Athletes, recruitment practices and Financial Aid

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<pre><code> Let me preface this email by saying that I have absolutely NO experience with this subject and am looking for guidance.

My stepdaughter is a junior in high school. She is a talented athlete and my husband hired a “recruitment” firm a couple of years ago to guide him through the college admissions process. My stepdaughter has videos, business cards, 8x10 glossies, etc… She attends showcases every weekend. My husband has explained to me that it is his understanding that no coaches may contact her until NEXT fall. Lo and behold, after attending a showcase last weekend, she received an email from the school’s coach offering her a position on the team. It had a stated $ amount attached to it…

Here are my questions:
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<li><p>If this is technically not allowed, why/how did this happen?</p></li>
<li><p>How can they make her an offer when she hasn’t even taken her SATs yet?</p></li>
<li><p>How do athletes compare financial packages when these “offers” come much before you can even submit the FAFSA form?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Some other things to consider:
-She will most likely play D2 or D3;
-This child is a “B” student;
-My stepdaughter’s mother is very excited about the letters of interest she is receiving (Ivys). Again, she is a “B” student. Scores on her SAT practice test (administered by a National tutoring company) were not pretty.</p>

<p>I feel like I need to be the voice of reason here. Frankly, I think this is a very scary process and has the potential of exploiting these kids and wide-eyed parents. Part of this posting is selfish. I think the money we’re spending on this sport is really obscene (of course I have to bite my tongue as this is not my daughter-but that is a posting for another board…) and I would love for her to get a scholarship also.</p>

<p>(My own kids are mediocre athletes. I’m thankful. : )</p>

2

<p>Coaches work outside the NCAA rules all the time--at least that was our experience. I do not know alot about D2 but with D3 you really cannot be sure of admission until you have the "accepted" letter in hand...coaches change their minds, admissions doesn't like what they see academically from an applicant etc.</p>

<p>D3 is forbidden from giving any kind of scholarship for athletics, so I would be somewhat skeptical about an offer of money.</p>

3

<ol>
<li><p>The Ivies do not give academic scholarships. In addition, admissability is governed strictly by the Academic Index. She must have a score of at least 171 to even be considered. There is a calculator on this website, but you would need to know her SAT score to do the calculations.</p></li>
<li><p>Most DII schools are not very selective in their admissions; I believe that Bentley and Stonehill are the most selective in this group. I would think that a B student would qualify for an athletic scholarship at most all of these schools. But she would still have to meet at least the NCAA minimum on the SATs (which I believe is 920 on the old scale).</p></li>
<li><p>DIII schools vary widely in their academic standards for admission of athletes. Admission at the most selective NESCAC schools (Amherst, Williams, etc.) is as difficult as the low Ivies, but unless her SATs are a complete disaster, I would think that she would be admittable at the most of the other schools. In theory, no money, but I know for a fact that at some of the less selective schools coaches find ways around this.</p></li>
<li><p>I know it is VERY exciting when the first letters come, but a letter by itself doesn't mean much. Typically, if there is real interest, there will be a followup phone call (or perhaps an email or text message).</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, if your stepdaughter has particular interest in some DIII school (although it sounds like her athletic aspirations are higher) she (not you) should call the coach directly.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck to you, your husband and your stepdaughter. Expect lots of ups and downs in the next year; the recruiting process is both exhilarating and stressful.</p>

4

<p>The other thing to be aware of that we ran into with NESCAC recruiting for our son was what we called the "squeeze play"...The coach will only offer the athlete a "tip" or protected slot if the athlete applies ED. The caution with this is that even with a tip, there is no true guarantee of admission. In our situation, the coach got a preread on our son's application from admissions, offered a protect slot to him as there were "no red flags" in his application. Once you apply ED to a school the others that had interest rapidly look elsewhere. If the athlete does not gain admission to the ED school then other options may dry up
Applying ED also means you will not be able to compare Financial aid offers which is an issue for many. It worked out ok for us as we were pretty sure what sort of aid we would qualify for and that is really what we were offered.</p>

<p>We had a happy ending. S1 loves his school and is eagerly awaiting the start of his sport</p>

5

<p>I checked with my husband. The email she received the other day was from a D1 school. It said, in essence, "We would like to offer you a place on our team and I am prepared to offer you a scholarship, out of state waiver good for $$$$$$ yearly if you want to sign with (the school)". It went on further to say that she should let them know ASAP. She is not accepting-it is just too early, but again, is it common for even Division 1 coaches to break the rules?</p>

<p>If she does accept, can the offer be rescinded if she does not meet the academic requirements of the schoo?</p>

<p>Also, how will we compare financial aid packages when she will theoretically be accepting an offer prior to the submission of the FAFSA form? Do financial aid offices work with parents independent of the FAFSA submission?</p>

