<p>I'm so confused and have heard so many different stories. I was under the impression that there is no such thing as a full scholarship for athletics, only academics. I was told that sometimes kids get a full ride but thats a combination of scholarship and fin aid but if you are not eligible for fin aid then you're most likely not going to get a 'full' ride or even full tuition. I understand that each sport is allotted a pool of money that gets divided amongst the player and better players will get more money but do they really give some players everything? </p>
<p>It just seems unlikely yet anyone and everyone I speak to, whose kid is getting an athletic scholarship makes it sound like they got everything for free. So whats the consensus out there?</p>
<p>Thanks I would love to clear this up.</p>
<p>Yes, there are full scholarships for athletics that cover everything — including tuition, room, board, book money — regardless of family income (i.e. no financial aid is part of the package.) Examples are students who signed National Letters of Intent at Division 1 schools. However, the ivy league schools (also D1) do not offer any kind of athletic scholarship, even for recruited athletes. Any scholarship/money that a student would get is completely based on financial need, just like a regular student. I’m pretty sure that there are also no academic scholarships at ivy league schools, although some schools give their financial aid packages a name that sounds like a merit scholarship (Harvard). There are other D1 schools that also don’t give athletic scholarships (I believe some schools/most sports in the Patriot league). So, if someone says they are an athlete and get a full ride at, say Columbia University or Harvard, it is completely based on financial need. As far as I know, it is similar in D3 schools, although some athletes get special “leadership” scholarships.</p>
<p>I think it’s sports related. Football gives a lot of full ride scholarship, while sport like crew rarely give full ride.</p>
<p>Here’s a pretty good description of number of scholarships by division and sport, and also an explanation of how the money can be divided up. Let’s just say it’s complicated. And if you ask a coach how much he can offer you, it WILL depend on what you are bringing to the team, so the answer you get will be different than the answer the number one kid in your sport in the nation gets.</p>
<p>This also has a good explanation of headcount and equivalency sports at the bottom of the page.</p>
<p>[NCAA</a> Scholarship Allotment](<a href=“http://www.berecruited.com/resources/recruiting-assistance-from-qput-me-in-coachq/ncaa-scholarship-allotment]NCAA”>http://www.berecruited.com/resources/recruiting-assistance-from-qput-me-in-coachq/ncaa-scholarship-allotment)</p>
<p>beenthere2: Thank you so much for that information.</p>
<p>wen12345: In schools like ND, you say its common for football players to get full rides? Even if there not first string players?</p>
<p>Also I just want to make sure I understand you. Schools in the patriot league, like Colgate don’t give athletic scholarships?</p>
<p>Riverunner: Thats a great article. Thanks so much. Really clears things us.</p>
<p>You need to do your research on this, best place to learn is on the NCAA website. There is a lot of good information here, but for the basics, the NCAA website os your best resources. There are two different types of athletic scholarships, head count and equity. Sports such as football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s tennis are head count sports with full rides, pretty much everything else is equvalency, were x number of scholarships are diviede up amongst team members. Also, a full ride, 100% athletic scholarship, is only for tuition, fees, room and board, per NCAA regulations.</p>
<p>Actually, with women’s crew, I’d be very surprised if at least the top 8 rowers at the top D1 programs didn’t get a full ride.</p>
<p>I’m am sure there are some programs where that is the case. I would guess it would depend on how well funded the program is. The NCAA allows 20 scholarships for Women’s Rowing, so if a team is fully funded, it is likely there are quite a few full scholarships. On the other hand, if the team is only funded for say 10 or 12 scholarships, the coach is most likely going to carve them up to get the best mix of athletes he/she can, with many athletes getting a small piece of the pie.</p>