Of course. But I was responding to a comparison of Pac12 and SEC. Not the Ivy League. Though I do hear that Yale-Harvard game can get pretty intense both from the player’s and fan’s perspective. :))
Are Patriot scholarships fully funded? You might want to ask before committing to a visit.
@ucbalumnus minimum 12 credit hours…3.0 gpa…cannot drop a class.
I agree, but it’s not that frequent recently. As you know, lately, it’s the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 that have dominated the CFP and old BCS.
@moscott: I have some experience with football & wrestling. And other sports as well.
I understand that he is ranked in the Top 25 at his position, but SEC football players are huge, fast, quick & not afraid to hit. Your son is gifted intellectually. AI/CS majors can make serious money. Unless you expect a growth spurt soon. or unless his stats are outdated, it seems as though the Ivy League or the Patriot League are much better options.
I watched a good bit of his scouting tape & know his ht. wt. & 40 time.
SEC is serious football. He will be practicing against these folks almost every day of the week.
Obviously, one of his options is Princeton. He should get interest from any Ivy League school if he contacts the coach.
@Publisher: The whole P5 is serious football. But they’re not going to be whacking one of their specialists in practice anyway.
An additional indication, is that the top two recruiting services only rank two players at your son’s primary position–and both are committed.
@Publisher That is correct both have committed and early for the most part. Most others for 2018 have just recently decided. It’s just how it goes at that position.
No question the Ivy. Even though some folks talk about college 30 years after they graduate, most don’t care. He can make a LOT more money on that IVY degree. No one will really care about his football career after he graduates. The 60K is nice and can earn money but not enough to overcome the better education he’ll get.
My point is that the two top services only rank two players at this position–even though ranking at least 25 players at the other positions.
One of my son’s football coaches played this position for Georgia Tech decades ago. He swears that it is the easiest way to play big time football.
Your son is highly intelligent & gifted intellectually. He is going to be sought after as a CS/AI major & will earn a very substantial income. I suspect that Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, MIT, Bucknell, Colgate & many other brainiac schools would welcome your son with open arms.
If your son wants big time football, then Stanford, Northwestern or UCal -Berkeley are reasonable options.
My impression is that your son could be a CEO. Please don’t risk concussions & knee & back injuries. Many, probably most, SEC football players have limited options in the business world. Your son is exceptional. He will have a lifetime of success in the business world.
If your son was at IMG or played against schools that regularly have 6 or so PG Division I football recruits & practiced against them daily, then I would keep my mouth shut.
Unless he feels he has a legit shot (and would want to) play professional football, I’d go Ivy all the way. These reasons have been mentioned but for summary purposes in no particular order:
- Could get injured removing football from the equation. Ivy!
- The demands on D1 (especially big conferences like SEC) athletes are enormous. Full time job kind of stuff. Know many that have done it and they have no life outside of their sport, especially if they are good students. Now most of them LOVE their sport and they consider 6-8 hours a day, every day fun. (weight room at 5:30 am 5 days a week for a baseball player- imagine football is worse during offseason) WOuld still be demanding but less so at an Ivy. Ivy!
- National job opportunities at Ivy will blow away anything at UF. Yes there are great companies (google) recruiting Gators but nowhere near the quantity and quality of jobs as ivy in most industries. Not just entry level stuff. Look at who the leaders are.Ivy!
- Alumni. Ivy!
- Intelligent peers. UF has smart kids but c'mon, the average Harvard kid (average or maybe even low) is top of the food chain in Gainesville. IVY!
Hey I’m a state school guy. Didn’t have the money or grades to access his opportunity. h\However, I know many who have and it’s a different world. Their jobs, their network, their critical thinking skills ( really important ) . There’s a reason the top firms focus on the top schools and it isn’t football.
Now if he wants to go pro - Gainesville all the way! He’ll make a ton of money and live the dream for a few years.
Given the very heavy workload of combined football activities and computer science, a 3.0 renewal GPA means a significant risk of losing the scholarship. This is not like an ordinary top-scholarship student for whom a 3.0 renewal GPA is unlikely to be an issue, since the ordinary top-scholarship student does not have 20-40 hours per week of required non-academic activities to manage.
What is the plan if the worst case happens (earning a GPA < 3.0 and losing the scholarship)?
It looks like for fall 2016, 27 (out of probably 90-100 or so) UF football players earned a 3.0 or higher GPA (the threshold for the SEC academic honor roll). One is in materials engineering. http://floridagators.com/news/2017/2/8/general-gators-place-76-on-sec-fall-academic-honor-roll.aspx
@Happytimes2001 You obviously don’t know anyone that has played football (or basketball ) at that level. It is part of your life forever. The life experiences you get at that level are priceless. If you have a roster spot on a top P5 team, this is an easy decision. It will not be easy. But I would take everyone’s advice on other CC threads and don’t worry about prestige for a CS undergrad degree.
well done to you and your son for such great options!
i’m not in this field at all with any of my kids. Big-time college games are super-exciting; i understand that urge to be involved. The opportunities to be at a world-class university are also pretty great.
I guess one thing i’d be looking at (as well as the above mentioned stanford/notre dame/berkely/duke/michigan ideas) is the transfer option for both the ivy school and UF; going both ways. What would be options with transferring after the first year if it wasnt quite as expected? Hope he has a great season next year; good luck with decisions.
@Eeyore123: You probably have not experienced dozens of concussions & the depression that follows in later life.
@Publisher: Specialists getting concussed? It could happen. Dozens of times over a career? Seems unlikely.
Okay. Then how many concussions are acceptable to you ?
you also need to keep in mind the commitment he’s willing to put into the sport at each school. i may get people on my case for saying this, but i don’t think it’s a secret that he’ll be expected to prioritize athletics over academics at UF vs. at the ivy league school(s) where he will have a solid balance of both. (he will, actually, more than likely be expected to prioritize academics over athletics if attending an ivy league school.) CS is not an easy major. he should attend a school that offers him the best balance of intellectuality/education and commitment to sports. he’s worked hard for this football opportunity, yes, but he’s also worked very hard for his educational opportunities, and i would hate for the latter to suffer at the expense of the former. i would hate for either to suffer at the expense of either, really.
Concussions are very prevalent in hockey, baseball, basketball and soccer too. Though I think badminton has been exempt from concussions (tongue in cheek). At any rate, a kicker or punter, or some other specialist, is far less likely to receive a concussion as has been noted.