If your kid got into an Ivy as an athletic recruit would you suck up the cost and send them?

[Anonymous]

DD has a lot of interested from several Ivys for her sport. It’s highly likely that she’ll end up with a couple offers to play.

Meanwhile, DH has fully funded her 529 but she’s not getting any interest to play in-state bc it’s much more competitive.

DH doesn’t want to pay Ivy prices when already have in state funded. DD can still go instate but just won’t be playing her sport, which she might be ok with if we tell her we cannot afford Ivy. The the truth is DH doesn’t want to spend the $$ and doesn’t want her to go into debt when her tuition is already covered for instate schools.

Are Ivys really worth it? And would you send your kid as an athletic recruit if you and they would have to borrow money?

[Anonymous]

What’s her career aspiration? If finance, consulting, or CS then the Ivy pedigree is worth it.

If law or medicine, I think it’s more important to minimize undergrad costs.

[Anonymous]

OP here, at the moment she’s interested in finance.

[Anonymous]

Is there a middle ground where she can play her sport at a more reasonably-priced school?

Generally, I think student loan debt is rarely worth it.

[Anonymous]

If the sport is important to her then she can pay the difference. Not everyone gets a free ride and while I know no one wants their kid in debt, this is a life lesson. She needs to prioritize. Does she want to graduate debt free or play the sport and get a job in college or have debt afterwards.

[Anonymous]

What state school are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

We did. But DS preferred the Ivy school he ultimately attended over other schools - and in state was never in play because 1) did not have his sport and 2) unlike your DH, my DH really encouraged him to go to the Ivies over other schools. We’ve done it without loans - I had been out of the workforce and returned so my income is covering what we didn’t save ahead of time, but it’s a big check to write if you are full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has a lot of interested from several Ivys for her sport. It’s highly likely that she’ll end up with a couple offers to play.

Meanwhile, DH has fully funded her 529 but she’s not getting any interest to play in-state bc it’s much more competitive.

DH doesn’t want to pay Ivy prices when already have in state funded. DD can still go instate but just won’t be playing her sport, which she might be ok with if we tell her we cannot afford Ivy. The the truth is DH doesn’t want to spend the $$ and doesn’t want her to go into debt when her tuition is already covered for instate schools.

Are Ivys really worth it? And would you send your kid as an athletic recruit if you and they would have to borrow money?

Of course they are.

[Anonymous]

What sport is not that competitive in ivies?

[Anonymous]

Depends which Ivy.

Harvard, Yale, Princeton - YES (also non-Ivy like Stanford, MIT, Cal tech)

Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth - NO

Columbia/Penn - Maybe, depends of state school (and major)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sport is not that competitive in ivies?

Must be field hockey or soccer

[Anonymous]

Are you a tiger mom? If so the answer is suck it up and you do it

[Anonymous]

Yes it is worth it.

[Anonymous]

what is the state school option(s)?

[Anonymous]

Your husband is a cheap bastard. Don’t make the mistake of settling for state schools when you have these options