<p>Have long known about myths surrounding athletic scholarships and rare full rides etc., but after pursuing my kid, NCAA official overnights, etc. one coach collected our finanical aid info and offered a slot on the team but said the FA office determined we were ineligible for any type of aid whatsoever. Nada. I mentioned this to another coach who said my kid "could go work a part-time off-campus job!" Oh, really? A D1 athlete working in addition to studies and training? So these schools want us to pay over 50 grand a year for our kid to be a walk-on? We know all about Title IX and were not expecting much, but NOTHING for such a big committment is insulting! Kid is like every other teenager who is not a recording star, kid certainly does not have 50K lying around, yet the coaches disregard parental responsibilities here.</p>
<p>As somebody who knows several D1 athletes who work 10 hours/week in season and upwards of 20 hours/week out of season … it can definitely be done. One of the necessities of attending a school that doesn’t offer athletic scholarships.</p>
<p>Did these tier 1 schools offer athletic scholarships? The Ivies and some of the Lacs do not offer athletic scholarships even though they have many D1 sports. They would only give need based financial aid.</p>
<p>And of course it depends on the sport. Revenue-producing sports have a lot more scholarship money to throw around. Pity the poor women’s crew team (et al.). . .</p>
<p>Many D1 school and sports don’t offer many scholarships. It’s only with sports like basketball and football that every person gets a full ride. On the D1 team that I was on, there were many fewer scholarships than there were athletes. The vast majority of freshman did not get them – but they might get a partial one, say, their junior year that would be added onto for their senior year. I think most D1 athletes do not get full scholarships, and a good chunk get no money at all, especially as freshman. As a corollary, many freshman quit because the team ends up being more than they expected - even some with scholarships. I think the big money sports are almost a second category.</p>
<p>It happens. NCAA rules cap the number of full rides that can be given per team. So, even at schools with fully funded athletic programs, there’ll be kids on the team who are getting partial or no scholarship money for playing. In gymnastics, for example, I think the cap is 8 full rides. Well, the team’s bigger than 8, so a couple of girls will get full rides, a few more get partial scholarships and the rest just get to be on the team, and that’s a fairly visible women’s sport. I imagine if you’re in something really under the radar (like women’s fencing or maybe water polo), your sport may not even be funded up to the cap.</p>
<p>I would keep looking around for the right fit. The posters above are hitting on some of the issues that we were also unaware of when D, a track athlete, was a high school senior. She was recruited by Duke and really wanted to go there after visiting twice - then we found out that track is one of the few sports at the school without athletic scholarships. One of the state schools she was interested in just offered her “books” - their admissions standards were such that they had a much wider field of recruits and her athletic stats weren’t as impressive among that wider field. Ultimately, she ended up at Vanderbilt with a 1/2 scholarship which we were very pleased with. The coach there was trying to build up her particular field event so he had a particular interest in her that other coaches might not have. She will graduate this year and is still competing on the team. Good luck to your athlete!</p>
<p>This is the big myth that revs up a lot of parents with their kids’ sports. My oldest was a national athlete. But as kids a little older than he and just about as good entered the college app process, I noticed that most of them either got into schools that they would not even have considered if it weren’t for the sports scholarship which might have given them some merit money anyways, or got into schools that were reach schools. </p>
<p>My very good friend here has son who is 6’4, 260 lbs and was a star football player known as “the Beast”. Yeah, he was phenomenon here. He was also an excellent student with test scores that put him in range of top schools. He did get into a highly selective school and is playing football, but they are paying full freight. What his sport gave him was a edge in there with early notification of acceptance. His older brother who had a much heavier course load, similar grades and high SAT scores did not get accepted at schools where his athletic brother was recruited. The only money that was offered were from schools that they did not consider for him. It was a bit of a downer for the family who had been told and were expecting their son to be going to a big, well known college on a full athletic scholarship. Nope.</p>
<p>The QB on my son’s championship high school team is running into the same situation. Yes, he is good and a school like South XYZ State College would give him a full ride. But if they thought BC or GT or UVA were going to be offering bids, nope. It’s so competitive in that area. Your child has to be truly in the upper echelons of the sport and catch the eye of a coach who has major influence at his college to get money. Some consideration for admissions is the most that many kids get.</p>
<p>This was a great series in the NY Times from nearly 3 years ago uncovering the myths of athletics scholarships. I was intrigued, which is why I remember it.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>I remember a friend who coached several rec dept teams telling me he told his kids early on to focus on school work, as athletic scholarships are a joke. Our HS produces several lacrosse & field hockey D1 players each year, but the ones that accept scholarships go to very small schools not known for academics.</p>
<p>The NCAA caps the number of scholarships by sport. The cap is also based on level: D1 is allowed more than D2. For example, a D1 baseball team has 11.5 scholarships total, but 9 for D2. Clearly, barely enough to cover one starting line up, much less the whole team. </p>
<p>A coach can decide how to parcel them out. For example, at ULCA the soccer coach would split the scholarship money evenly as a matter of policy. Thus, no one received a full ride, but all received a partial, and perhaps some need-based aid if they qualified for it. At least that was the policy a few years ago.</p>
<p>It is a quite a shock when one fully realizes the realities of athletic scholarships, particularly if the parent was banking on scholarship money to help finance their student-athlete’s college education. In many instances, club coaches who perpetuate the scholarship myth to keep their teams full are to blame. In other circumstances, parents just don’t understand how NCAA scholarships work for the different sports and divisions. And in some cases, parents have been told by everyone and their brother that their star athlete is headed for a full ride at any school he/she wants. I pity the poor souls who believe this.</p>
