<p>Our son is being recruited by 3 great schools for soccer (Occidental, Colorado College, & University of Puget Sound). Oxy and won't give him any merit aid due to his low test scores and he will be lucky to get admitted to CC. The problem is that we don't qualify for any need based aid (EFC 99K) but we can not afford 50K per year. He is a little undecided about U. of Puget Sound due to the weather and wants more choices. The schools that give good merit aid with his combo of grades & scores he has not liked (Willamette, Linfield). He likes U. of Redlands but no interest exhibited from coach there. </p>
<p>Looking for some suggestions or maybe this is just good therapy.</p>
<p>Do you have any insight into why his ACT is so low, since he has a good GPA? Is there any possibility of his retaking and scoring significantly higher? Did he take the PSAT, and if so how did he do on that. (Thinking that maybe the SAT would be better for him…)</p>
<p>On the athletic front, the folks in the athletic recruiting forum would be most likely to have good suggestions.</p>
<p>Ultimately the bottom line may be that he goes to some school as a walk on, if they accept them, or he sucks it up re Sea/Tac weather. Obviously it’s a cool city.</p>
<p>He did worse on the SAT and had tutoring. PSAT’s were low too. Taken ACT 3 times now (21, 22, 24). Taking SAT again this Saturday but refuses to do anymore prep.
He did really like UPS, but it’s just a little scarey to have one choice.</p>
<p>How is his school academically? Does he have many AP classes that “back up” that A average or how did he get to 4.1? Do you know where he ranks? 24 is above average for college bound students but is more often seen with the B kids.</p>
<p>That is a puzzling situation. Does he want to stay in the western states region? He might get some merit brownie points for the great GPA and top 10% if added to geographic diversity if he’s willing to look in the midwest or south? The college costs are a tad lower than on the east coast and the Calf. privates…</p>
<p>What about any of the “test optional” colleges? I wonder how/if they dole out merit money. Also have you tried any of the Lutheran colleges as they can be generous with merit aid. (We also scored a 99 on EFC and son had a 21 ACT. He ended up getting $10,000 in merit)</p>
<p>Wake Forest is the big test score optional and with good sports. No hurt to try, his gpa should be ok and athletes. Talk to the coaches there first. Not sure about merits though.</p>
<p>Really, I don’t think the weather in the northwest is disqualifying at all. It is very mild. Only ? about 35 inches of rain/yr in Seattle (rains often in the winter, but not hard). Now if being on the beach, constantly, is very important to him, that could be a problem. Otherwise, it is very moderate. Little snow in the winter (except in the mountains, yay). There’s a reason why this place is an outdoor mecca of biking, hiking, running and skiing, and it’s not because of bad weather.</p>
<p>Have you considered Seattle U? Based on the charts, he would be in the middle 50% (low end) for ACT. His ACT/GPA would qualify him for the Bellarmine merit scholarship of 9K/year. Tuition cost $30,825 (plus $9300 for room and board). Gets it down to 30K for a pretty good school with small classes, fairly minor religious influence. Worth considering, at least, and definitely as good (whatever that means!) as the other schools listed.</p>
<p>Hey, while cc can be great therapy, I have heard some awesome ideas and priceless information on here. I’m drinking a glass of cc recommended wine right now.</p>
<p>Like the idea of the CC wine! He took 2 AP Exams. Scored 4 on the AP Psych and 1 on the AP US History. He has only had one B all four years one qtr in Bio. Studies very hard and does great in school. This is really a bummer because he has worked so hard because he wanted merit aid in college and is pretty down and frustrated. The soccer part of the equation is the biggest challenge. He is a D3 level player so I don’t think a D2 or D1 would be after him. He tried numerous times to reach the Seattle U. coach with no response. We went through the test optional list but if you don’t submit test scores then you don’t qualify for merit aid. He could get into Bowdoin but it’s another 50K plus per year. He’s open geographically but just getting the coaches to respond is a challenge.</p>
<p>As far as Seattle U, with that GPA, I’d guess he could get in no problem without any assistance from the coach. Meaning, of course, that he could choose to play soccer or not. And with the merit aid only, it does bring it down to a more reasonable level. I wouldn’t base applying to Seattle U on his interaction with the coach. Plus, they have a super easy application…one paragraph essay. If you don’t mind paying another application fee, it’s an easy no-brainer, and at least a good backup if he wants to stay on the west coast.</p>
<p>I put a thread on the parent cafe asking for good red wines, and got alot of great responses. But it’s going to take me a long time to try them all!</p>
<p>I will try to find the wine post. Playing soccer in college is a non-negotiable for him. He may have to find some safety schools that give merit aid that he likes. He loved Denver University and they’d give merit aid but they are D1. Tomorrow we talk to Greg’s recruiting coach so we’ll see what he says.
Thank you!</p>
<p>Have you poked around the CTCL school list? Most are in the eastern half of the country, but good little LACs, not top tier so a fair amount of merit aid, all D-III. DS#1 applied to four in Ohio for lacrosse; got into all four with merit aid and interest from all coaches. He had better test scores but much lower GPA. (I’d look at the OWU soccer program. The coach sounds amazing.)</p>
<p>SDiegoMom: Aren’t there other soccer options at so many schools, like club/intramural? Those can be quite competitive (and probably take less time away from studies than playing varsity level, even at D3). Since he doesn’t have a lot of athletic scholarship options, I would consider the merit aid schools where his GPA would be the main factor. So long as there are soccer clubs he can particpate in. (I understand the challenge as my D’s test scores didn’t match up with her GPA - although the gap was smaller.)</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking about this issue with my S – only a HS soph now but is already set on playing his sport at college and my message to him is that there are plenty of options to play, even competitively, even if you are not “on the team.” While the sport is of utmost importance to him, he will not be making his living at it any time in the near or distant future.</p>
<p>Go to this website for Westminster and under scholarships, click on “calculate”. Your son should get $14,000. [Financial</a> Aid, College in Utah Westminster College](<a href=“404 Not Found”>404 Not Found)</p>
<p>This would bring tuition down from 26 to 12, plus room and board.</p>
<p>Another vote for Ohio Wesleyan (given the comment about their great soccer coach). They are known for being good with merit aid. Allegheny (one of the CTCL) too.</p>