<p>I would appreciate very much some input from the parents of athletes comparing the student athletes' lives at a D1 school like Stanford (academically inclined D1) and Ivy schools like H/P. S is in the process of narrowing down a list of potential colleges. He is a national level athlete who also has an intense intellectual curiosity. Thanks!</p>
<p>Varska, thanks for the PM. Could not reply as your box is full.</p>
<p>5amriser,</p>
<p>IMHO the best answer is most dependent on the sport and his intended major. Can you share that information? In addition, you will most likely find a different recruiting timetable and venue for the specific sports exposure between academic D1s and D1 Ivys. This board can best help you if you can share those details. Thanks.</p>
<p>Fenwaysouth, thanks for the post!
Swimming (with junior national & national cuts). Don’t know about the major but would like to keep all options open. Would like to learn as much as I can from the shared wisdom/experience of the parents on this board. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Sent you a more detailed PM, but would like to say publicly that support for athletics is unparalled at Stanford. The athletes are highly esteemed there and are not seen as a drag on the intellectual level of the student body–an underlying attitude which was sometimes felt at the Ivies. For our daughter, this was a big plus.</p>
<p>S would have gone to Stanford instead of his ivy. Stanford has higher quality athletics, better weather, university support for athletes (there is none in the Ivies), same level of academics, same level of contacts/networking, same respect in post graduate opportunites.</p>
<p>In addition to what has been mentioned above, also take into account the level of athletic performance on the various teams/in various leagues and where he would fit in. Is he good enough to compete for the team? How good is the team and who are they competing with? If you are at the top in your sport, you may want to be on the best team in the country; however, if you are not, you may want to be on a good ivy league team and compete mainly within the ivy league.
Another consideration is financial. Ivies have great financial aid (better than Stanford) if you can qualify. On the other hand, they don’t offer athletic scholarships. However, being on an athletic scholarship creates a whole other set of considerations.</p>
<p>Our FA package from Stanford was comparable to that offered by Harvard and Columbia, though it was a bit less than Princeton’s and Yale’s.</p>
<p>Weather is a huge plus for Stanford! Being able to train outside in a temperate climate 12 months out of the year is an advantage for D’s sport, though maybe less impactful for the OP’s son’s sport since one can easily swim indoors. However, a plus you might not think of is that Stanford is chosen to host many high level athletic events because of the great weather and world-class facilities. This brings in money for the school and the respective programs, and gives student athletes an opportunity to watch pros and top performers in the sport. I mentioned in my PM to the OP that a national swim meet was held there last summer, and I think the national diving championships were in CA too, though at UCLA rather than Stanford. This was an advantage (home pool, same time zone, less travel) for the Stanford swimmers and divers participating.</p>
<p>PS–regarding the FA. Palo Alto and the surrounding area is one of the most desirable locations to live in the country. It is also one of the most expensive for the same reasons–weather and access to jobs. Boston and NYC have the same cost issues, which I think could be impacting COA and aid for the respective schools. </p>
<p>IMO, Princeton was the best fit for D on paper and the school I would have chosen for her based on the facts. Not only was the FA superb, but the campus is beautiful and close enough to major job markets in Philadelphia and New York. Princeton also seemed to have bit higher commitment to athletics than her peer schools, and in D’s sport were at the top of the Ivy League at that time. But D wanted to live in a different part of the country, and as a middle class kid did not like the Princeton eating club / social scene. When the final choice came down to Harvard or Stanford, there was never a doubt other than some sadness over giving up the Harvard name.</p>
<p>Beenthere is giving good advice above regarding knowing your athletic level and deciding just how much challenge you want. The Ivies strive for excellence, but Stanford strives for national championships. There’s a difference.</p>
<p>^^^The GFG, Certainly not to disagree with anything you’ve said, but it should be noted that Ivies do win National Championships too, beating Stanford in the process. No doubt this is all very sport specific, but I did want to jump in on what I feel is a bit of an over generalization :)</p>
<p>Certainly, mayhew. Stanford does not have a monopoly on winning. My comments were mostly referring to the more ruthless competitive attitude expressed by Stanford as compared to the Ivies. On each of D’s official visits she asked about the goals and philosphy of the program. Stanford’s response was noticeably different in tone. For some student athletes and their parents that is a negative, and for others it’s a positive.</p>
