<p>I am a rising senior in high school from Florida and have been contacted by several swimming recruiters for various colleges. Northwestern University has contacted me and has offered me a spot on their division 1 team with a 50% scholarship but I must apply ED. Duke University has contacted me and would love for me to be on their division 1 team but they do not offer athletic scholarships. The University does have merit scholarships (which provide a free education as well as a free study abroad) that I feel I am a competitive candidate for. Also UNC Chapel Hill has offered me to be on their division 3 team and they also do not have athletic scholarships but do have a merit scholarship (that provides a free education as well as a free study abroad) that I feel I am competitive candidate for. </p>
<p>Should I apply ED to Northwestern or should I decline the offer and apply to Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, and several other school regular decision?</p>
<p>Not sure how you expect anyone to offfer guidance for your decision, based on the info you provided. What are your academic interests? What are your other criteria in selecting a college?</p>
<p>If you can afford NW and you want to go there, then apply ED and enjoy your senior year in HS. However, make sure the scholarship is guaranteed for all 4 years.</p>
<p>Thank you!
LC82- Thank you for that info! I love all of these schools and they all fulfill my academic needs in terms of a major/minor.
Nextbigmoney- Thank you! The only reason I am having this debate is because I do not want to pass up a FULL ride for a half ride. But of course there is no guarantee that I will get a full ride.
Xwords59- The rule with athletic scholarships is that it is not guaranteed for 4 years. It all depends on my performance on the team and the coach can raise and lower it depending upon that.
Stressn- I do not qualify for any financial aid and they cannot give any estimate for scholarships because those depend upon the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Do you see yourself swimming all four years of college? Also, have you spoken to current swimmers who received scholarships? Make sure NU doesn’t just try to hook students in with the scholarship before taking it away.</p>
<p>Also, be realistic. Duke and UNC’s scholarships are usually awarded to students who have gotten into HYP. If you do in fact have HYP stats, then maybe you’re better off contacting their swimming coaches or applying regular and walking on to the team.</p>
<p>If you have the extra 70k to spend, then choose based on fit. Duke is only marginally better than NU, and UNC is probably the lesser of your three choices. </p>
<p>You HAVE to speak to other student-athletes before you commit. Although NU is a top university, you really have no idea if they honor their scholarships as much as they should. If you don’t have the opportunity to speak to students, then I’d be conservative and assume that your only getting half off (about 25k) the first year.</p>
<p>I definitely want to swim all four years. Current swimmers have said that the coach doesnt lower the scholarship unless you ditch practices but if you stay at the same level then so does your scholarship. Many of the kids on the team said that their scholarship went up after the first year. I feel that I have competitive stats to be a competitive applicant to HYP. Do you think it is worth leaving the 50% for a chance to apply for the merit scholarships at Duke and UNC? The thing about finances is that my parents are paying 10,000 a year regardless of the circumstances so I need to come up with the rest in loans.</p>
<p>Definitely stay with NU. I didn’t realize that you’d be taking out loans for it, and getting a full scholarship to UNC/Duke (such as robertson) is near impossible. </p>
<p>What’s your GPA/SAT/ACT? If you really have HYP stats, I’d contact Stanford, JHU, Washu, and other peers of NU and see if they can either match or beat your current offer from NU.</p>
<p>What’s your intended major? I’d stay away from the ivy’s if your parents are only paying 10k a year but for certain majors 160k in debt may be worth it (e.g. business @ wharton).</p>
<p>^ I’m fairly certain that JHU and WUSTL are DIII in most sports (JHU is obviously DI lax), and thus would not offer scholarships for swimming, if their swim teams are DIII. I hate nitpicking but I don’t want OP to waste time extensively researching their programs. Contacting other schools is a good idea though.</p>
Are your parents or another credit worthy adult willing to co-sign loans for you? If not, you will be limited to a $5500 Stafford loan for freshman year, which will not come close to covering your gap at Northwestern. If you do have a co-signer, do you realize what a burden loans of that size would be? Calculate the required monthly payment as compared to your anticipated salary to see if this plan makes any sense at all.</p>