Hi, I was recruited by Northeastern to run for their track team and I thought that automatically implied an athletic scholarship. In my financial aid package, they gave me about 43,000 in academic aid but I got noting for an athletic scholarship. I’m just wondering, is that because I received so much in academic aid? It leaves about 14,000 U.S. for to pay, 12,000 if I do work study. I’m wondering maybe this is blessing in disguise but does this mean I’m not bound to the team. Like could I quit without it hurting my academic scholarship? What kind of experience have you had with this kind of thing? Any help would be appreciated.
There is a forum for recruited athletes here on CC. People there may have more knowledge on this topic and steps to take to find out more. Are you an international applicant? Specifying $14,000 US leads me to think so. Are you not committed to running for the school, you mentioned it being a blessing if you were free to quit? Can you cover the remaining costs?
Hi, thank you for the link, I didn’t know there was a forum for athletes. I’m not an international applicant, the schools is just very expensive. Northeasterns tuition is about 43,000 which is covered by my academic scholarship. The 14,000 is for the room and board which has not been covered. I’m already verbally committed to run for them, but this verbal committment is not binding. If they were to give me an athletic scholarship then I would have to sign the national letter of intent which is binding. I say it’s a blessing in disguise because I’m not completely in love with track, I’m mostly doing it for the money. If I’m not bound financially to the track team then maybe later in the future I could leave with it denting my academic scholarship. Sorry for the long comment
Being recruited athletically has nothing to do with an athletic scholarship. That would have been spelled out separately. The NCAA governs whether or not you would be able to receive both academic and athletic scholarships. You received a great scholarship and since it is academic, you are not bound to play your sport. However, be sure to review the terms of the scholarship to determine if it is for all 4 years and if there are restrictions on maintaining a minimum GPA.
Ah I see, I just implied being recruited meant you get an athletic scholarship, thank you!
Not at all schools. But if you need to clarify you can certainly ask the college what happens to your scholarship if you are unable to run in the future.
You cannot sign a NLI right now. You either have to sign in Nov (early signing) or late (April 15). If you have a verbal commitment, money should have been discussed; they don’t just give you an arbitrary amount of money.
The track and field scholarships are usually sliced quite thin at most schools because they need a lot of athletes but are limited to the number of scholarships they can award. You are right that sometimes the small amount you receive doesn’t justify the amount of time you are required to devote to the team. There is no way my daughter could work during her sport’s season, so if she needed the money she’s have to give up the sport. Being on an athletic scholarship is a huge commitment.
Yea I know about the signing periods. I’m kind of glad I don’t have the athletic scholarship so that I’m not bound to the team. I’m just going to have to find a way to make up the rest of the cost as best I can