<p>Is anyone else having as difficult a time as we are?? This is horrible. The school that DS likes best is too expensive. One that is NOT at the top of his list is offering him a full-tuition scholarship! Another school would be excellent and affordable, but he would not be fast enough to make the track team. And whatever we decide, there will be at least six coaches who are very disappointed that he's not attending their schools.</p>
<p>OK, that's my vent for today! I didn't know that this would be so hard.</p>
<p>Weel, Maine, now it’s business time…So he doesn’t make the track team…He could try out walk on, he could play a club sport like ultimate frisbee, he could run and work out on his own. Which college is best for his future plans, and where will he be happiest? Sometimes its harder for us than them to move on…Anyway, it’s been a great ride, hasn’t it… and you deserve kudos for all the hard work(and your child) that led up to this moment!Enjoy the choice!</p>
<p>Well its kind of a good problem to have…
so I suppose if the FinAid for the most expensive one isn’t going to work, you can table that for a moment…and come back to it…</p>
<p>I would say have your student look at each school–major, lifestyle, everything about the school without the sport…and see how your kiddo feels about each
then add back in each of the schools options for the sport…level of play etc.</p>
<p>A friend recently walked her student through this–and ending up turning down Cornell and UPenn for BC. The student really clicked with the BC coach and would be playing more. The school offered the major and all things considered, financial packages etc…</p>
<p>another thing to consider might be- the “what if” if there is a change in coaching, an injury etc…
since you don’t want to face him hating the school and wanting to transfer </p>
<p>Good luck and congratulations!!! WHat an exciting time!</p>
<p>MaineL- Congratulations on having options! And condolences on the complicated reality of imperfect offers! Yes, it is a nervewracking process, but you and son will sort out the pluses and minuses of each offer and find a comfortable fit. </p>
<p>Just don’t expect a perfect fit. Perfect rarely exists, and often changes anyway. This is one of those “life is messy but exciting” lessons for your son. (Wait until he is deciding an a fiancee!)</p>
<p>As advised above, remember to imagine a scenario where he is injured and must end his sport and still love his college. Or the possibility he will want to substitute a demanding EC for his sport. Remember to give him the emotional space to consider the school which you describe as excellent and affordable, but where he might not qualify as a walk-on. It can be hard for us to let go of our child’s athletic identities after investing so much time and energy into them. It is a gift to allow our student to imagine a new future with alternate goals and full parental support.</p>
<p>In any case hang in there, and be happy all those coaches love your son too!</p>
<p>More details (I’ve shared on other boards, so what the heck!) - Susquehanna University in PA has offered him the full scholarship. I like this little school, but it’s probably not even in the top half of schools he likes. He loves Washington U. in St. Louis, but it would cost us over $40k per year, even with the aid they’re giving us. The school that’s excellent and affordable is the University of Texas (he shocked us by getting into the biomedical engineering department, which is VERY selective). He could get in-state tuition after going to school there the first year (yes, there are some hoops to jump through, but it’s doable, unlike most other states). His track times didn’t improve enough this year for him to run on the team.</p>
<p>He applied to 11 schools. A few of the coaches weren’t terribly interested (Dartmouth, Rice, Texas, University of Richmond).</p>
<p>We have talked to him a lot about picking the school for academics, not athletics. WUSTL really does seem to be a perfect fit, if we could just figure out the money!! Of course, I like the idea of Texas, because he would be the fourth generation to attend UT, and my dad has been a prof there since 1965 (DS got NO preferential treatment because of him, though - Texas is too big to do that for alumni or employees’ kids).</p>
<p>fauve, thanks for your comments. I think that’s my problem, I keep expecting to “figure out” the perfect fit (my engineer’s brain at work). But you’re right, there isn’t one.</p>
<p>Well, Rice is #2 on his list, and I think he probably could walk on the team, according to the coach. Maybe they’ll give him some merit money!</p>
<p>Thanks for letting me ramble. It helps to write stuff down.</p>
<p>Adding the athletic component to the equation is tough. S1 knew he would not be continuing his sport in college, and this made his decision so much easier. S2 is weighing his options and may very well decide on a school where his sport is D1, which will prohibit him from participating. He would likely play club at this school, but the other schools he is thinking about are D2 or D3 and he would be able to play at these schools, however, they may not really be the best fit for him. He has options, which is great, but it is not easy!</p>
<p>Congrats to you and your son! Lots of choices can be a good thing. But I hear you on WashU, we will likely be in a similar situation with my daughter’s top choice. Best of luck… and I know things will work out for the best!</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn - does Texas has club XC? Some of our S’s high school teammates opted not to pursue varsity XC/track in college, but have had a great time running with club teams - even traveling to national championships. Congrats on your S’s great options!</p>
<p>Maine, are you waiting to hear from admissions at Rice? That’s a good school. If he can run there, and the money’s right, I’d be taking a closer look…</p>
<p>everyone knows my opinion about how to choose, but that’s only for “intense” athletes or maybe in my case “crazed athletes”:)</p>
<p>so the athlete thing aside, my vote is for WashU. That is an amazing undergrad college. And from an undergrad view point i would rank it up in the top 10 schools in the country, where is it now in USNWR around 16.</p>
<p>And you want to see a blood sport, WashU’s mock-trial team. They’re the best in the country. Mock trial makes boxing look tame. These young litigators kick-butt on Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, Yale, Cal, and USC the other top mock trial schools in the country.</p>
<p>now if we could just change the weather in St. Louis</p>
<p>Maine- Congrats to your son on the UT biomed engineering program! And I hope Rice finds the merit money for him so he could choose to still do track. The WashU price sounds painful- perhaps you can approach the FA office with the facts of his Susquehanna offer (as well as the UT instate price), and see if WUSTL will increase their offer. It can’t hurt.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. My son got an e-mail from the Wash U coach today that said, in VERY large font, “KEEP THINKING WASH U!!!” </p>
<p>It’s a good idea to call the FA office. We’ll wait until we get all the FA packages and then see what they say. It can’t hurt to ask. And he IS pretty interested in Rice - I wish they would get their decisions out! People have said they’ve been overwhelmed with applications this year - 9% increase over last year.</p>
<p>Runners2, I know Austin has a very active running community, so a school or city club is certainly a possibility for him. There must be a lot of fast guys at Texas!</p>
<p>Texas traditionally has one of the top men’s distance teams in the NCAA so there are LOTS of good runners who can’t run for them - at schools with that level of competition, often there is a club XC team that is also quite competitive and lots of fun. I don’t know if that’s true for Texas or not. Do know that distance kids really enjoy the team and coach at Wash U - that would be a great option! Congratulations on terrific choices!</p>