<p>I am an international student-athlete who has been heavily recruited by many US universities. I have narrowed down my search to The University of Michigan and Stanford University. I have visited both schools already, and I love them both so so much!!! Stanford has been my dream school ever since I can remember, but I am getting really good vibes from Michigan. However, I am still unsure about whether or not I can get into Stanford. I am getting a little bit of lee-way from admissions, since I am Stanford's top recruit and an international. I have excellent marks in school, but I have struggled a bit with the SATs. I did apply early to Stanford, and I should know if I get in by November 1, however, the Michigan coach does not know if he can hold my scholarship for that long.... Both are full rides so waiting on Stanford may be risky. I know that I will be happy at either school, but I do not know what to do! This has kept me up at night for the last few nights, and I just need some outside advice. I know this is a 'first world problem,' but I am seriously struggling here, so any advice would be awesome! Thanks!:)</p>
<p>Tough spot juggling this. Good news is that you will be happy at either place, right. Maybe try the Athletic Recruit forum. I don’t know if they can help you with any strategy or not, like if you can contact the Stanford coach. They don’t give likely letters?
[Athletic</a> Recruits - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/]Athletic”>Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>That forum would probably be a better fit, this is my first post so I am still learning!
Anyways, Stanford does not do likely letters (they actually lose a lot of recruits this way). The thing is, I will may lose my Michigan scholarship if I wait on Stanford and do not get in, which would leave me with nothing. So I don’t know what to do…</p>
<p>I would go with the sure thing personally, Michigan is a great school in its own right.</p>
<p>More fun in Ann Arborn. Palo Alto is a boring place to be</p>
<p>Take the scholarship to Michigan and let Stanford know immediately.</p>
<p>A full ride for international athlete? Michigan has been stingy with non-revenue generating sports scholarships, so I am curious. </p>
<p>A revenue generating sport or not?</p>
<p>Agree with rjk’s advice here.</p>
<p>I was soooo close to committing to Michigan the other day, but something is holding me back… I am going through all the what ifs and what not, and I am just getting really confused! I am sure everything will work out. I am probably going to end up going to Michigan, but we will seeeee.</p>
<p>@SamuraiLandshark I am a rower, so I am guessing it is a non-revenue sport! There are plenty of scholarships offered in rowing however</p>
<p>My kid is an athlete at Michigan. The level of support - ie, class advising, additional tutoring, student athlete health center, tutoring, etc is great. I know about 20 Michigan athletes - only one has a full scholarship! You must have good erg times. </p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I would not give up a full ride to UM unless something else is in place. If you really want Stanford, can you call the coach there on Monday, tell him your situation and ask if the process there can be sped up so you can get an answer from Stanford before you have to commit to UM (I know an Ivy League football player who was able to get an earlier commitment from his top choice school by telling the coach he would commit to another school unless he had an offer in place)? IMO if you can’t get a firm commitment from Stanford in time and you need the full scholarship to attend college in the US, go to UM.</p>
<p>The OP indicated he “struggled a bit” with his SAT scores. Stanford might just be a pipe dream at this point since they have not offered yet. It seems you are not their strongest candidate. I have a relative who was offered 3/4 scholarship to join a non-revenue sport at the beginning of her junior year of high school at a top 20 university. Because it has taken so long for Stanford to offer you a scholarship, I wouldn’t wait any longer and commit for the sure thing at a quality school. By the way, it is not typical for universities to give full scholarships for non-revenue generating sports. Are you sure Stanford will give you one even if they do accept you?</p>
<p>@rjkornovi Stanford has already offered me a full athletic scholarship, and the coach has already told me several times that I am their number one recruit. Since I am their top pick, I do get some leeway from admissions. Like I said, I am a great candidate for Stanford, except that my SAT scores are holding me back. Stanford turns down many gifted rowers every year because their academics do not ‘measure up,’ but the coach thinks that there is a good chance that I will get in. </p>
<p>@happy1 I am actually planning on calling the coach tonight about trying to speed up the process. I forgot to mention this, but I actually retook the SAT yesterday. Admissions told the Stanford coach that if I retook the SATs, this would strengthen my application and show that I am very interested in attending Stanford. Even if I don’t improve my scores, the fact that I tried again supposedly will carry some weight during the admission process. The problem with this is that I will not get my scores back for another few weeks. So if I go forward with admissions reading my application as it is, I may have less of a chance of being admitted.</p>
<p>^^^I am sure Stanford has minimum standards for test scoring. If you had met the minimum and you are the best candidate for your sport, you should have been offered admission already. I am certain they know that Stanford is your top choice already. Can I assume this is for the national signing period in February for the year 2014? In any case, I wish you the best of luck with your decision. I truly hope you do get into Stanford and find out quickly, if that is your first choice.</p>
<p>Actually, I am getting super early notice as most recruits will not know if they get in or not until December (I do not know when those athletes would sign…?). And I am signing to a school in November. I just got off the phone with the Stanford coach and one international athlete on their team right now has the exact same SAT scores as me, so that’s a bit reassuring:) but anyways, I think I’m going to wait on this one as long as possible. I was going back in forth with just accepting Michigan, but I am going to try to think this out so that I can try to make a decision that is best suited for me. Everything will work out in the end!!</p>
<p>While Stanford’s admission standard for athletes is very high relative to other athletics programs, it’s not high at all when compared to its regular admission. They just want to make sure the athletes are smart enough to get passing grades in classes and graduate.</p>
<p>When my son was a junior, Stanford paid him to help some of the athletes. So, there are some help there for classes.</p>
<p>A friend of mine had to choose between Michigan and Yale. He’s a swimmer (ranked within the top 100 in the world at that time) and he chose Michigan. He didn’t regret it, and was happy with his decision. He later passed Yale Law but went to Northwestern Law on a full ride. He’s now a successful corporate lawyer.</p>
<p>(Sorry I had to edit that.)</p>
<p>“They just want to make sure the athletes are smart enough to get passing grades in classes and graduate.”</p>
<p>That’s what I figured as well. I can’t see how a few points better on his SAT score should change that fact. Frankly, I think it stinks that they are making him wait this long. I know Stanford is stellar, one of the very best schools on the planet, but playing games like this with their so called top recruit just doesn’t seem right. I guarantee you if the OP were a football player and the number one recruit for Stanford, he would have been offered a long time ago. It just seems to me that they are taking for granted that he is theirs to be had once they get around to making a decision, assuming they still want him. I feel badly for the OP. I only hope Stanford would step up to the plate quickly to let him know already one way or the other.</p>
<p>Check you private messages inbox!</p>