it. I can probably get a scholarship somewhere for the most part, which would be nice. I could get my college mostly paid for, and if I worked really hard I could possibly get a full ride depending of course on the college. But STILL, how on earth would any college student afford all star cheerleading? I love cheer so much that I would base my school on what's close to the team I chose. My current gym and area has no international teams, so it would also require out of state tuition. So has any one on here done international teams and made it work financially some how? Am I being unrealistic and need to take the 2nd best option and just cheer for my school? Thanks.

International teams (at least the Level 6 teams I've been on) are cheap compared to younger teams. My parents stopped paying for cheering when I graduated high school as well. You'll have to come up with comp fees, some open teams try and go really cheap with the uniforms, and tuition. I actually don't pay tuition on my team this year, my coach donates his time, but it was around $30/mo for the teams I did in the past. If you go to Worlds or have lots of travel expenses, then yes, it can add up. But college loans means you don't really have a bill until you graduate, and if you get a part time job you should be able to pay for cheering.

Also, choosing a college based on the open team you decide to do, is a bad, bad idea IMO.

 

[WorkToWin]

International teams (at least the Level 6 teams I've been on) are cheap compared to younger teams. My parents stopped paying for cheering when I graduated high school as well. You'll have to come up with comp fees, some open teams try and go really cheap with the uniforms, and tuition. I actually don't pay tuition on my team this year, my coach donates his time, but it was around $30/mo for the teams I did in the past. If you go to Worlds or have lots of travel expenses, then yes, it can add up. But college loans means you don't really have a bill until you graduate, and if you get a part time job you should be able to pay for cheering.

Also, choosing a college based on the open team you decide to do, is a bad, bad idea IMO.

Thanks, what team are you on and what teams were you on? I looked at some of the tryout packages for different gyms and it didn't have anything about international teams having different prices. And yes, I agree about the picking a school thing. I have no idea what school I want to go to however, so finding a school near the gym probably wouldn't be a huge deal. it's not like I would go to a school I didn't like haha. I just mean I couldn't go to a school anywhere near where I am.

 

[WorkToWin]

Also, does anyone happen to know if colleges compete on a spring floor? Do you have to pay to be on a college team? Once again, college cheerleading is definitely my backup plan... or possibly additionally to all star.

 

[Ashley]

Also, does anyone happen to know if colleges compete on a spring floor? Do you have to pay to be on a college team? Once again, college cheerleading is definitely my backup plan... or possibly additionally to all star.

Colleges compete on a hard floor like high school. As for having to pay, it depends on how much support you get from the school. I had to pay for camp and for some clothes and I had to pay my way to college nationals because the school didn't support us competing. But they paid for our uniforms and sneakers and travel to games. If you're on a club team, you probably won't cheer at games, but you'll most likely have to pay for nearly everything. And at some schools you won't have to pay at all, it all depends.

As for your other post. I've been on a few teams in Massachusetts. All of the open teams I've been on only practice once a week and don't compete as much - the gyms know that it's a lot of college students and try and keep costs down the best they can. But if you're looking at international open level 5 teams, which are 14+ you might practice more and pay more because of all the high school kids on it whose parents are paying for it. It really depends on where you cheer at and what you do. Email the gyms and ask about costs for international teams. Also, a lot of open teams are treated differently than the other teams because you're all adults. At Worlds, our international 5 team all stayed together, and the girls in high school still had a curfew, but our open 6 team could stay wherever they wanted to save money and really didn't have to report to the coach as often. Are you looking at international 5 teams? In my experience, they're more serious than level 6 teams, and therefore more expensive. But it's very possible to be able to do both, many of my friends in college were on open teams.

 

[WorkToWin]

Colleges compete on a hard floor like high school. As for having to pay, it depends on how much support you get from the school. I had to pay for camp and for some clothes and I had to pay my way to college nationals because the school didn't support us competing. But they paid for our uniforms and sneakers and travel to games. If you're on a club team, you probably won't cheer at games, but you'll most likely have to pay for nearly everything. And at some schools you won't have to pay at all, it all depends.

As for your other post. I've been on a few teams in Massachusetts. All of the open teams I've been on only practice once a week and don't compete as much - the gyms know that it's a lot of college students and try and keep costs down the best they can. But if you're looking at international open level 5 teams, which are 14+ you might practice more and pay more because of all the high school kids on it whose parents are paying for it. It really depends on where you cheer at and what you do. Email the gyms and ask about costs for international teams. Also, a lot of open teams are treated differently than the other teams because you're all adults. At Worlds, our international 5 team all stayed together, and the girls in high school still had a curfew, but our open 6 team could stay wherever they wanted to save money and really didn't have to report to the coach as often. Are you looking at international 5 teams? In my experience, they're more serious than level 6 teams, and therefore more expensive. But it's very possible to be able to do both, many of my friends in college were on open teams.

i am kind of looking at both, but yes mostly level 5. i want to remain on a worlds team, so it would probably be just as expensive as normal allstar?

 

[Nothanks]

it does get very hard and expensive at times--also factor in whether or not you will have a car to get to and from practices, because that has been my issue a majority of the time.
As for cost, neither of the open teams I've done have had a monthly tuition, but some do, and it's generally cheap. the expensive parts are the choreography fees, music, camps, uniform and competition/travel fees. it really does add up. It's completely do-able (although, I've spent all the money I've been making for the past two years doing it), but does become a little annoying when your friends are going out and you're broke, or want to take the bus home and can't because you have practice all weekend to get ready for a competition. Both of the teams I've been on have practiced once a week---until the few weeks before a competition and then you have to be in there several times.

I'm not trying to scare you away at all, and cheering for the past two years that I've been in college has been something that I will never regret doing, and wish I could continue doing (but after 13 years my body is failing), but a lot of these issues were things I didn't think of until it happened, and ended up very broke and stressed.

 

[Ashley]

i am kind of looking at both, but yes mostly level 5. i want to remain on a worlds team, so it would probably be just as expensive as normal allstar?

I'm not sure. I just went to worlds with my Level 6 team and it was still wayyyyy cheaper. Our uniforms were like $150, we paid something like $125 for choreography, we didn't pay for music, and we didn't pay tuition, saving $100+ month. We limited our competitions and were lucky to get a bid at our first competition. At worlds, we were given the option to not stay on the package if we wanted to save money. We have an international 5 team that went to worlds as well, and they practice 2 or 3 times a week and pay much more than we do, but I'm not sure if it's as much as the other teams in the gym pay.

 

[CheerKatie08]

I was on an international team my freshman year of college. It ran about the same price as all-star did in high school, which is why I am a big advocate of "int'l teams should be given more paid bids" but that's a whole different story.. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[WorkToWin]

I was on an international team my freshman year of college. It ran about the same price as all-star did in high school, which is why I am a big advocate of "int'l teams should be given more paid bids" but that's a whole different story.. Let me know if you have any questions!

I agree! Did you cheer at Gym Tyme? How did you pay for it? Did your parents pay for it? Did you have a scholarship for school? Sorry for so many questions! The good thing is I have time to save because I am only a sophomore, but I really want to have a plan! Thanks!

 

[WorkToWin]

One more question for anyone who knows... what about during the summers? aren't international teams year round as well? I can't stay in a dorm during the summer could I?

 

[Ashley]

One more question for anyone who knows... what about during the summers? aren't international teams year round as well? I can't stay in a dorm during the summer could I?

You might be able to, but it would cost a fortune. Again it depends on the team, most are understanding that athletes are in college and maybe don't live near the school and let cheerleaders come in in September.