<p>However, now that you’ve labeled the comments “overgeneralizing,” I feel compelled to point out that for 17 out of the 18 years the award has been given, Stanford has won the Director’s Cup. This honor recognizes the best overall college athletic program in the country based largely on the number of national championships won. (Stanford only lost the first year, when they came in second.) Scanning the list, I did not see a single Ivy in the top ten spots for any year. : )</p>
<p>^^^Stanford is a tremendous athletic powerhouse, and has rightfully earned its history with the Director’s Cup. It is that very competitive attitude that my D also found enticing and exhilarating on her Stanford OV. You worded it perfectly about the difference in tone regarding Stanford. It was just that you referenced National Championships, not overall outstanding athletics, and although this is very sport specific, I felt obliged to jump in! My D’s ivy has won 7 out of the 15 NCAA D1 championships in her sport, & I felt the need to defend them 
But yes, I agree with you in Stanford’s tone vs. the ivies, and Stanford’s overall athletic dominance vs the ivies (or anyone else!).</p>
<p>What is your daughter’s sport?</p>
<p>The OP was talking about swimming, and I think in that sport, Stanford is competing at a higher level than the ivies. With respect to FA, HPY don’t take into account the equity you have in your house and also subtracts the full mortgage payments (unlike Stanford), so FA may be different, depending on your situation.</p>
<p>Ok, I’m learning here. From what I’ve read, the Ivies offer FA, but not athletic scholarship. Stanford offer athletic scholarship, as well as FA. So from the previous posts, when you talk about FA from Stanford, do you mean you did not receive athletic scholarship, or you received partial athletic scholarship plus FA?</p>
<p>True Mayhew that Brown beat Stanford
[Brown</a> Bears: National Champions! Brown Women’s Crew Wins 2011 NCAA Division I Rowing Championship](<a href=“http://brownbears.com/sports/w-crew/2010-11/releases/20110529fuslgp]Brown”>http://brownbears.com/sports/w-crew/2010-11/releases/20110529fuslgp)
yet the v1 came in 2nd to Stanfords 3rd place and only by 5/100ths of a second…(Princeton took the v1 1st place finish)</p>
<p>The two schools tied for points and it seems the decision was then based on the v1 boats race. Had the sums of the times of the v1 and v2 boats been combined–it would have swung the other way since Stanford beat Brown by 3 seconds in the v2. I am sure it was a happy victory for Brown and at the same time a bitter pill for the Stanford team.</p>
<p>I didn’t reasearch the whole event so I don’t know how the v4s in the grand final finished…Brown’s page only lists the petite final which is not the same as a Final</p>
<p>Mayhew, would you mind sharing how your D reached the decision to attend an Ivy instead of Stanford after the OVs?</p>
<p>goplay–at Stanford you’d receive either regular FA or athletic scholarship. If they mixed the money sources, the FA would get charged as athletic money anyway for NCAA accounting purposes and that would affect their allowable total of scholarship money for the team.</p>
<p>I think the coaches have a sense of who will do better with FA, and who isn’t eligible for FA or much FA and needs an athletic scholarship to entice them, and plan their recruiting lists and budgets accordingly. In our case, since D was not a superstar, the FA was going to be a better deal. It probably is beneficial to the program to take some athletes with financial need because they won’t drain the team budget and yet still will come because the aid is generous. I think the same applies to the Ivies. Middle class kids like my D could do better financially at the Ivies with regular aid, than at most Div. 1 schools with athletic scholarship money.</p>
<p>My point was that there are different scenarios:
If you don’t qualify for any FA at Stanford/Duke/state school and HYP, then obviously Stanford/Duke/State School is a better deal if you can get an athletic scholarship.
On the other hand, if you don’t get an athletic scholarship from a D1 school, then for some/many families, FA at HYP may be substantially better than at Stanford/Duke/State School. So, you need to weigh FA at the various schools and the chances of getting an athletic scholarships at the D1 school, either immediately or in the future.
And then you need to consider what happens if you don’t want to play the sport anymore…</p>
<p>In my kids’ sport the top Ivies consistently outperform Stanford, but that’s probably an outlier.</p>
<p>As to the OP’s question, to me it’s always depends on the individual situation. The simple fact is that the relatively few applicants who have both the athletic and academic credentials to be recruited at these top schools are given a tremendous advantage in the admissions process. The opportunity to choose among HYPS, for example, is extremely rare.</p>
<p>If you’ve earned that choice, cherish the gift, research your options well, and choose wisely, based on what’s best for your future.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>