6

<p>firsttimelisa,</p>

<p>Time to talk NCAA here. </p>

<p>The first problem is that the letter from the Div 1 school is not within the rules of NCAA. They cannot, I repeat, cannot make any such offer until after her Junior year in HS is completed. I am thinking here that they received erroneous information about your daughter's graduation date, probably from the recruitment firm (I'll get to them in a couple of minutes). So as much as you can be flattered by the email, you can ignore it for now unless you want to notify them that they inadvertantly have your daughter's graduation date incorrect (giving them the correct date).</p>

<p>Next thing, and this gets into your recruitment firm, if they haven't had you register at the NCAA Clearinghouse, do so TODAY. Here is a link to help you find it. <a href="https://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/NCAA/common/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.ncaaclearinghouse.net/NCAA/common/index.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>You will need to have your daughter's school send in a transcript, so that you can get an initial reading on her eligibility - how many of her HS courses taken so far and in progress qualify to meet the 16 required courses for DI eligibility. This will help you in selecting the correct courses for her senior year. Here is a link to the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Athlete where you can find more information about the class requirement and other valuable things. <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2007-08/2007-08_cbsa.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2007-08/2007-08_cbsa.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If your "recruitment" firm hasn't arranged this for you, they are not a very good outfit. They are a public relations scam. Lots of companies can make up packages of pictures, videos, etc and mail them to a list of D1 coaches. The good outfits understand the sports the specialize in (nobody does it all), know many coaches and have a client list from previous years who've had success using their services.</p>

<p>BTW, recruitment firms are probably only necessary in the larger sports (where there are lots of particpants nationwide) where a great athlete can get lost.</p>

<p>A great recruitment firm will help their client find schools that fit the academic qualifications/interests and social interests of their clients. They should know their clients and the schools. You haven't mentioned much about the academic interests yet, but I'm sure that there are a lot of people around CC who can match up your daughter's sport (don't know that either) and her other interests with a selection of schools.</p>

<p>Now some practical advice. A little know fact, but most sports (especially women's) do not give whole scholarships to many players. This is because the NCAA limits the number of scholarships a school can award by sport. For example, my D's sport (ice hockey) is allowed a max of 17 scholarships IIRC. With a typical roster of 24 players, you can see that the average recipient gets 2/3 of a full-ride. Schools can divide them any way they want (whole to some, half to others or partials to all). </p>

<p>Next item, don't get your daughter in over her head academically. If you have Ivies sending your B-student daughter stuff, they clearly don't know her GPA (fault the recruitment firm if they sent her stuff to them). She'd have to get a perfect 1600 (old scale) to have a decent AI number. </p>

<p>And even if she has the minimum 171 AI and that is her true academic achievement level, she will struggle tremendously under the workload of a sport and top academics to get passing grades. It won't be any fun.</p>

<p>Try to target schools that are matches to her academic achievement. Talk to your school guidance counselor. Hopefully she is signed up for the PSAT, which will give you an estimate of where her SAT scores will end up. This will help in selecting appropriate schools.</p>

<p>Finally don't worry about FAFSA. It will get done next year and only if the school she commits to requires it for her scholarship (not all do for merit/athletic scholarships). And if you can afford thousands for a recruitment firm, don't expect a whole lot of need aid (which is most of what FAFSA is about).</p>

<p>It is really easy to get overwhelmed by the whole recruitment romance. There are lots of ways that you can make it work for the student. But it won't unless you understand the ground rules. Read and understand the NCAA guides before you do anything else.</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

<p>And good luck to your daughter!</p>

7

<p>Hi Goaliedad,</p>

<pre><code> The email with the offer came from the school immediately (within a couple of days) following my stepdaughter's participation at a clinic there. My husband agrees-they must have gotten her graduation date wrong-even though it was clearly noted in all the paperwork she filled out. He knows the rules and is perplexed by this letter also. We don't think the recruitment firm had anything to do with it.

She (my stepdaughter) is driving this process. She has sent out letters to coaches (introduction, tournament schedules, noting that her video is available online, etc...). She is choosing the schools. The recruitment firm is guiding the process, but leaves the work to her. I think they are legitimate-although quite full of themselves.

As far as a proper academic fit, we are well aware that this is not an Ivy student. That is not even an issue. She has identified schools that offer her intended area of study as well as those that are the proper level academically.

