Financial Aid?

My '21 rising senior had a positive read from her top D3 college choice. They said she should have no problem being admitted. Recently took part in online get to know the team which she really enjoyed. What’s next?
Also we will be applying for need based FA. At what stage do we get the estimation? The school is need aware. Can this impact her application negatively in ED? Should she still be emailing other coaches from her 2nd 3rd and 4th choices? We moved to the USA recently and this is all new to us. Thanks!

It is unclear if she is a US citizen. That will determine which types of aid she’s allowed to receive (federal aid, state aid).

Some schools will give a financial aid pre-read too. Ask for that.

If you don’t know if you can afford this school, definitely keep looking at other options

Did the coach say they are supporting your D’s app thru the process?

Have you asked for a financial aid pre-read? If not you should do that…some schools will do FA pre-reads, some won’t.

Is your D applying as an international student? If so, not sure the net price calculators will work, but you might do those to get an estimate of costs for each school. But, if she is an international student, she won’t qualify for any federal aid (pell grant, direct student loan, work-study), so you would have to back those out of any npc estimate.

I would stay in communication with the other coaches until she has a clear understanding of the offer and the finances at school A.

Permanent resident which I think puts us in the same category as citizens with regards to college stuff. We just can’t vote. Thanks!

We have green cards so I think the process is the same as US citizens. We have filled in the net price calculators and if it’s what it says it is then we should be ok. Coach said that her sport is a priority and she is a top recruit and she has nothing to worry about with admissions because her grades are good. Didn’t mention support or slots.
For a financial aid pre read, can this impact recruiting?

Keep talking to the other coaches until a solid commitment has been made on both sides. I’d check with the first choice coach on a few things: does “nothing to worry about” mean the coach is supporting the application, or is she being told to apply without support? If the latter, how many similar applicants have been admitted? (If this is not one of those highly selective schools with very low admit rates, this might be less of a concern for you). On the FA, I’d ask the coach directly if this matters, and ask for a pre read. You can tell the coach the school is the first choice but these are important issues. I’d be asking the other coaches the same questions.

Yes, rumor suggests that at some of the D3 need aware schools, needing FA might be a disadvantage. Many of these schools support athletics programs to entice full paying athletes.

                      You also have to be sure what aid is available to GC holders, do not assume that it is the same as citizens, it is going to be institution and state dependent. Check and check again. Even in my kids state 4 yr  years back there was certain aid (this would have been state funded merit money) not accessible to GC holders.

She asked and she is indeed the top recruit and if she applies ED they will support the application.

At what point now do we ask about FA? Is it wise to contact admissions for an estimate? The calculator comes out about double other colleges she was looking at. She still want to go the school but would have to take substantial loans to attend.

Thanks!

Ask for a financial aid pre-read now. Is this a meets full need school? Did their NPC ask for different info than other schools’ NPCs?

Your D can only take out $5,500 in student loans freshman year ($27K in total for most undergrads over 4 years). Any loans beyond that would be on the parents (either taking out the loan themselves, or co-signing a private loan).

Yes full need. The calculator was the one on their website. The my intuition one and then the slightly more in depth one.
Both came out to be much higher than other colleges she was looking at. We have 0 assets other than the home we live in but live in an expensive state, so our gross income of 120K doesn’t go a long way for a family of 6. We can cover about 1/3 of tuition per year.

It would be helpful to know the college you are speaking about. Regardless, if you can pay a third tuition ($15K-$20K per year?) and the NPC is much higher than that, you have to get a financial aid pre-read to have comfort re: applying ED. If that NPC is accurate, you don’t want to be in the situation where you use your ED chance on an unaffordable school.

Talk to the coach and go from there. Good luck.

Thank you for the advice!! Sent you a pm!

I would talk to the coach about the financial aid and what options you have. If she is indeed the top recruit, I am guessing she is a high recruit for many D3 schools. That puts you in a good position. Sometimes people are afraid if they ask too many questions or ask for financial aid they will be dropped. You probably would have to become a real pain in the rear for the coach to drop your daughter on his/her list. S19 was in a similar situation, it was nice to feel free to ask whatever I wanted to ask and not worry about something being taken the wrong way. All of the coaches we talked to knew he had plenty of options, it sounds like your D does too, or at least would if she pursued other options.

Even if the coach can’t get an official financial aid preread, he/she should be able to get a pretty good idea. If the coach isn’t helpful on this front, that’s a bit of a red flag for me. I would be 100% sure the coach knows of your permanent resident status when you are talking about financial aid. I would also probably call the financial aid office independently and ask how your residency status affects your financial aid. My guess is that even if it is normally considered for admissions purposes, the coach can work around that. He may be limited on the number of FA applicants he can support, but if you are the top recruit then as long as it is one then you are ok.

I would definitely still talk to a couple of other coaches. Weird things sometimes happen with the recruiting and your D could find herself without a home a couple of weeks before the ED deadline, or even later. It is much easier to rekindle with a coach you have talked to than scramble to find anyone on short notice. Be honest with them, because I don’t know the sport but in most of them the coaches all know each other and all talk, even about who they are recruiting. But it’s ok to let them know you are strongly considering _______ and have an offer from there, but would also like to look at their school and see what they have to offer.

I would think hard about how much she prefers this school if it is double the other ones under consideration. I’m not saying it isn’t worth it, I’m saying it depends. S turned down a true full ride scholarship that came with some other benefits to attend a different school. So I definitely understand that for many people (myself included) cheapest isn’t necessarily best. But make sure it is worth it.

I don’t know the schools or dollar amounts, but here’s an example of what I mean:

Is a degree from Amherst worth paying $100,000 more for than one from a directional U no one who lives more than 100 miles away from has ever heard of? Maybe, intelligent people will disagree. Is a degree from Amherst worth paying $100,000 more for than one from Williams or Swathmore? I suppose in some really unusual circumstance, but for almost everyone probably not.

Good luck!

Thank you so much, this is super helpful! The coach recommended speaking to the financial aid office and didn’t seem to worry about asking for FA. We set up a call with them, hopefully we will get a better idea of the numbers. The school is a perfect match for her, grades, sports and academics wise. Coaches from some LACs have emailed with her and been very interested, the difference seems to be about 10K per year(less)but they don’t have the exact major that she is interested in.