<p>As far as working goes, many student-athletes work at on or off-campus jobs while participating in varsity sports. While maybe not the ideal situation for some, it can be done. The bottom line is that for the majority of college athletes, participation is for the love of the sport, not for scholarship money. I remember reading somewhere that about 10% of high school athletes continue to compete at the collegiate varsity level. Of that 10%, only 10% receive athletic scholarship money. I’m not sure if these numbers are accurate, but I have read time and again that only about 1% of high school athletes receive athletic scholarships. That leaves a whole lot of kids competing in college just for “the love of the game”.</p>
<p>I believe some schools also split some scholarships (1/2 for Johnny, 1/2 for Fred) to get more athletes. If the school won’t offer anything I’d look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Many are confused by the publicity given to football and their head-count scolarships. </p>
<p>“Head-count” sports, in which the NCAA limits the total number of individuals that can receive athletic scholarships, but allows each player to receive up to a full scholarship.</p>
<p>Head-count sports represent a VERY small minority of sports:</p>
<p>Basketball 13 for men, 15 for women
Football 85, with an additional limit of 25 initial counters per year
Women’s gymnastics 12
Women’s tennis 12
Women’s volleyball 12</p>
<p>All others are subject to equivalency rules. </p>
<p>PS If you ever wondered why many Women’s tennis are popular in Eastern Europe … you got your answer!</p>
<p>All of this is really good information. Unfortunately, it comes a little late for those parents who are pushing little johnny or susie on idea that they could go to college for “free.” So does it makes sense for private coaches and the rest when you’re not saving to pay for college? There are very few rides (free or otherwise) and you have to realize that no education is “free” - even WITH athletic or merit scholarship. </p>
<p>With an athletic scholarship - you owe the school your physical best. And there is no guarantee that the scholarship full or partial is yours if you can’t compete, get hurt, whatever. With a merit scholarship - you owe the school good standing. And those GPA minimums are no joke and every year I’ve been on CC Ive seen kids lose that money as quickly as they got it because achieving that GPA is a lot harder than it was getting the A’s in HS. And maintaining it? Harder still.</p>
<p>Our kid had offers that would have gotten him into some schools based on his athletic ability. Not many offered athletic scholarship, but they were not of the academic caliber he wanted. His grades were what eventually had him admitted and his athletics - stellar as they were - merely made him seem an involved and accomplished student athlete, not the other way around. In the end, the best schools that accepted him had nothing to do with his ability to catch or throw a ball. And those schools that wanted him to catch and/or throw the ball, wouldn’t have been academically challenging for him in the least. Fortunately, we never counted on his being a recruited athlete in a financial way… and that would be my absolute best advice for anyone who has a phenom currently in Middle School. Life is about choices and putting all your eggs in the athletic recruitment basket is a sure way to end up with a lot of shells and egg on your face.</p>
<p>The only D1 (non revenue sport) athlete I ever knew who got a full ride, got that full ride because of “need” and not athletics…The coach did help her with the finaid office, but it was financial aid, not athletic scholarships.</p>
<p>The thing most D1 athletes do, who I know of, is to get an academic scholarship on top of the athletics. The good thing about that is that if you are injured, you don’t “lose” the money. Most of the kids I know, however, who are playing in college, come from family money.</p>
<p>One kid at Yale’s dad was shocked to find out that not only were they not going to get a scholarship, they were going to have to give them their financial information and then they would basically be “told” what to pay. It’s not really a financial ticket, just a boost if they need your position that year, which they don’t always, btw.</p>
<p>On top of that, the kid really has to think hard about whether or not they can meet the academic demands during the season while having to miss classes for travel and whatnot. It’s a challenge some choose not to pursue. I’ve seen some incredibly talented athletes stop after high school, for good reason, if they are academically minded. It is not always the best idea for a kid to stick with it. YMMV</p>
<p>I can conservatively estimate that we have spent well over $35,000 on my daughter’s athletic career. She has been a competitive athlete for fourteen years, in swimming, triathlon and rowing. With training fees, travel expense, equipment expense and coaches fees, we have spent a small fortune! She is one of the lucky ones and did get a nice athletic scholarship to attend a good school. But although we always hoped that it would happen, it was never a given. If the goal was to fund her college education, we would have been much better off investing that money in a college savings plan!</p>
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<p>While I agree with this, some student-athletes may find that they have plenty of time - more than in high school - to pursue their sport, go to class, study and even get a part-time job.</p>
<p>In high school, many student athletes spend from 8:00am to 3:00pm in class, then go to sports practice until 5 or 6. In college, most students have only 2-3 hours of class per day, 4 days per week, and athletic practice 3-4 hours per day, 6 days per week, with much less in the off-season.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s frustrating to be a full pay at a pricey school and have my child competing for the school. </p>
<p>If I was the least bit concerned that my kid’s grades were going to suffer, why bother?</p>
<p>You should be happy you were offered a roster spot. Its not quite the same as having to try out to make the team. Also, you are admitted, apparently. It may sound harsh, but if that’s the best alternative you have, its take it or leave it. </p>
<p>In baseball, to name one example, the NCAA D1 rules allow a roster size of 35. Rules further limit the players receiving any athletic scholarship support to 27. Each player who receives any aid at all must receive at least 1/4 scholarship equivalent. If a team has a full roster, they by definition have at least eight non-scholarship players. </p>
<p>There are precious few players who receive a full ride in baseball.</p>
<p>If he’s good enough, another school may have interest and be able to do something. Especially if he’s good enough to have been offered a roster spot at a top level program. There are variations among the programs relating to what they are able and willing to do. Of course, as you might surmise, as with academics, you get the best discount from the place that needs you most. That’s often not the best academic school, or the best athletic program.</p>
<p>Playing a D-1 sport is a BIG PLUS on the resume. Also those who prove their worth do get put on scholarship later. They call them invited walk-ons at my school. Every year several get scholarships.</p>