Yes, schools can offer more in merit or financial aid than a scholarship athlete might get if all the athlete gets is athletic aid. However, athletes should be eligible for those merit scholarships too.
The recruit needs to see which school can put together a good package. My daughter, at a D2 school, had 9 different lines on her tuition statement for aid and only 1 was athletic aid.
I wonder how it came to be believed that D3 schools as a whole violate the NCAA rule against athletic scholarships in D3 schools. It never really made sense to me. Sure, there probably are the schools that violate the rule, but not the better academic D3s.
First, the starting point for D3 athletic recruiting campaigns is that D3 schools have virtually no recruiting budget. I cannot believe that there is a 7 or 8 figure slush fund (which there would have to be to hand out $$ in all sports to most athletes for both genders) sitting behind an absent recruiting budget. In fact, I cannot believe that there is any money in the athletic budget for scholarships at all. It just isn’t where you put the money.
Second, most of the elite academic D3s are just that – academic D3s. Sure, it would be nice for the parents of athletes and the boosters to have a successful football team, but that simply is not what they are in business for. Take MIT for example, does it really impact MIT’s reputation if it has an “in your face” basketball team?
Third, think about what a rational D3 school would do. I have one really good soccer player that I think will help the team. Should I break the rules for this kid and give him a free ride? Then what about the rest of the team? The captains? What happens if the kid gets injured on week one? What happens if he drops out of soccer or the school?
You have to look at the pro (a better soccer team, perhaps) and then balance that against the con that the school would be looking at NCAA sanctions for giving the scholarship. Maybe it would not be allowed to have a team at all. What does the violation do to the school’s reputation?
If there is merit money available, do I think the scholarship amount can be negotiated? Yes, in certain circumstances. If there is needs-based money, is there some room for negotiation? Yes. However, non-athletes also routinely negotiate the merit and needs dollars they get from the school.
I think this rumor came from parents wanting to believe that their commitment to youth sports resulted in something tangible. It did result in something tangible. Their kids learned leadership, discipline and teamwork. In the world of D3 sports - and especially in the elite D3s - in all likelihood it did not result in scholarship dollars.
My son was recently recruited for a DIII tech school. This particular school does offer merit awards, and all kids are eligible if they qualify. He received a likely letter and it stated he would receive a merit award and it was due to outstanding performance in the classroom, leadership, and special talent and that was something they wanted on campus. So he was not going to be “compensated” for his athletics but his athletics maybe helped him achieve the dollar amount offered. He was a solid academic candidate for that school and probably would have received some amount of merit anyways.
I don’t think there are “slush funds”. for athletes. I do think that admissions looks at the overall package a candidate presents, and the more the candidate can contribute to campus the more likely they are to recieve merit money.
Anyways, he decided not to enroll there, and go to another DIII where there they don’t offer merit to any kids.
I think @mamom raises a good point though. It’s much less likely a student will get good merit offers if they apply ED and yet many of these schools ask athletes to apply ED. I’m wondering what would have happened if your daughter decided to apply RD and asked the coach for support. The tone of many comments seems to be that athletes shouldn’t get any advantages that regular students can’t access (which I agree should be true) but this is a case where athletes might be at a disadvantage. Thoughts?
Why are kids more likely to get merit money applying RD? Is it just that that’s when the $$ decision is made?
There is always “wiggle room”. Schools are attempting to create a balanced freshman class so it can be difficult on any given day to know who they may be trying to recruit. In regards to athletes, unless you are a real standout in a money making sport or, for scholars, a top 10% SAT scorer it is more likely some other “hook” got you in; minority, gender, first generation, great essay, musical skill etc. Colleges want balanced classes.
You may have the edge on getting admitted, but if you are relying on scholarship in order to attend that athlete recruitment edge may mean very little.
I would say that ED will not increase chances of scholarship as you are essentially making a contract with the college that you will attend if accepted. I think EA can be beneficial over RD if you are hoping for scholarship money.
Was talking to yet another parent of a D3 athlete the other day who was talking about how they got reduced tuition because of his son’s prowess on the field and his awesome negotiation skills.
Just nod your head, and back away slowly, all the while biting your tongue.
@LMC9902 When applying as a recruited athlete ED it is a pretty sure thing you are going to attend if accepted. Merit is offered to help entice those with high scores and GPAs. But, the athlete has already expressed great interest in the school and the athletic program. If the student athlete decides to not attend to that school that accepted them ED due to cost , they may have lost out on opportunities to play at other schools. Not always, but it is a roll of the dice. My D would not have gotten coach support at any of the schools recruiting her if she did not apply ED. There were a couple of coaches who told her if she did not get into her first choice to reach out and if they still had spots, they would support her app in the ED2 round but no one offered support for RD.
Schools have different structures with merit money and need based aid, and they don’t always use merit just to steal students away from another school. Plenty of schools that have ED offer merit to students in that round. Plenty of schools have guaranteed merit money based on stats, and it isn’t only for 4.0/36 applicants. Some of the D3 schools offer merit, and some athletes can only go to those schools with the merit money but that’s true for the non-athletes too.
@mamom yes, I have an older D who applied ED but not for sports so I’m familiar. She’s at Oberlin and in some ways I wish we had told her to wait until the RD round because people who had similar stats to her got better money in RD. She just applied ED because she knew that’s where she wanted to attend and wanted the process over with. She absolutely loves the school so I have no regrets. The good thing about Oberlin is they tell you how much merit you would get if you apply ED. Of course, there’s not really any room for negotiation at that point whereas if you apply RD and they really want you they are willing to increase it sometimes (I have gotten this information for other parents who did so). My younger one is looking to play lacrosse and many of the schools she wants don’t have merit money but if she ended up looking at one that did I would be curious if they would negotiate with you before you applied ED. We won’t qualify for financial aid so that’s not part of the equation, just merit.
Some schools are quite up front about ED and merit so it is worth talking with the student’s admissions rep once the student knows they have a roster spot offer and are deciding whether to “commit” through ED.
It’s all about family objectives. What comes first? Shiny name brand-name college with high USNWR ranking? Continuing to play a sport after high school? Financial aid? A good college fit? I am not saying that you can’t have it all, but you may have to forego or compromise on one or more objectives.
If your objective is an elite D3 LAC, most likely (with some exceptions) there won’t be merit aid. Unless there are other, highly desirable hooks, most likely there won’t be much negotiation for needs-based aid, so you probably should apply ED. Recruits do get shut out because they didn’t apply ED (particularly in the NESCAC).
If your first objective is the largest aid package, you may benefit from waiting until the RD round. I wouldn’t count on aid negotiation, although I have heard that it does happen. RD will allow you to compare financial aid packages. On the other hand, it is the absolute opposite of “committing” to an athletic program. And, you really just don’t know. In more subjective sports – like LAX – a coach may just more the support down the list to the next best candidate.
And, while we are talking rumors and myths, we shouldn’t forget the rumor that financial aid is somewhat “picked over” by the time a school reaches the RD round. I have no idea if this is true, and I suspect it depends more on the individual school at issue. However, schools that are “needs aware” are definitely looking for more full pays by the RD/WL round.
Finally, use caution in comparing aid circumstances with other families. It is a fine exercise, because it may lead to useful information. But it also could be misleading. A family may not want to advertise a large pay cut that gave rise to needs-based aid.
Bottom line: I would have a discussion with the recruiting coach about financial aid and how it is given out.