DS can’t get past the feeling of missing out no matter which choice he makes. He is a recruited football player with high academic stats 4.0 gpa 4.56wgpa 35 ACT National Merit . Up until recently he had been pretty intent on attending an Ivy league school but now he is also getting interest from some FBS schools as well. More specifically the possibility of being offered a preferred walk on at UF has been presented as well as a possible likely letter at an Ivy. So here is where he feels he may be missing out no matter his decision. If he goes to UF honors he will be able to play at the highest level of football with 85,000 fans each week as well as the benefits of high academics on a full ride academic scholarship. If he goes the Ivy route it will still be a high level for football but may be missing out on a much higher academic college full of peers with unbelievable alumni connections. He has visited both and always been drawn to the Ivy atmosphere academically and would ideally prefer to leave the state for college. Finally is the financial considerations in his choice. He has a FL prepaid fund which after running the NPC would essentially pay for his COA at the Ivy graduating with zero debt. At UF he would have the FL prepaid, bright futures and Benacquisto scholarship which means not only would he graduate with zero debt but likely somewhere between $60-70K in the bank. He will be majoring in CS and will not be going for a master’s after his bachelor’s degree so no worries about paying for grad school.
He understands the differences in what would be expected at the different schools as far as football demands and would have more resources and flexibility available at the Ivy as far as tutors and scheduling of classes but then UF has vastly superior athletic facilities which is a big draw for kids. Lastly would be the AP credits that could be used at UF as opposed to the Ivy school. He “could” enter UF with between 45- 60 credits and the Benacquisto only requires 12 credit hours per semester which would help alleviate the football time demand coupled with a CS major. So in conclusion he feels he either will be sacrificing playing football at the highest level(with $ in the bank) to go to a dream school or sacrificing attending a dream school (debt free)and much higher CS program to play football at the FBS level.
@ucbalumnus Ivy @luckybooth Ivy @HRSMom There are no guarantees but likely the Ivy. Again big difference between playing on national tv each week in front of 85,000 as opposed to 12,000 and no bowl games with little travel. He truly loves both so giving up the dream of playing at the highest level is tough to let go of. He’s worked hard to get into a top academic school but he’s worked as hard or harder to get to the top level for football as well.
I guess my point was would it be better to play little in front of 85000 people? Or more in front of 12000? That would seem to be the football question. Then if that answer is UF, then measure up acedemics vs the football.
For me, I’d go where I could play more, but he may think he can get equal time or do better at UF. It is a hard choice for a kid. I’d do H, but it is his choice. I’d encourage him to look beyond the TV and crowds and look at what it means day to day.
@HRSMom Absolutely but you have to remember not only for football but the difference at UF in school spirit and vibe as well as top of the line athletic facilities can’t be matched. I’m not sure how much the gap is closed by being in the UF honors vs Ivy academically but you have to remember that 60-70K is tough to ignore. My vote goes to Ivy but this is his decision.
@HRSMom UF is full ride academic scholarship so Fl PP would let him finish with about 60-70K after 4years. Ivy is about $16K per yer but the FL prepaid would cover that.
@My5Kiddos More than 1 and sure he would “want” to go pro but not even a consideration at this point.
One question: How much time would he need to commit to football if he was at UF versus at the Ivy? I am thinking that football at UF is a huge time commitment.
However, CS is not an easy major. I recall (many years ago) a few all-nighters getting a computer program to work bug-free. This might not be fully compatible with football practices. I am guessing that students probably still sometimes write bugs into their computer software.
To clarify, either way he would have zero debt, but with UF he would have leftover 60-70k from the college fund (or from a stipend)? What is the annual net price at the Ivy?
Will there be a significant difference between the schools in football’s time impact on studying?
@DadTwoGirls The time commitment to football would be higher at UF but since he would start with 45-60 credits he could still be considered full time only taking 12 credits each semester. That said from what I understand the Ivy schools have tutors that are major specific that are available to football players at all times including road trips.
Officially, NCAA athletes are supposed to spend no more than 20 hours per week on athletic activities, but it is generally believed, and sometimes lawsuited, that the actual time commitment is more like 40+ hours per week during the season. 12 credits of college courses would add another 36 hours per week of work. If the football team has few players in high work majors, there may be greater peer pressure to increase athletic time at the expense of school work time.
Many students find that large amounts of AP credit may be less useful than they thought, since a collection of frosh level courses that one is exempt from with AP credit may not help that much with specific subject requirements.
Also, explore the prerequisite relationships of the CS courses to see how much freedom there is to move higher workload courses to spring semesters, when the football workload would be lower.
Also pay attention to the renewal criteria for the UF academic scholarship.
forgive my bluntness, but giving up an ivy league school (especially one that he prefers, like you have stated, over UF-Honors) because of how many people will be watching him play a sport—one in which he’s not even considering going professional—is… quite ridiculous to be honest. and, i mean, who knows? he could end up hating the ivy league school(s) and choose UF-Honors anyway, but football and how many people watching him, especially if he has the option to play no matter which school he chooses, should not be deciding factors. no matter where he ends up, he’ll be receiving a world-class education while still (potentially) competing in a D1 sport. if you can afford to pay for the ivy league school(s), he should continue with that option.
I read it that Op’s S would love to go pro but OP doesn’t want to get ahead of himself.
I tend to be conservative and say, “what, you can’t give up an Ivy education”. But then I think of my college classmate who made the most money and had the most fun with his career, the guy is in a rock band. Guess all those nights that he spent at bars playing while I was in my room studying really paid off, and boy do I feel foolish questioning his choices now.
So I don’t think it’s crazy to follow a dream, whichever dream it is. It’s only foolish to regret. So once he makes his decision, tell him to not look back!
Also, as a walk-on at UF, the chances that he’d be good enough to play outside of garbage time is low. Maybe on special teams. Though being on a team with national title aspirations and future NFL players is something.
NFL is possible from the Ivy League. Probably as low as from starting as a walk-on at UF. No chance of being a preferred walk-on at Stanford/Duke/Northwestern/ND? Granted, I think football recruiting is already over.
I personally would have chosen being a preferred walk-on at Stanford/Duke/Northwestern/ND if that had been a possibility. Big time college football and top academics and alumni networks. ND is a storied program, but even at the other 3 schools, you’d get the opportunity to play against powerhouses and at iconic stadiums.