<p>We are going to go through the recruiting process with my S, and I have gotten a lot of good information here. One of the things that will be important to us (me mostly) is the aid package we are offered. I also read a lot of posts in the Fin Aid section of CC. From what I can tell, there is no way to predict which school will offer which package. So the best strategy is to look at a bunch of schools and figure out what the best overall fit is (academics, team, coach, aid, etc.). With all that being said, there are probably 50 schools we could look at, which is way too much. </p>
<p>Suppose we have a coach who is interested in my S. Is it appropriate to say to a coach "I am interested in your school, but a big factor in my decision is aid. Can you give me insight as to what type of aid I can expect at XYZ U? Can I get a pre-read from the admissions office on this?" If appropriate, should this question be asked by me or by my S? </p>
<p>The reason for this is that there is only so much time you can devote to the search, and it does not make sense to look at a school if you are not going to attend because the merit/fin aid package does not work.</p>
<p>What year is your son? If he is in the tail end junior/senior year then it would be appropriate to ask questions if you are sure the coach is definitely interested. I would not ask money questions until you are really certain where he stands. If it seems a coach is very interested then it is perfectly acceptable (if you have a relationship with the coach already) to ask questions along the lines of - Where do I stand in your recruiting class? Is there any financial aid available for athletes in my position? Try to get the info you are seeking at first without being too direct which could be a turnoff to some.<br>
I would also suggest you determine who should ask the question you or your son based on the prior relationship. In our case for my son, he did most of the talking but when it came down to the money talk, the coaches knew that I was the one who had a better idea of the financial picture than he likely did. Just be sure the coach is for sure interested and word it carefully. Good luck</p>
<p>My S is ending jr year. If we know he can make the school academically and as an athletic recruit, can the coach get a read on aid from admission? (this is d3, no athletic scholarships). I think it would be a waste of both our time and the coaches if there is not a fit from an aid perspective.</p>
<p>D3 coaches, if they want him badly enough, tend to help kids through the financial aid process. It is more helpful if your son is a good student and they can find merit aid for him. His best chances will be at schools where he is in the top 25% of the student body so focus on schools like that.</p>
<p>Most of the coaches at the D3 private schools we visited with offered a financial aid “pre-read.” There are many schools that offer significant merit aid–look for those, particularly where your son may be slightly overqualified.</p>
<p>D3 coaches can help get a kid in, but don’t count on FA. It varies from school to school. Just finished the process. Best bet, go in assuming you will get nothing. </p>
<p>If the coach is really interested in your son–meaning he will offer him a slot–then I think the coach would also get a financial aid pre-read for you. If he isn’t offering a slot, I don’t think he would. The fin aid calculators are decent in a directional way, but I wouldn’t make a life-decision based o. That.</p>
<p>My experience is with merit aid, not need-based aid (one child in college, one child looking at DIII colleges for his sport). </p>
<p>With merit aid, there is often no way to predict how much money your child will be offered. My D was a NMF and in the top 25% in grades and ACT of all the colleges to which she applied and the offers she received varied greatly. </p>
<p>It is often impossible for the school to predict its merit aid offers (unless they are guaranteed offers based only on stats) before it has received all its applications, particularly for the large scholarships that include Scholarship Days at the college and interviews of the semifinalists. As a result, you are right in concluding that you will need to explore a lot of colleges if merit aid is your goal.</p>
<p>One way to whittle down your 50 potential colleges is to have your student complete the athletic questionnaires on the websites of the colleges in which he is most interested, and then follow up with an email to the coach. Coaches who don’t reply, or who let you know that they are looking for students with better sports stats than your child, are helping you out by allowing you to cross those colleges off your list.</p>
<p>Another factor to consider is if the aid will be guaranteed all four years. Even athletic scholarships are for one year only, with the coach’s option to renew each year. If everything looks gravy for the freshman year, what will the situation be for the sophomore, junior, and senior years?</p>