Son was heavily recruited by a D1 coach (not football or basketball), went on OV, loved it, and coach offered him a spot on the team. Then we received the FA package, and, well, we’d be paying close to full fare, save a small scholarship for over a 4.0/1420 SAT/32 ACT. Has anyone here been successful negotiating with a Financial Aid office for more aid when it isn’t an athletic scholarship? We qualify for some need-based financial aid, but they were pretty stingy. Are coaches allowed to get involved on an athletes behalf, or are they restriced to athletic aid with NCAA rules?
The coach may not have any athletic money. Some schools do not fund all teams. The coach can make sure you are getting all the money others in a similar situation are getting. My daughter’s coach had the information about merit scholarships but she could not ask them to increase it.
There is nothing lost in telling the coach that the school is his first choice but financially out of reach… Merit awards should still come from admissions and FA from the finance office.
Thank you, we are going to try and appeal. Our EFC is very low, so we’ll see what they can come up with. I can imagine having to pay $50k a year to watch my son play!
We had to balance the type of school my daughter wanted with the level of play of the team and the money. I didn’t have $50k, so it was never a question if she could attend a school that cost that much without aid. She took a chance on a school with a new team and I warned her she’d be losing a lot of games. The first year was very rough as the skill level of the team was very low and a few kids really had to carry everyone. It’s turned out better than we ever expected. Rankings came out today and they are #6.
I agree with @twoinanddone- we also had to balance the academic program my son was looking for along with the play level of the team and the COA. There were several schools from which coaches were interested in him, but could not offer much athletic money. We were upfront with those coaches and let them know that while he was interested in their programs, attending was not an option unless he was given more money. We were lucky in that his top choice academically also ended up being within our means and with a coach that wanted him. I feel like so much of it was pure luck, but it did all work out. It can be a very stressful process, no doubt!!!
Agree with the others – we actively sought programs where school was affordable regardless of what athletic aid she got – we look at any athletic scholarship as a bonus.
Our athletic aid wasn’t a bonus, it was a big part of the package and consideration. We needed to weigh all parts of the financial offers. Academics (wanted engineering) eliminated most LACs and D3 schools. Her skills (and size) weren’t good enough for top D1 teams, so that would have meant no money, maybe not even making the team. We just kept looking until we found the right mix.
I think luck has a lot to do with it, but also being open to making an opportunity work helps too.