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I have a daughter who is a runner, both cross country and track, and is being recurited by D1 programs. She is a pretty good student, 3.7 and SAT's of 1270 ( 2 parts). She also has many AP courses, Natl Honoe Society, Art Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. In addition, she has a good deal of community service.
We spent a good portion of the summer, visiting schools and speaking with coaches , but now we are getting ready to formally apply to 5 private schools, as well as 2 state safety schools. I'm pretty sure that our financial need will be little or nothing (based on Net Price Calculators) . What should I expect? Any advice or direct experience?
I have a daughter who is a runner, both cross country and track, and is being recurited by D1 programs. She is a pretty good student, 3.7 and SAT's of 1270 ( 2 parts). She also has many AP courses, Natl Honoe Society, Art Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. In addition, she has a good deal of community service.
We spent a good portion of the summer, visiting schools and speaking with coaches , but now we are getting ready to formally apply to 5 private schools, as well as 2 state safety schools. I'm pretty sure that our financial need will be little or nothing (based on Net Price Calculators) . What should I expect? Any advice or direct experience?
First of all congratulations. My son was recruited for football at the D-II and NAIA levels. At these levels they most often give partial scholarships which can be combined with academic scholarships to equal close to a full ride. Thus, the negotiating part can be more complicated. At the D-I level in football a scholarship is awarded only as a full scholarship (no dividing up). I assume this holds true for other sports making your situation more of a matter of which school that's offering a scholarship do I like best.
Trust your judgement when listening to the recruiting "pitches" by the various coaches. They are paid first and foremost to be salesmen in getting in the best athletes. The biggest concern I would have is whether your daughter's athletic endeavors coincide smoothly with the academic major she may be choosing. Examples being how does the school handle her missing labs or tests due to practice or meets. If she's in nursing or some other medical field, how can she complete clinicals if she has athletic commitments. If it's required that she have internships, can this be done while competing. Some colleges work well with their athletes while others essentially make it the students problem to work out herself. Get a firm response to this situation straight from the head of whatever major she's choosing. Don't automatically assume that what the coaches are telling you about academic/athletic conflictions is 100% spot on.
First of all congratulations. My son was recruited for football at the D-II and NAIA levels. At these levels they most often give partial scholarships which can be combined with academic scholarships to equal close to a full ride. Thus, the negotiating part can be more complicated. At the D-I level in football a scholarship is awarded only as a full scholarship (no dividing up). I assume this holds true for other sports making your situation more of a matter of which school that's offering a scholarship do I like best.
This is not a true statement. Women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and tennis are the only women's sports where all the scholarships are full ride. All other women's sports are are considered "equivalency" sports. Coaches can slice and dice these scholarships as they choose, which can lead to very small scholarships. At the Division I level, women's programs are allowed 18 full scholarships or the equivalent thereof in partial scholarships. Many college programs are not fully funded so they don't offer the maximum numbers of scholarships.
These article are somewhat dated but are still relevant.
This is not a true statement. Women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and tennis are the only women's sports where all the scholarships are full ride. All other women's sports are are considered "equivalency" sports. Coaches can slice and dice these scholarships as they choose, which can lead to very small scholarships. At the Division I level, women's programs are allowed 18 full scholarships or the equivalent thereof in partial scholarships. Many college programs are not fully funded so they don't offer the maximum numbers of scholarships.
These article are somewhat dated but are still relevant.
A full scholarship in the "equivalency" sports (men or women) is unusual. An Olympian-caliber athlete, one of the very best in the country, might earn a full scholarship in these sports. More likely they will earn 1/2, 1/4, or any other fraction down to zero (walk on). Some scholarships are "books" which is probably worth about a $1000 per year.
It is possible to negotiate with a team/coach. But it really depends most on how good your child is in that sport and how badly the school wants her. It will also depend on how much scholarship they have to allocate in that class. The typical D1 track team can have 40-50 athletes. For any year, the availability of scholarships will vary based on who graduated, etc. Your child might have 10% one year, and 5% another.
There are tremendous benefits though for athletes at D1 schools, no matter how much scholarship money they get. Medical care, food, tutoring, preferred class selection, tickets, etc. are not dependent on how much of a scholarship they have.
(my daughter is a current D1 athlete and one of my sons was a D1 athlete)
This is not a true statement. Women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and tennis are the only women's sports where all the scholarships are full ride. All other women's sports are are considered "equivalency" sports. Coaches can slice and dice these scholarships as they choose, which can lead to very small scholarships. At the Division I level, women's programs are allowed 18 full scholarships or the equivalent thereof in partial scholarships. Many college programs are not fully funded so they don't offer the maximum numbers of scholarships.
