<p>So my friend who is a senior just qualified as an individual (not with the team) for State in Cross Country (California). Will she be able to get a scholarship? If she is able to get a scholarship, will she also be allowed to get a merit scholarship to cover the rest of the cost, or maybe financial aid?</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>She should have a chance but if she hasn’t started talking with coaches yet it may be difficult</p>
<p>Thing is she just made it to state which is why I think she has a shot at getting one.</p>
<p>XC is an equivalency sport, meaning that the school(D1) is allotted a certain number of full scholarships that are divided up among all recruits. Qualifying for state is great - but schools will also be looking for strong times in the mile and 3200 since XC courses vary so much, it’s hard to do an apples to apples comparison between recruits.</p>
<p>Combining athletic aid/merit aid and need-based aid is another topic. There are some threads on that topic if you use the search function.</p>
<p>A time is a time I would think. She needs to start contacting coaches ASAP. Yes you can combine athletic with academic scholarships but financial aid gets a little tricky.</p>
<p>thanks guys! that was really helpful! If you have any more information on the subject that would be great!</p>
<p>Can she get a scholarship? </p>
<p>Yea, most likely.</p>
<p>But it’s not really that cut and dry. The schools that would offer her money may not be ones she is interested in otherwise. And how much scholarship is she hoping for? Books+Fees? Half Tuition, Full Tuition? Also, and I don’t mean to sound rude, just making states doesn’t always mean much. There is a huge difference between someone winning their state qualifying meet in a large district/classification and someone being the last person in out of a weak region.</p>
<p>Agree with mellorunner. Qualifying for state is not all that telling; place in the State Meet itself is.</p>
<p>Qualifying for States means nothing - sorry just being truthful. XC times are nice to see but the difference in between courses around the country makes it difficult to compare a reunner for CA from a runner in NY. Track times are the great equilizer. Most schools will have different standards for walk-on and “eligible” for scholarship. If she has not started to contact coaches already time to contact schools she is interested in and reach out to the coaches - have her look at the current roster of freshman girls and see what they ran in HS - if she is can compete with them then thats a good sign.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>I would never go as far as mortgagebkr and say that qualifying for States means nothing, or that it isn’t looked at. Qualifying means that the athlete in question is (or at least was on that day) better than any athlete they beat in order to qualify. This is the importance of placement, and it becomes even greater at the state meet. A coach is going to give a lot of consideration to an athlete who places well at major meets (recognizing that some state meets are more “major” than others. Think California/NY/Texas compared to Wyoming/South Dakota/West Virginia). </p>
<p>Want to get recruiting for XC/Track and Field? Place well in XC, run fast times in Track.</p>
<p>ok maybe nothing was a bit much but for example:</p>
<p>In NY the sections are broken down into 4 classes; A, B, C & D. The top 10 from each class go to the state meet.</p>
<p>Class A #10 - 16:58, #11 - 17:02
Class B #10 - 17:46, #11 - 17:47
Class C #10 - 19:17, #11 - 19:27
Class D #10 - 20:44, #11 - 21:13</p>
<p>Track times are a much easier way for a coach to get a sense of can you contribute to his or her program</p>