<p>My brother plays on an AAU basketball team in a city about twenty minutes from us. My brother has become quite close to one of the boys on his team these past few years. The public school this kids attends is horrible with supporting kids to go to college. About half of kids do not graduate. There have been several gang related incidents, one involving the death of two students this year. My brother's friend is currently a junior and no one at his school has ever spoken about the college admissions process or what it takes to get into college. He is the oldest of seven kids supported by a single mother. Aside from teachers and my mother, he does not know anyone who has ever gone to college. He still believes that the fact that he can play basketball (He's good, but not amazing. Starts on an AAU team took 7th at nationals, and a school varsity team that won states). </p>
<p>In spite of all of this he has about a 2.8ish gpa, and is a smart kid. He genuinely wants to go to college, but if he stays living with his family, in the city he grew up in, this will never happen. There is one local community college, but they have barely existent financial aid and he has no form of transportation. He talks about going to a school down south or somewhere that he "could focus things that aren't taking care of mom or the kids".</p>
<p>His EFC will be zero. Can anyone think of any schools with financial aid for this kind of student? He will need essentially a free ride to go. His family is not supportive at all of him going to college, and he has no one to co-sign a loan or anything like that (was an issue with another kid I know). </p>
<p>Rather than suggesting specific schools - I am going to suggest that this student needs a mentor - someone who can help him navigate the entire process - from testing to applying to financial aid. Some cities have organizations that work with inner-city kids and help them through the college process. There are also groups set up to do this for minority students. I would suggest looking for such a non-profit organization in his city and putting him in touch with them.</p>
<p>You might also look into some of the community colleges in Mississippi. Many have on-campus housing and good scholarships for Athletics and other ECs and decent grades - as well as transfer agreements with other MS 4-yr schools with transfer scholarship money.</p>
<p>There do not appear to be any such programs in the area. It is not a big city (pop ~30,000) in the middle of a fairly affluent area. It’s a mystery to most people how that area has gotten so bad in the past twenty years or so, but there are serious serious gang and drug problems. My mother and I have both been really trying to do something to help some of these kids. Other than tutoring the kids on the team a few days a week and trying to help them with the basics I do know from my own experiences applying to (a very different poll of) colleges, I don’t know what else to do. We were hoping to find some schools these kids might have a shot at just to give them something to aim for.</p>
<p>I will look at the Mississippi schools, thank you :)</p>
<p>Any chance he might get recruited for Basketball? Is the Athletic Director at his High School able to assist him in the recruiting process? Can someone donate $60.00 to have his profile and stats placed on athletic recruiting websites like berecruited.com? </p>
<p>Recruited Basketball players typically receive Full-Ride scholarships at NCAA Div 1, Div 2, and NAIA programs. A student athlete (particularly a Basketball player) might have an opportunity to play at the next level on a full scholarship. Basketball is not a “equilvalency sport” = wherein scholarships are divided among several players. Basketball and Football are considered “head count sports” and recruited Basketball (and Football) players receive full scholarships- (in the Divisions mentioned). *Only NCAA D-3 does not grant athletic Scholarships. Check the list of all NCAA Div 1, Div 2 - (ncaa.org)- and NAIA (naia.cstv.com) teams with Basketball programs. Someone will need to help him investigate the possibility of being recruited to play at the college level. He doesn’t need to be the best player in the country, he just needs a collegiate Coach that will give him a chance. He will need to apply to the NCAA Eligibility Center at [url=<a href=“http://www.eligibilitycenter.org%5DRedirecting%5B/url”>http://www.eligibilitycenter.org]Redirecting[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Check out Colleges and Universities that have NCAA D-1 and D-2 programs. Check out the NAIA schools. It could make all the difference in the world for this young Man!</p>
<p>He is a junior in high school in New York. He is looking at some of the residential community colleges, but really wants to find a school at which he knows he will be okay for all four years instead of trying to transfer and renegotiate scholarships and financial aid. </p>
