<p>First post... daughter is being heavily recruited by a NESCAC and a Patriot League school. She plays a sport very well and has a 4.23 GPA and 2160 SAT's. Both want ED. The Patriot League school will probably be up front with an academic aid offer within 48 hours. The NESCAC school says "use the calculator". I have a feeling they will both be about equal (as are the costs). My angst is that if my daughter ED's to the NESCAC we are flying blind on aid. We are not looking for a full ride, just partial help. Thrown on top of that is the premise of playing D1 or D3. Frankly, my daughter is not overly centric one way or the other. In the end it's "fit". The Patriot League school is bigger, very good academics, highly thought of. The NESCAC is superlative academically, small, good athletics at a lower level. </p>
<p>The frustration is not knowing much about the realities of the NESCAC financial aid situation. Walking in blind is not particularly advantageous. If NESCAC's REALLY just "stick with the calculator" then at least we know where we stand. Question: do they typically stick with the calculator, or ????</p>
<p>Insights appreciated. Apologies for the rambling...</p>
<p>Neither of my 2 kids was a recruited athlete, but one attends a Patriot League school. If it helps, even though the school is Division 1, the student-athletes are clearly STUDENTS first there. I’m sure they’re students first at the NESCAC schools as well, just didn’t to leave any impression that being D1 makes it less likely that their academic priorities will be appropriate.</p>
<p>You should post this in the Athletic Recruits section as well. There are many helpful and knowledgeable parents on that site who will give you more insight.</p>
<p>There is an “atheletic recruits” forum on CC; I suggest you spend some time over there, and then PM the people who you think are sharp. They are a tight group and quite supportive. They probably have better info on the athletic angle.</p>
<p>I don’t know which NESCAC you are looking at, but with a few exceptions they have large endowments and are good with financial aid, I would expect comparable to any of the Patriot league schools. I would differ a bit with a few of the other posts here. There will be a difference between DI Patriot league athletic programs and NESCAC programs. The Patriot league program will be a bigger commitment–my son was recruited by several Patriot League schools, and it was made clear to him by current players that it is a major commitment, essentially close to a full time job for much of the year. Mini-season in the non-competition semester, serious strength and conditioning program. He also was recruited by several NESCACs, the commitment was just not as great–no Spring season for soccer, for example. Your daughter should be really sure she wants to make the DI commitment.</p>
<p>Unless your daughter is absolutely certain where she wants to go to school, she should apply RD to both. Coaches always want their recruits to apply ED. This is completely self-serving.</p>