<p>A Swiss relative of ours emailed to say she'd been accepted at a university in the Dallas area and would be on their soccer team on an athletic scholarship. My parents figured she'd be on the SMU team, but instead she is going to a place called Northwood University. Nobody in my family has heard of this place, even though we are in Texas. She wants to major in international business. My parents are skeptical, to put it mildly, that our cousin will earn a diploma worth the paper it's written on.</p>
<p>So my parents emailed her several more times and learned that she signed a contract with some dudes representing a company called Maivon, probably a German company b/c the guys "helping" her with all this are German. The contract requires her to get their approval before transferring to other schools. Here is a list of some of the other schools that accepted her and wanted her on their soccer teams:</p>
<p>Bacone college
Missouri Valley College
Culver-Stockton College
Brescia university
Goshen college
Mount mercy university
Mountainstate university
University of the cumberland
Hougton college
Tiffin university</p>
<p>Anybody out there know anything about any of these places or the one she will attend: Northwood University? Has anyone heard of a scam where international "managers" help European athletes get scholarships to American colleges of dubious quality? </p>
<p>On top of all this, the cost to attend this Northwood University is $10K a semester, and then another $5K for room and board. For that price, we are convinced she's getting duped, tricked, swindled, scammed, whatever you want to call it. She could go to UT-Austin and have money left over. Of course, that price is before her "scholarship" for soccer. </p>
<p>If anyone on CC has any information that might help this poor girl, would you PLEASE let me hear from you???????</p>
<p>I did a quick google search for many (not all) of the schools listed - and they appear to be legitimate, not-for-profit colleges, although mostly trade schools. Many have religious affiliations. Heavily focused on evening classes and commuter programs.</p>
<p>Your relative’s “scholarship,” though, is another matter entirely! The cost to attend Northwood (at their Texas campus) is . . . $30,224 per year! So the “scholarship” appears to be a whopping $224 per year!</p>
<p>My assessment? The schools are legit . . . and if a student lives close by, wants a trade education only, and wants to commute, they might be a good fit. The German intermediary, on the other hand, is something else entirely! If the information you’ve provided is accurate, they’re offering her $224/year . . . in exchange for which she must sign a contract committing to attending this school for four years, whether she likes it or not! And even though her “benefit” from this contract is almost nonexistent, I’d guess there’s a very hefty penalty to pay if she decides to withdraw from her selected school in less than four years!</p>
<p>My guess is that she’s already paid a fee to this company to “find” her a school . . . so they make money coming and going. And going is exactly what she should do . . . straight out their door and never look back!!!</p>
<p>Edited to add: You can go to [Princeton</a> Review](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/schoolsearch.aspx]Princeton”>College Search | The Princeton Review) yourself and do a search for these schools. What I found for Northwood-Texas is that it has 461 students, and only about 100 of them live on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help! I sent your advice to my parents. I also checked the website of her German “handlers” and found it’s all in English. They tell students:</p>
<p>"If you are a top performing athlete, are academically strong and are interested in studying in the United States, you may get a sports scholarship to study at one of many top universities. "</p>
<p>Now, is there ANYONE out there who can spot a “top” university on the list of schools that were recommended to our cousin?</p>
<p>I do know a highly-ranked Swiss tennis player who did get a full-ride to a small college in the US. However, she and her mother (who had spent a year here as a HS exchange student) did their own research including a trip to the US to meet the coaches. The college that student attended is not on this list.</p>
<p>Thanks, happymomof1!
My parents think that is what our cousin should have done, but the girl didn’t consult our family first; she used those German con artists. If they had asked us when our cousin was first thinking about it, that is precisely the path my parents would have suggested. </p>
<p>My oldest sister was a recruited athlete, so our parents have a little experience with how athletic admits work, though not on an international scale as the person you know does. </p>
<p>It’s sad and disgusting to know our cousin is happily convinced she’s going to a good school and will experience the typical US university student life, and knowing that what waits for her at Northwood is most definitely NOT what she imagines.</p>
<p>I think it may be time for you/your parents to discuss the situation with your cousin and cousin’s family. Tell them exactly what you just wrote: “our cousin is happily convinced she’s going to a good school and will experience the typical US university student life, and knowing that what waits for her at Northwood is most definitely NOT what she imagines.”
Show her the data dogersmom found, and send her a list (from a few sources) of the top 100-200 universities/colleges in the US to prove that none of the schools that company promotes are on them. You could also show articles on how foreign students are a big business for American schools, which is something this company is trying to tap into - maybe also while being paid by said schools to “recruit” paying customers.</p>
<p>The problem with all of this is that the cousin is already registered and planning to attend in the fall. She can certainly back out . . . but it’s likely far too late for her to enroll somewhere else.</p>
<p>This might mean that she’s have to take a gap year . . . but I have no idea how athletic recruitment works and if taking a gap year would interfere with her being admitted later. Or are there decent schools that would still be interested in admitting an athlete for the fall?</p>
<p>This just seems like a real mess!</p>
<p>Her biggest difficulty with getting admission for the fall could be the time needed to process her student visa paperwork. She should start by contacting the counselors at the EducationUSA office in Bern [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - Public Affairs Office, Bern](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/USEmbassyBern]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/USEmbassyBern) EducationUSA is a not-for-profit entity that is supported by the US Department of State and has the responsibility for helping international applicants find good places to study in the US. If no one in that office has worked with an athlete recently, they have colleagues in other offices in the region who have. If the folks in Bern are half as good as the people I used to work with in Latin America, she will be in good hands.</p>
<p>Provided there is time for her to get the visa work done, there certainly are soccer coaches at colleges/universities at institutions several steps up from the one she is currently planning to attend who would be happy to have her on their team. Even if she has to be full pay, she can come here for less than 30k if she just shops around!</p>
<p>Thank you SO much for your expert guidance! I will copy and email them to my parents. They can then send them and the information you suggest to her parents. They talked about the possibility of her living with them for a year (if needed) improving her English, and playing as much soccer as possible to keep up her skills. I don’t know how that stupid contract she signed with the predatory sharks might influence her, but (as you said) she could certainly end up paying to get out of it and STILL come out ahead because Northwood is so expensive. On the website for the predators, they claim that their students may attend one of many “top” US universities. LOL…there wasn’t ONE top school on our cousin’s list of choices. Poor dear.</p>
<p>Her student visa should already be in the works from the fees she paid to the German “handlers” so maybe it can simply be switched to another college??? UGH! >< </p>
<p>Regardless of how this all ends up, my family and I thank you SO much for your insights and help. If you think of anything else, please let me know!</p>
<p>Each college/university issues its own I-20 form, but yes, a student can switch colleges/universities even after the visa is issued. The International Student Office at the new college/university could help her with that.</p>