I’m a female rower in New Zealand, have been actively recruited by around 8 schools and have narrowed it down to my top 4. 2 have expressed interest in me visiting and 2 others I have approached about visiting, all are keen to have me visit. My question is, when do I broach the topic of financials? I would need significant help to afford paying (return flights to the US alone are around 1200US). Are the schools able to share the cost eg. each pay for their own portion and contribute 300 to my international flights? Does this mean I’ve been invited on an ‘official visit’? 2 have said I can only be on campus for 48 hours so I assume they are considering it an official visit?
Any tips as to how to ask about the financials would be great!! I’m pretty on my own here 
Wow, that’s a tough one, I have no idea. You might scroll through past threads to see if this has ever come up. I think most people here will only know about US students. What sort of schools are thise, D I then? Ivy League?
Are you asking about financials for attending 4 years or for the trip?
I believe the 48 hour rule is for official visits (a visit paid for by the school either fully or partially) so it sounds like the two are talking about official visits. Often schools pay for transportation as well as housing, meals etc. for an official visit, but transportation can depend on the school’s budget.
Since they’ve already expressed interest in a visit I think it’s a fair question for you to ask them about cost and if they can pay for your flight. Some of the rowing teams have a good number of international athletes so they have probably had this come up before.
I agree with @bluewater2015 - be upfront and direct about asking whether it is an official visit and how much the school is willing to pay toward transportation costs. My son is an international and while the flight cost was not as high as yours it will still significant and his school covered it entirely.
In terms of sharing costs, I’d simply ask how much they are willing to contribute. My son’s school did the flight booking for him directly so we didn’t need to deal with reimbursement or anything. But it could be that a school will say, “We will contribute XX dollars toward your transportation.” I would suggest posing the question in this way rather than asking each school to pay a percentage. Recruiting internationals is not uncommon so a school with strong athletics will have a clear policy about this.
You will also need to ask about transportation from one school to another, as that could add $500 or so to each school. Many schools would only pay for that (transportation from SF to Oregon and back to SF).
You have nothing to lose. You just have to ask. Also, I think a lot of the schools enforce the 48 hour rule, the meals and one ticket to a varsity game even if it isn’t an official visit. It just keeps things easier. DD went to a D3 school for a visit, I paid for transportation and my hotel and car (she stayed on campus) but they still enforced the 48 hr rule, and the one ticket rule.
@BrownParent these are all D1 schools. I assume we would talk about scholarships when I am there but 2 have already indicated I am in line for 90-100% scholarships. I’m more worried about paying for the trip there- cannot afford to pay for it. @Cantiger If you don’t mind me asking where is your son from? Did he end up going to the school he visited? Thank you all for your help- I think I’m just going to be up front with them and ask if they would be willing to contribute towards the cost of flights
It sounds like you’re pretty high on their lists if they’re talking about full scholarships and hopefully that will translate to travel budget. Good luck with the discussions and your visits.
Women’s rowing scholarships can be quite generous. If a team is fully funded, the school can offer 20 scholarships so while not a headcount sport, it can work out that way for most of the team.