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Recruiting Tips for Parents Just Starting the Process
- Thread starter MakeAPlay
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gotothebushes
GOLD
What about me Norcal? LOL
gotothebushes
GOLD
Q for anyone on here to be helpful - when the schools have 14 scholarships, is that tuition plus room/board? So a school that has tuition of $50k and $20k for room, then do they have $70k to hand out so they could give $35k to two different kids? Or do they only have the $50k to hand out.
Mystery Train
GOLD
My understanding is that their scholarship budget is based on tuition only. When people talk about "full ride" it's almost never truly "full ride" the way we parents imagine it. They do have the ability to award dollar amounts, so coaches can get creative and cover things in addition to tuition. Books, room and board, etc. But the dollar amount when saying we have "x scholarships" available, is based on tuition cost. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone with more knowledge here will correct me.
If you're in serious talks and offers are being floated, then you will need to make sure you hear the phrase "total cost of attendance". This means the whole nugget (room/board and tuition). It is true that 100% is very rarely given, but make sure that whatever the percetage you're agreeing to is under the umbrella of total cost of attendance, in terms of the language being used for the offer. Hope this helps.
NCAA allows the limited number of scholarships to be computed against the full cost to be borne otherwise by the student or family including room and board, mandatory fees, and some incidental expenses. Any school's budget may be limited to a lower amount than this, and it may be sliced up any way the coach and athletic director want it. student-athlete and his family do not usually know what the awards for others in the program might have been (except by talk amongst the teammates). You can get some information on athletic department expenditures from the public schools, but very little from the big private schools unless they are just bragging.
gotothebushes
GOLD
Thanks -- that's all helpful. I have a different question.
I was speaking with a friend who is a college coach (not soccer, another non-headcout sport) at a major D1 university. He said that you can't mix academic aid and sports scholarships. The reason for this is the NCAA doesn't want scholarships getting handed to athletes with a wink and a nod to circumvent the scholarship caps. Previously, I had heard it was possible to get academic/merit-based aid in addition to the scholarships. Anyone have experience with this??
I was speaking with a friend who is a college coach (not soccer, another non-headcout sport) at a major D1 university. He said that you can't mix academic aid and sports scholarships. The reason for this is the NCAA doesn't want scholarships getting handed to athletes with a wink and a nod to circumvent the scholarship caps. Previously, I had heard it was possible to get academic/merit-based aid in addition to the scholarships. Anyone have experience with this??
Soccerfan2
GOLD
In theory, based on your scenario they have $70k to give. In equivalency sports, the max number of scholarships is intended to mean full scholarships. For women’s soccer, that’s 14 full cost of attendance (room/board, fees, books, tuition) for fully funded programs. However, not every program is fully funded, so the actual amount of money a coach has to give out varies by school even amongst D1 women’s soccer programs. That gets further complicated by the amount of academic aid students on athletic scholarship might be receiving, because there is a max number of counters as well as a max number of scholarships, and academic money given to scholarship athletes usually counts against the scholarship limit (this is recently changed because of covid). Crystal clear, right?
Mystery Train
GOLD
We were told that is true for certain (most?) schools/university systems. However, it's different when you're talking private vs. state, and NAIA as well, which does not operate under the NCAA umbrella. I *think* it's different for private schools, where they can have a mix? Or maybe the other way around? It's been a couple of years now since those conversations with coaches, and I've tried to erase most of that experience from memory. lol
A simple view that was true once, and may not be any more -- If there is NY athletic dept money awarded, then the total of all scholarships, grants, aetc cannot exceed the total cost of attendance.
Hey Espola, I have a soccer question or two for you or your boy in regards to todays college life for a recruit. Would you have your son wait until signing day his Sr year and make the Big Decision then, in front of High School friends? Also, would you want him to take three official visits and meet the coach and team and all that important stuff before verbal? I'm curious what Espola would say, thanks
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
My daughter has both an athletic scholarship and an academic scholarship and she goes to a public D1 school. They are completely independent and I am not sure the coach knows about the academic scholarship nor did those rewarding that scholarship knew she was an athlete. The only place this comes together is in her financial statements. Right now this is slightly less than a full ride but if it was more my understanding is that the school would withhold anything more than the 100%.
gotothebushes
GOLD
Thanks Simi! I believe private schools is a bit different!
You can absolutely combine academic and athletic aid, and only the athletic aid counts against the soccer program. Most kids are on some combination. The key in receiving any aid outside of that awarded by the soccer program is that it is not based on athletic ability. So if a prospect earns the academic scholarship by meeting its academic criteria like any other regular student, they can receive it in addition to any athletic scholarship offered.
This is probably the most effective way to stretch your scholarship dollars, especially for boys. Crafty and seasoned coaches will speak to this during the recruiting process. When speaking to coaches, ensure they break down the dollars by bucket. We really didn't see a difference between public and private schools (and I'm no expert).
Overlap
SILVER ELITE
Yes, private schools are a bit different, I will say to everyone, GRADES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! We tried to tell both our kids that over the years. Our now Senior was recruited to play at multiple schools and picked a D3 in Upstate NY, (committed end of her Jr. year), we thought her "Merit" scholarship was pretty good and really had no idea what was "good" at that point, her grades were fair (3.4) however, she received what would be close to a 2/3 tuition with everything included (tuition, housing), at would would be the cost of a California State school. Our youngest was recruited to play at the same school, now a Soph. and her grades were 4.0 at the time, her "Merit" scholarship was A LOT more then our oldest daughter, her total package is less than a State California school, both have made the Dean's List every year and are having a blast, yes, even with missing a season due to Covid. Your kids need to pick a school they're going to love, even if they don't play soccer as most only play on average 1.5 years due to injury or whatever, getting a great education should be their top priority unless they think they're going to play pro and that percentage of players that make it there drops to less than 1% of the total players, last I checked NCAA, only 3% even play on from club to the college level. I'm really glad both attended the same school, we saved a bunch of money and both played right away rather than watching the first few seasons. Best of luck to whatever schools they pick! (*FYI - It's weird watching them play on the computer or flying across the country to see them play so, enjoy it while you can!)
gotothebushes
GOLD
Thanks Overlap. Very helpful. Glad your daughters are thriving. Best of luck for them because it goes super fast.
Overlap
SILVER ELITE
Way too fast! I can't believe our oldest is done and now going to Grad school....that went really fast
To a degree. As do test scores, to a degree. Both are bars that must be met. Once met, does not seem to matter much how far over that bar they are. DD used soccer to get into great school. Son used cycling to get into a great school. Their grades, were very different. They were both over the bar and that was all that mattered. In the end, we paid a lot for DD and son got paid. Both were encouraged to excel in sports over academics. NO regrets at all. Son buying 2nd house (without involving parents @ 22 partnering with DD). Both know what beast mode is. Grades are important, but just one of those things. Soccer ability likely matters more.
My understanding is title IX is for full tuition equivalents, so does not include room/board/food.
So they have $50K X 14 anyway they want.
It depends on the coach and depends on the school how they divide that up. It is rare (likely never - I just don't know for certain) to have all that going to 14 players. If a player is eligible for financial aid elsewhere they might get less soccer money (or financial aid + soccer money = full tuition) or financial aid can go to room/board. The fancier schools tend to have larger rosters and players take less to be there while a not-so-fancy school may have a smaller roster where players get most expenses covered along with academic aid while the fancier schools tend not to give any academic aid. You will hear folks say the kid got a full ride academic scholarship at some Ivy when the Ivy's post they do not give merit scholarships. They might also give up to full scholarships for ethnicities so always look for those too if you are not trying to get a white kid in.