<p>I am aware that some colleges (e.g. Ivies and others) are very generous when it comes to funding need-based financial aid. What I mean is that they frequently will fund 100 percent of the expected need (possibly including significant loans). Other schools have reputations that they only provide much less than 100 percent of the calculated need. For example, by looking at the financial aid section of the college info listed on <a href="http://www.usnews.com%5B/url%5D">www.usnews.com</a>, some schools meet only 70 percent or less of the calculated need. Penn State is a particularly lousy school in this regard, reportedly only meeting 57 percent of the calculated need, according to US News.</p>
<p>Here are my questions. First, I have heard that some Ivies may offer better need-based aid distribution for excellent athletes than for other students (i.e. smaller loans, more grants). Does anyone know if this is true?</p>
<p>Secondly, does anyone know if colleges such as Penn State that have very bad financial aid in general ever adjust this for athletes? In other words, if a kid is an excellent athlete and has been given a partial or full tuition scholarship, would Penn State then be more likely to meet more than its "normal" 57 percent of the need?</p>
<p>I am very fortunate in that my oldest son has a full-tuition scholarship to USC, and my daughter who will enter college in the fall of 2006 has even stronger credentials, so we are not worried personally. But a very good friend of mine has a son who is an excellent goal-keeper in soccer, and has several Division-1 colleges interested in him. Because my friend is in the middle of a job change, has both of his other children in college at the same time, and does not have an extremely strong income, I would assume his EFC per child would only be around $3000 or less. In case you are unaware, Division-1 men's soccer has only something like 9.9 total scholarships per school, and frequently grants 1/2 or 1/4 tuition scholarships, even to excellent players. I am trying to get information for my friend to help his son decide on the best financial package for each school, and Penn State is one school he is interested in.</p>
<p>Since my kids are more academic and not likely to receive an athletic scholarship, I do not know much about this field. Does anyone on CC have experience with Division-1 athletic scholarships? Do colleges that offer partial athletic scholarships increase their need-based aid over what they would offer a typical student (I do not mean beyond the calculated need)?</p>
<p>I guess my friend and his son could simply wait until the spring to see what the actual financial aid offer is, but I am not sure if soccer coaches would ever expect an acceptance of an offer of a partial scholarship before the total financial aid numbers are in.</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>