<p>There may be a small chance he could be recruited, and he is pursuing this the best way he knows how. I don’t know all that much about his school’s team, but I do know that last year they were the state champions. Immediately after the championships, several of the members of the team dropped out/ or failed out. Passing athletes is a serious issue in this school to an extent I have never heard of anywhere else. The fact that athletic scholarships for basketball are full scholarships is very encouraging :). I know nothing about recruitment for basketball. I know younger swimmers who have already been approached. His junior year season is over with no contact from colleges, is this typical?</p>
<p>If community college is the only option for him he will of course take it, assuming he can find any way to come up with the 14,000 a year associated with residential community colleges. </p>
<p>There are four year schools that will accept him with his gpa provided his test scores are OK. The biggest issue will be finances. It sounds like he will receive the full Pell grant and should be able to take out $5500 in federal loans so between the two he would have $11,000. I believe New York has something called a Tap grant which might help also.</p>
<p>If he wouldn’t mind going to the Midwest for school he could look at South Dakota State. COA (tuition, room and board, books etc) runs around $14,600. Some schools in Minnesota (Bemidji State) are also reasonable and do not charge a difference for out of state versus instate students.</p>
<p>Division III does not have athletic scholarships, but they can have merit scholarships and can offer full financial need. A D3 coach can typically help get their recruited athletes admitted and be sure FA is maximized for a player they want. It’s too bad no college coaches have contacted him yet. It’s not a deal breaker, but if he had any letters coming in, it would verify that he has the potential to play at least D3 ball. I’d think if he was on a state champion team and not contacted yet, he’s not going to get an athletic scholarship in D2 or D1 at this point. </p>
<p>It is often said that you recruit yourself in D3 sports. A student can contact coaches directly, send a video, and visit the school and meet the coach. Have him tell college coaches when he is playing in show camps, etc. to be scouted. BTW, there are over 400 schools playing mens basketball in D3.</p>
<p>Is he a minority? I believe there are several national programs to help minority kids with this type of background. I am not familiar with them (questbridge? mesa?) but it might help to start another thread with that in the title. Also, visit the Financial Aid forum for ideas.</p>
<p>The fact that he’s not yet on a particular coach’s radar, isn’t necessarily a “done deal” at this stage of the game. He may not be nationally recognized, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t some Coach out there that might be able to utilize his services on the Court in exchange for a college education. Is there someone who might be willing to put together a profile for him on a site like berecruited.com- it cost $60.00. You can download photos, stats, and personal information. It is an inexpensive way to conduct national internet recruiting. I have used the site for my son (in another sport) and it produced a Scholarship opportunity for my child ! The Berecruited site allows a “letter generator” which the user can send 25 letters per day (pre generated/ introduction pre-set, with request for contact with his contact information pre-typed) that he can simply hit the “send button” and submit to D1, D2, D3 and NAIA programs through out the country. Is there someone that would donate the fees for such a recruitment service? Is there an adult “somewhere” that might help him timely respond to any inquiries he might receive? </p>
<p>Do you know what (if anything) the Athletic Director at the High School is doing to attempt to help this young Man get recruited? With his 2.8 GPA, there is a program out there that might recruit him depending on his Test scores. An Athlete on a State Championship Team with Teammates that have failed out of School, could be suffering the ill effects of collegiate Coaches randomly assuming that no one at the High School is academically eligible for recruitment? College Coaches could be bypassing this High School entirely perhaps, because the students there haven’t had the academic stats for eligibility to collegiate programs (historically). This is a REAL and unfortunate possibility! </p>
<p>*Here’s where the Athletic Director needs to be involved in agressively promoting this athlete! </p>
<p>Ask the Athletic Director to look at Schools with Basketball programs- D1, D2, D3, and NAIA. Make sure the student responds to every School that might contact him. </p>
<p>A D3 program that might REALLY WANT TO RECRUIT HIM, might make up for their lack of athletic scholarships by offering him a generous merit scholarship (although that 2.8 GPA might make that it a bit more difficult). </p>
<p>It is still somewhat early in the game. There is a full year remaining. There is TIME to generate the possibilities!</p>
<p>If he is African American, he might also find mentoring , help with visiting HBCU’s and small merit scholarships from local graduate chapters of National Pan Hellenic Fraternities.</p>