FAFSA: Since she lives with her mother-there might be some need-based aid. We really can't afford all of this. My husband spends every penny he has on this pursuit, her mother is unable to help. Again, I have to bite my tongue as this ball was rolling well before I entered the picture. Next year we will have three in college-probably all public schools. The money spent on this sport makes me sick. I am just trying to ride it out because I know it will get better. This is why I am concerned with the TOTAL financial package.
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<p>Thanks for you help and information.</p>

8

<p>a note regarding the calculation of financial aid -- if you are hoping for her to receive aid based only on her mother's income, make sure that she applies to FAFSA only schools (check with the school).</p>

<p>Schools that use the profile will also count her dad's income AND your income (father's spouse) and if her mother is remarried, her spouse also in the calculation. they will also count assets by all parties -- which might yield very little in the way of Financial aid.</p>

<p>she may very well get a good solid athletic scholarship -- it would have to be a D1 school from what I understand -- and not need the financial aid (which is based on need rather than merit) but it is really good to know the process now, going into it all rather than later -- when it is too late to change the plans.</p>

<p>read the book "paying for college without going broke" as a good intro. </p>

<p>welcome to CC!</p>

9

<p>It is not against NCAA D I rules for coaches to correspond in writing ( including e-mail) during the junior year. Only phone calls initiated by coaches are prohibited. Athletes can call, e-mail,visit ( at their own expense) or write as much as they want to coaches. In some sports many schools make and receive verbal commitments for all their scholarships in junior year. The advice to take recruitment letters with some skepticism is absolutely correct. Coaches send out MANY letters indicating interest, it does not necessarily mean that they will make a scholarship offer. Although I might believe the specific offer, I would be very concerned about a program that would make such an offer without significant prior contact with the athlete and family.</p>

10

<p>cad,</p>

<p>Technically, the emails with recruiting materials are OK. I would hardly call an offer with a specific $ amount (as indicated above) recruiting materials. I agree that an out of the blue offer (without prior contact) is concerning. And I guess it could amount to a "verbal" committment (which is worth the paper it is written on - LOL). These kinds of emails are why the NCAA limits coach contact with underclassmen. Look at the pressure it already creates.</p>

<p>Now a coach is doing the athlete a favor by letting them know how many scholarships s/he will probably have available for the athlete and how much that is worth, and where the athlete stands on the priority list, but of course s/he cannot guarantee admission (on which the scholarship is dependent, of course). </p>

<p>Keep in mind here a NLI is the only paper that counts - and that is where the details of any scholarship are spelled out. Oh and I think the AD has to sign the NLI. The coach cannot sign by him/herself IIRC. And that cannot come out until the Senior year.</p>

<p>Thanks for pointing out the tecnicality under which this stuff can happen. Thank goodness my D is only a sophomore.</p>

11

<p>Firsttimelisa, I can't speak for other sports, but in the sport my D was recruited for(soccer), there was nothing unusual about offers being made (and taken) to prospective students well before their senior campaign. As a matter of fact, several of the schools that my D was interested in (some very elite programs), initially were already done with the majority of the recruiting class before the winter break of her junior year. In some sports, the elite or more desireable players are already identified, targeted and agressively pursued. Blue chip athletes are well known in the recruiting circles because of "showcase" tournaments, or regional, and or national prominence.</p>

<p>I'm sure your daughter has submitted GPA's and other standardized test scores(PSAT). If not, the tentative offer would be contingent upon your step daughter meeting admission requirements. This is even true after signing a LOI. There are pros and cons to making a commitment to an early offer. Most schools will honor a verbal commitment in the event of an injury even before signing the LOI. An early verbal can ease the pressure of recruitment and your D can focus on getting better in her sport and academics in her senior year without worrying where they will be. On a negative note, many other schools will "cool" their pursuit of a committed student athlete and a school that may be more highly regarded by your D may not offer. Goaliedad gives some prudent advice. Full rides in athletics beyond football and basketball are extremely rare. If a player gets a 30% athletic scholarship or more that's usually pretty good according to a recent college counseling article. It's tougher as you go to DII and as you may know there is none at DIII.
If I may, I would suggest <a href="http://www.varsityedge.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.varsityedge.com&lt;/a>. It has a wealth of info to help your family navigate your stepdaughters' recruitment. Best wishes!</p>

12

<p>My son was offerred full rides at many Div. 1 schools beginning his junior year. We usually had emails from schools requesting we call them back or they would call the school or club coach and as us to call them back. Verbals are usually honored by both sides, but there are always exceptions. Nothing is certain until the NLI is signed by the AD. It is a bit unusual to have an offer with no prior conversations, but that very thing happened to my son after a great performance one day. The schools have nothing to lose by doing so. If your step daughter is inteested, have her call and get to know the folks who are recruiting her. Also, recruitment companies are like realtors; they are hired by you, but they have their own interests to protect as well and sometimes they aren't exactly aligned with the athlete's best interest. Keep focused on what is best for her. Good luck with your step-daughter.</p>

13

<p>In my son's sport, elite athletes D1 often verbally commit as early as their freshman year of high school. IMO, the verbal only really benefits the school while usually they do honor the verbal, it has also happened that they change their mind about a player and then that player has been committed to one school and other schools that might have been interested have gone elsewhere.</p>