making a decision

<p>I have been recruited by 4 or 5 good d1 colleges in the northeast, one has offered a full ride, but isnt the pick of the litter for baseball. The other three have offered 40 to 50%. I have hopes of being drafted someday, so baseball right now is important for me. Should i wait for my senior year of high school to see if more offers come along or should i take what i can get now.</p>

<p>If you are drafted Sr year…will you take that route, or decline a draft offer to attend college?</p>

<p>shankees123,</p>

<p>Congrats on your offers. The fact that you are asking this question leads me to believe that none of the schools that has offered you is the right school for you. Is that the case? The % numbers are nice, but are they going to help you reach your goals? Sorry I don’t have enough info to help you more.</p>

<p>If your dream is to play baseball professionally, go to the college team that will prepare you for that goal. i would go to the program that shows me they want me, and the position coach that I could learn the most from. 100% baseball scholarships are extremely rare. My son was offered a couple D1 scholarships in the 40-50% range that he turned down to attend an Ivy school. He is playing baseball and doing very well right now. Our Ivy financail committment is about the same as it would have been had he accepted the D1 baseball scholarship. His goal was more academic than athletic, although getting drafted is part of his backup plan. Chemical engineering is the primary goal.</p>

<p>So, I would think about what it is you want to do long term. If these offereing schools meet those criterial then you could commit. if they don’t then I think you can continue to look. If you go to college, you could be drafted after your junior year.</p>

<p>Professional baseball out of high school is an extremely tough road. if you are considering it, you may want to research it a lot more. Your best chance for success as a professional baseball player is to attend college.</p>

<p>If you want to send me a private message, I’m more than happy to help with speciifics.</p>

<p>My son is also academically inclined. He would not plan on being drafted and needs his college education. He is a talented baseball player and would have a shot at it. He would love to play baseball at an Ivy. But even if he was given the opportunity , I am not sure we would be able to pay full tuition.</p>

<p>“Our Ivy financial commitment is about the same as it would have been had he had accepted the D1 baseball scholarship”</p>

<p>I was wondering how the financial commitment(for your son) to an Ivy is the same as it would have been if he had gone to a D1 school, since they don’t give athletic scholarships.</p>

<p>We would not qualify for any need based loan. I have read on this site that the D3 schools, although not giving athletic scholarships, find a way to give leadership or merit scholarships to athletes. Do the Ivies do this as well?</p>

<p>baseballmom,</p>

<p>We look at this recruiting process in terms of academic, athletic and financial (in that priority order). Everybody’s priority is different. My son was recruited across a very broad spectrum of schools including traditional D1, D1 Ivy, D1 Patriot, D3 and D3 NESCAC. There are slight differences across these “types” of schools. I won’t bore everyone with the details, but with (most) top academic schools it will be Need-Based Financial Aid for Financial Aid packages. These schools charge these rates becasue they can…low supply with high demand.</p>

<p>Yes, Ivys are very generous with their FA packages and grants, and we know it will be pretty much the same year after year. Baseball scholarships in general are year to year…so 40% one year could be less the following year. Yes, I’ve seen coaches drop their scholarships year to year…it happens all the time. In any event, our financial need situation is about the same as a 40% scholarship to the D1 private school that first offeredmy son. It was a no brainer with regards to the academics, athletics and financial. BTW…He was offered at another Ivy too, and it was about the same when all was said and done.</p>

<p>Based upon what you’ve shared, I would approach it from a couple different viewpoints:</p>

<p>1) Since you will not be getting need based FA or athletic, you can only puruse merit based FA. His best chance for merit is to find a school (other than elite LACS or Ivy) that he would be very desirable. I’ve read some schools it is top 10%, and others I’ve read top 25%. They will give him money to attend but it may not be the top of the academic ladder.</p>

<p>2) If he is heart set on elite D3 or Ivy, you can try to find the school that will best meet his overall academic and athletic needs while trying to find the best financial deal. They will be most likely around the same, but you can try.</p>

<p>3) Baseball scholarship. Tyical baseball scholarship is 25%. Pitchers can be greater. 25% in my home state equates to about $4500. Not exactly a big payout but it will reduce your overall bill. My son was offered 50% at a state school, but the problem was they didn’t have his major. He was unwilling to change his major.</p>

<p>Anyway, these are the things that families have to weigh from my viewpoint. Everybody has different goals, and limitations. IMHO the challenge is determining what is most important and what are you willing to “give a little” on. Thankfully, I had a son who was patient and waited for the right opportunity before committing. I realize there is a lot of pressure out there to commit. He did not fall into that peer pressure trap.</p>

<p>Great book - “The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford”. It is $11.94 on Amazon, and the best book I’ve read on the topic. Two former college administrators tell it how it is.</p>

<p>Feel free to send me a private message if you want to discuss baseball specifics.</p>

<p>Thanks fenwaysouth
Your son must be a really good ball player. You are right about the different goals for each individual and I am happy that your son was able to meet his.</p>

<p>My son’s priority is academic, so it sounds like an Ivy is out of the question since he wouldn’t be getting any kind of scholarship. He can academically get into our state school which is a very good school, and is why he wouldn’t want to go to a lesser school for baseball, but he would like to play baseball.</p>

<p>I bought that "Financial Aid Handbook… " after reading posts last week and am almost done reading it. I am now less inclined to drop big bucks on the Ivy dream.</p>

<p>So is it true that a good student who if recruited by an Ivy, although he can’t get athletic scholarship, can get some kind of character or “merit” scholarship that is not need based. I have heard “stories” of this happening. </p>

<p>I’m new to this website and am not sure how to send a private message , but would appreciate discussing baseball specifics.</p>

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<p>Understandable. I know many kids that have the grades to get into their state schools with academic scholarships but won’t be able to play baseball. We are going through that with my middle son. It hasn’t been easy on him as he really wants to play baseball. </p>

<p>It is called a “grant”. Every little bit helps, but it is not a significant amount. But we are fortunate that my oldest son receives it.</p>

<p>You can click my screen name above in blue. Once you click it one time and you will get some options. One of the options is to send a “Private Message”. Most folks will refer to it as a “PM”.</p>

<p>fenwaysouth,
I sent you a pm earlier today. Not sure how I know if you returned my message, but I assume it is apparent when one opens into the forum.
Thanks,</p>

<p>basebllmom,</p>

<p>I received and replied. At the top of the page, right above the tool bar on the top right you will see your screen name in blue. You’ll also see a Private Messages link in blue. You can click on the Private Messages. </p>

<p>Typically, when I log into CC, I get a pop-up message that states I have a private message.</p>