<p>I had always thought that Ivy's didn't give athletes money, but....</p>
<p>A friend of mine is going to Dartmouth (accepted ED to play on the sports team). My friend told me that after being accepted, the school offered to "help look over the financial aid again", and then agreed to give my friend another $10,000/ year. </p>
<p>do you think this is isolated to dartmouth, or is widespread among the ivys?</p>
<p>I doubt the story is entirely true. The sole incentive to give scholarships, be they athletic or merit, are to entice the applicant to choose their school over another. If your friend applied ED, he is bound to attend. There would be no reason for drastically upping his financial aid on Dartmouth's end as he cannot apply to other schools. However, I would not be surprised if they gave him a different aid package than they had initially offered. Peoples' financial situations change frequently. Maybe his parents' income changed, the college realized that it had more money left over than expected, etc. But in the end, I think your friend is exaggerating either the amount of extra aid or the reason for it.</p>
<p>my friend didn't know how much they would give in aid before committing, but my friend had been told that they would "help look it over"</p>
<p>i definitely believe the story</p>
<p>my friend is getting a lot of financal aid for brown because he's nationally ranked in soccer</p>
<p>That's not true...they're getting financial aid because of their need. Recruiting only helps with acceptance to Ivies.</p>
<p>^^ Exactly. Dartmouth offers financial aid to all applicants based upon demonstrated need, not sporting abilities. They are need-blind and do not offer merit scholarships of any kind, whether they be athletic or academic.</p>
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I had always thought that Ivy's didn't give athletes money, but....
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<p>There are no secrets or covert actions as Dartmouth awards financial aid based on a student's demonstrated need. A student can be an athlete and still have a demonstrated need, which Dartmouth or any school that awards aid based on need will fulfill.</p>
<p>It is not unusual for schools such as Dartmouth to do a financial review (actually they are very upfront about the fact that there will do one) and based on the findings amend the FA award.</p>
<p>Peoples financial situations change and when that happens it is in the students best interest if the parents does make the school aware and request a review.</p>
<p>If the Ivies are following their own policies, the total amount of a student's financial aid award should be determined exclusively by financial need.</p>
<p>How that need is met is a different story. Most students' financial packages consist of a combination of grant, loan, and job. If the Ivy really wants that student, the amount met by a loan is likely to be small. If the Ivy couldn't care less whether the student enrolls, the amount met by a loan is likely to be high. Recruited athletes are among those who are really wanted.</p>
<p>I suspect that the "review" may have involved switching a portion of the financial aid award from one category (loan or job) to another (grant).</p>
<p>it is hard for the public to accept that a student athlete would choose to attend an ivy league school to play a sport, while turning down athletic scholarships at other schools. most people assume that if an athlete is playing a college sport that there is an athletic scholarship involved. </p>
<p>if he didn't know how much he was receiving before, how can he know that it was increased? surely he used a efc calculator before applying ed--or one would hope he knew what he was getting into somehow!</p>
<p>yes i agree mmkay....my friend is playing football for harvard and he is only geting a 1/2 tuition scholarship.
but on the contrary i know people playing for michigan who get a full ride and "benefits"</p>
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my friend is playing football for harvard and he is only geting a 1/2 tuition scholarship.
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<p>your friend is not getting a football scholarship from Harvard. He has received financial aid that covers half of his tuition.</p>
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but on the contrary i know people playing for michigan who get a full ride and "benefits"
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<p>Keep in mind that those who are on athletic scholarships, should they stop playing, get hurt and cannot play, gets on academic probation or does something that makes them ineligible to play it is bye bye scholarship. Where at the ivies, if a person decides to stop playing their sport tomorrow, it is no problem and will continue to get need based scholarship aid also long as they have a financial need. So Michigan essentially owns your friend for the next 4years.</p>
<p>I didn't think it was any secret that a highly recruited athlete could get a preferential aid package...it's still need based and not a scholarship...but they can find you more "needy" than the next person. The fact that Fin Aid reviews exist show that fin aid is somewhat elastic and then is it really all that surprising that for someone a school really wants there would be some negotiation? </p>
<p>Non Ivy scholarships also somewhat depend on how highly recruited you are. A very highly recruited athlete can get a better contract with their scholarship if they know what they're doing AFAIK (I suspect a lot of top recruits from poorer backgrounds who are doing this as a way out get left behind here). With some deals you can lose the scholarship for an injury that keeps you from playing (beyond red shirting), but I know someone who was very highly recruited, top at the sport in the US, ended up having some problems and was released from the team after her soph year I think, due to her contract she's in her fifth year and still has the full scholarship plus everything.</p>
<p>my friend drives a mercedes.... definitely doesn't fit the category of needy ...i think the conclusion is that athletes get preferential aid, which is fine and makes sense, but ivies could be more upfront about it</p>
<p>I don't see how more upfront they could be. I know athletes that were essentially told their fin aid would fit into what their family could afford (not what their EFC says they can afford, which we all know can be quite a stretch). Should they be upfront about this with non recruits? I don't really see why they would or how it matters.</p>
<p>Edited: oh yeah and it's still not a scholarship. Even middle class people can't usually afford these schools off the bat without significant loans unless they get financial aid, particularly if there are siblings in the picture. Somone from a family that does make enough to pay out of pocket probably wouldn't be getting much...and a "lower" recruit who's not as desirable, obviously wouldn't have as much pull factor. Actually any candidate can get fin aid reviewed and possibly renegotiated and these are the types of schools I have actually seen people be the most successful at. When you're talking about Ivy admissions they have selected carefully and Harvard doesn't want to lose that kid who started his stem cell research at 11 to MIT anymore than they don't want to lose a FB player I'm sure. I would imagine top academic picks could get similar treatment if it came down to that.</p>
<p>this is not a scholarship, it is based on need.</p>
<p>think about it: olympic level athlete, decent/good grades, needs 35,000 in grants.</p>
<p>original package = 25,000 grants, 10,000 loans</p>
<p>to meet the 100% need, they gave 10,000 more.</p>
<p>also, if u apply ED, u can get out of the ED binding decision if financial reasons will be a problem. the athlete can claim the grants were not enough, and he cannot go to college. coach freaks out, talks to admissions/financial aid committe, they give him more to make him stay.</p>
<p>they dont want to lose a student and an athlete that truly wants to go there if it is affordable.</p>
<p>"Keep in mind that those who are on athletic scholarships, should they stop playing, get hurt and cannot play, gets on academic probation or does something that makes them ineligible to play it is bye bye scholarship."</p>
<p>Students who receive athletic scholarships will not lose them if they are injured. The NCAA requires them to guarantee the scholarship for 5 years as long as the student is academically eligible, regardless of injury. Once the final agreement is signed the only way an athlete will lose a scholarship is if they flunk out of school, are convicted of a crime, or quit the team.</p>
<p>Actually scholies are for one year and can be renewed for up to five years. Most schools will honor them if a player is hurt but I don't think they have to.</p>
<p>Yeah, scholarships are for one year only. I player can lose a scholarship for numerous reasons or have the scholarship cut making it a half-scholarship instead of a full. The school doesn't need any reason to reduce a scholarship or take scholarship away from a player after the one year agreement.</p>
<p>the other item of note is that your friend applied ED, which meant that the original FinAid package sent with the acceptance letter was based on an estimated Profile based on what would be his financial situation during his Jr year. Perhaps his familiy's situation was not as robust during his senior year when the fafsa is completed and Profile is amended. And/or perhaps your friend also had higher than average medical or other expenses that were not noted on the original Profile, and The College made allowances for these.</p>
<p>^^^ A likely occurence than most people realize.</p>