<p>Im an athlete being heavily recruited by Dartmouth College and University of Richmond. Dartmouth doesnt give athletic scholarships, but Richmond does. I qualify for some financial aid at Dartmouth, but Richmond would still be cheaper. Is it really worth paying more for an Ivy League? I'm not just talking about job outlook, but the overall experience. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I'm applying ED to one of these schools.</p>
<p>Some of your questions could be answered here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/905843-top-student-3rd-tier-school-four-years-later.html</a></p>
<p>If Dartmouth really wants you, they will be more generous with your FA.</p>
<p>Yes, Dartmouth over other schools (not just Richmond).</p>
<p>Just want to add, it depends on the price difference. If you are going to end up with a huge debt (50K+), then it may not be worth it. It also depends on what your major or future employment going to be.</p>
<p>Why would you apply ED to Richmond when if Dartmouth is recruiting you, sounds like you have stats that would make Richmond a safety or match?</p>
<p>Lots cheaper? Or just a little cheaper? Is the athletic life at Richmond (the scholarship school) substantially more intense? These things are rarely black and white. (And Richmond is a very good school.)</p>
<p>Is this about “cheaper” - or you really cannot afford D? You love UR, but folks pressure you to head to D-?</p>
<p>You may get responses here that it’s all about the Ivies. I believe it’s about making the best decision you can, at the time- and not haunting yourself later with second-guessing. If you are D material, you have an opportunity to shine at UR. Many here have fine things to say about both. </p>
<p>That being said, we don’t have much to work with here.<br>
I assume you’ve had the finaid discussion with the proper FA staff at both schools, yes? Are you confident you know the rough apprx $ package either would offer- or are you guesstimating based on discussions with sports recruiters???</p>
<p>-and, would you be happy in either setting? One’s metro, one’s quite not.</p>
<p>HAPPYMOM- super link!</p>
<p>One actual concern is that at a school like Dartmouth, or any of the ivy’s, the coach only has so much input. There is a history of coaches making promises and then the admissions committee not admitting, anyway. You should make sure what kind of pull the coach has at the school before you pass up other offers. YMMV</p>
<p>You might want to look at the recruited athlete’s subforum. There’s a long thread about this.</p>
<p>If you receive offers from both but DMouth is still a little more expensive but is still your higher choice, show DMouth Fin Aid your award letter from Richmond. They most likely will try to close the gap. Even if they don’t match Richmond, you’ll have a clearer picture before you officially accept/reject Dartmouth at the end of April.</p>
<p>Maybe a $10K/year differences is too much for Dartmouth over Richmond. But what if it was only $4k? Would you pay that much more per year to go to D? You’ll only know after you have everyone’s FA offers in hand.</p>
<p>Just remember that an athletic scholarship is only yours if you continue with the sport. If you were to be injured during that first year of college, then the school would honor the scholarship anyway for that first year. However, the National Letter of Intent is a one-year contract only. So if you were to have a career-ending injury your first year, then for years 2,3 and 4 you would find yourself paying the same amount of money for the UR as for D, if not a lot more since Ivies tend to have larger endowments and much better financial aid than other private schools. Also, what if you were to decide you no longer want to play the sport? At Richmond, you’d be locked in to continuing to play for financial reasons, whereas at D your aid stays the same whether you play or not, so you’d have some flexibility. </p>
<p>The downside of D for athletes in outdoor sports is the cold and wintry weather!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, your comments really helped! Happymom- that link was perfect! Dartmouth would cost about $10,000 more than Richmond per year, and my parents support both schools. They’re willing to pay the extra money, if I want to go to Dartmouth. Without the scholarship, they would cost about the same.</p>
<p>I don’t know your sport or your planned major or your career goals or your future geographical preferences. </p>
<p>I can tell you that, in my opinion, the Cornell alumni and athletic alumni network was worth the extra for my son. You might query both coaches about academic support for athletes as that will make a lot of difference in your ability to perform academically while performing at a high level athletically.</p>
<p>Ask D the hard questions about likely letters. And don’t burn your bridges anywhere else until you get either a likely or an acceptance letter.</p>
<p>Your future career may push your decision one way or another. If you wanted to work in the finance or investment banking industry, I’d pay extra and go to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of double majoring in chemistry and Spanish.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why you would need to apply Ed to either. Is that required of recruited athletes?</p>
<p>Richmond has generous merit aid. Ivies neither give nor match merit and athletic scholarships so your best potential financial deal would be at Ricmond.</p>
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<p>This…</p>
<p>Since you’re, “not just talking about job outlook, but the overall experience,” location is also something to consider; Dartmouth is relatively remote, while Richmond is in a suburb in the South.</p>
<p>I think that there is a marginal difference - that is, Dartmouth is worth more than U of Richmond - but the question is how much more. </p>
<p>If, as you say, the cost differential is about $10K a year and your parents are willing to pay it, then I think that Dartmouth definitely would be worth it. If the difference was $25K a year and your parents needed to borrow the full amount… then I’d be leaning the other way.</p>
<p>I’d add that in my mind, the difference is only warranted IF you do well in college. I did pay extra (but not full cost) for my d. to attend an elite college – and she graduated with honors – so I have no doubt that whatever I paid was worth it. Her summa cum laude degree from a prestigious college is certainly valuable in getting employment, and I’m sure she will be able to get into just about any graduate program she wants when she is ready to go back to school for an advanced degree. </p>
<p>But I don’t think she would be in the same position with a weak GPA – there’s no particular advantage to a student who muddles through and comes out with a C average. So part of the cost/benefit analysis requires a realistic self-appraisal. Dartmouth will OFFER you more in terms of prestige and the quality of its academic offerings – will you be able to take advantage of what they offer – especially considering the fact that you will be actively involved in your sport. If by “overall experience” you are thinking more in terms of ambiance and social life than academics… you might think a little harder about how much of your parents’ money should be spent on the college “experience”.</p>
<p>I would not want my kid’s ability to attend the school to depend on athletic scholarship. </p>
<p>If you can afford Dartmouth with fin aid they offer you, I think it is a better option (and needless to say, it is a better school).</p>
<p>As others have noted, it’s unclear why you would apply ED to one. If they are both interested, shouldn’t they both consider you RD and then you can decide which is better in terms of the questions that have come up: merit aid, location, reputation, etc. I don’t know much about athletic recruiting, but in general I think students who are intersted in multiple schools should allow the full process to play out and see what looks best in April.</p>
<p>You might find this helpful.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/774017-early-commits-do-they-exist-ivy-league-d3-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/774017-early-commits-do-they-exist-ivy-league-d3-schools.html</a></p>