These article are somewhat dated but are still relevant.
Exactly right, From personal experience I can say that outside of the major conferences Women's Volleyball at the D1 level is also contingent on funding. One D1 coach told us he had 4 scholarships to work with for 15 girls. A D2 coach told us he has 4 scholarships and he will only carry 12 girls and he splits it evenly at 1/3rd of a scholarship per girl. Some of the D3 schools were very creative and competitive offering a package of academic and leadership awards that equaled anything else we discussed.
Bottom line is you need to discuss what the coach/school is offering athletically as well as academically. You have to come right and ask and if it doesn't meet your needs and expectations ask if there are other options.
The best scholarship award my D rec'd was actually an academic offer from a D1 school here in NY that she never even spoke to the Volleyball coach because she wasn't at that level. She opted for a D3 school and turned down the coach's and AD request to play. She still plays for fun outside of school.
One huge issue with negotiating scholarships is that the negotiations are never binding on the school beyond the first year, and few schools will even agree to a binding agreement for the first year for equivalency sports. The coach can reduce or revoke the scholarship at any time after the first year and does not have to offer the same scholarship from year to year. Also, the agreement is nullified and the scholarship can be immediately reduced or revoked in the first year if the student voluntarily chooses not to compete or is ineligible to compete (this does not include being unable to compete due to injury).
Thanks for all the advice. I was aware of the 18 scholarships for D1 as well as the issue of full funding. So far only one of the schools we are considering is almost fully funded(16 rides). Most of the coaches we have spoken to have taken her transcript in hopes of grabbing as much merit money as possible, before as I keep hearing, they "package" her. I guess my real question is how much influence does a coach having in grabbing merit money. Frankly, I'd prefer as much academic money as possible because it allows for the possibility of her deciding not to run if she so chooses or if the coach turns out to be a moron.
I know with baseball, the smallest percentage they could provide was 25% and, if fully funded, baseball had 11.7 full scholarships (D1 - D2 had 9) to spread among the athletes. I know there also used to be a cap to the number of players who could be on scholarship which was less than the full roster of players.
I would suggest that if a coach wants an athlete bad enough that they will work with the athlete and parents to do what they can to help you. That doesn't mean they can or that they will, but it is certainly a possibility. If the coach has several (or better) options, they are less likely to do it. Not suggesting your daughter isn't a coach's first choice, but there is no way for me to guage that. I know when my son was going through this process for baseball, the coaches were very open about how they saw him fitting in their program and what they could do. Of course, if your daughter is high on their list and they are high on her list the situation is quite different than the opposite.
Based soley on what you've indicated, private schools are likely to be more expensive (in or out of state), but they may also have more grants and more ability to work with you on academic scholarships in addition to any potential athletic scholarship. Good luck and enjoy the ride! It can be stressful, but it is quite an exciting time for them at the same time!
Thanks for all the advice. I was aware of the 18 scholarships for D1 as well as the issue of full funding. So far only one of the schools we are considering is almost fully funded(16 rides). Most of the coaches we have spoken to have taken her transcript in hopes of grabbing as much merit money as possible, before as I keep hearing, they "package" her. I guess my real question is how much influence does a coach having in grabbing merit money. Frankly, I'd prefer as much academic money as possible because it allows for the possibility of her deciding not to run if she so chooses or if the coach turns out to be a moron.
Thanks for all the information.
In theory the coach has no influence at all on "merit" (I assume that means academic) money. It would be unethical for the coach to have any say at all on how a university allocates its non-athletic scholarship money. If the coach did - that would in effect mean the school has more scholarships than the NCAA allows.
I believe however that at some schools coaches DO influence this. I have heard of certain schools that get away with this. But it is rumor and unconfirmed.
One of the biggest things to consider when you choose a school is if you can afford it if your child loses their athletic money. They may quit. The may underperform and the school drops them from the team or reduces their scholarship.
Well, I learned a lot. My only connection to this was football and obviously things differ a lot based on what your sport may be.
Make sure you check out the particular department your daughter is considering when it comes to how the athletic department works with the requirements of her academic major.
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My son was recruited for football at the D-II and NAIA levels. At these levels they most often give partial scholarships which can be combined with academic scholarships to equal close to a full ride. Thus, the negotiating part can be more complicated. At the D-I level in football a scholarship is awarded only as a full scholarship (no dividing up). I assume this holds true for other sports making your situation more of a matter of which school that's offering a scholarship do I like best.
