Experienced Parents: What was DCUM right/wrong about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What DCUM got right: being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

+1
Talent and hard work in athletics and in the classroom can really pay off!

What do people do with kids who are not talented athletes?

Get them started with a sport they enjoy when they are young. You don’t need to be a natural athlete. It can be learned.

Yes, any kid can learn a sport and get better. But, if your goal is for your kid to be recruited, that’s another matter. Many parents waste 10s of thousands of dollars and tons of time trying to turn their mediocre athlete into a recruitment star. It overwhelmingly doesn’t work. If your kid loves their sport, they get playing time, and they excel relative to others in the game, you may have something. Otherwise, put your money in a 529.

Point taken. My kid is a recruited athlete at a high academic D3. Good but not great athlete. We spend less than 5k per year. Grades and stats in the top 25% of applicants in a school that accepts less than 7%. The investment in the sport was well worth it.

Does your kid have an athletic or academic scholarship?

Neither. The school only provides need based aid. We will be full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did DCUM get wrong?
The stakes are just not that high. Going to T10 v. T30 v. T50 isn't going to make or break your life. Also, acknowledging what you can control versus what you can't will be helpful. Fretting over what amounts to admission lottery picks isn't healthy for anyone and definitely not worth risking a child's mental health over. If your kid gets in, great! If not, there are myriad other attractive options. Make sure your child can articulate a reason he/she would be excited to go to any school on his or her list, from the easiest to get into to the hardest.

What did DCUM get right?
Get a rolling admission in hand ASAP. Both of mine were so happy to be able to have their "worst case scenario" known. When you know that if "worse comes to worst" I'm off to Pitt, that's a pretty great thing because Pitt is awesome.

You are everything that is wrong with this board. And DC school/colleges. Seriously, listen to yourself.

--parent of kids not at Pitt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did DCUM get wrong?
The stakes are just not that high. Going to T10 v. T30 v. T50 isn't going to make or break your life. Also, acknowledging what you can control versus what you can't will be helpful. Fretting over what amounts to admission lottery picks isn't healthy for anyone and definitely not worth risking a child's mental health over. If your kid gets in, great! If not, there are myriad other attractive options. Make sure your child can articulate a reason he/she would be excited to go to any school on his or her list, from the easiest to get into to the hardest.

What did DCUM get right?
Get a rolling admission in hand ASAP. Both of mine were so happy to be able to have their "worst case scenario" known. When you know that if "worse comes to worst" I'm off to Pitt, that's a pretty great thing because Pitt is awesome.

You are everything that is wrong with this board. And DC school/colleges. Seriously, listen to yourself.

--parent of kids not at Pitt

Not PP. Please explain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right:
When my oldest was going through the search process, I had never heard of the Common Data Set or Naviance. Both turned out to be valuable tools he used in his search process.

Wrong:
College Fairs are a waste of time. We just went to the college fair at GMU last night. It was packed and difficult to even walk around there were SO many people there. But there were quite a range of colleges represented - lots of big state schools, most of the schools in Virginia, a handful of high academic schools, all of the military academies. My youngest is a senior and is in the middle of the application process. He has his reach and target schools but needs a safety school, which has not been easy. He went in last night with a positive attitude and had the list of schools he wanted to talk to plus the couple my DH and I suggested. He tends to ask the non-academic questions: dorm situation, food, greek life, sporting events, etc. We braved the crowds and talked to several reps. I'm happy to report that he found a school that peaked his interest and he did more research once he got home. This morning, he took his transcript request into school, adding this school to his list. Yeah for college fairs!

Uh, no. piqued.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What DCUM got right: being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

+1
Talent and hard work in athletics and in the classroom can really pay off!

What do people do with kids who are not talented athletes?

Get them started with a sport they enjoy when they are young. You don’t need to be a natural athlete. It can be learned.

Yes, any kid can learn a sport and get better. But, if your goal is for your kid to be recruited, that’s another matter. Many parents waste 10s of thousands of dollars and tons of time trying to turn their mediocre athlete into a recruitment star. It overwhelmingly doesn’t work. If your kid loves their sport, they get playing time, and they excel relative to others in the game, you may have something. Otherwise, put your money in a 529.

Point taken. My kid is a recruited athlete at a high academic D3. Good but not great athlete. We spend less than 5k per year. Grades and stats in the top 25% of applicants in a school that accepts less than 7%. The investment in the sport was well worth it.

But that is basically a needle in a haystack. One DC played club for years and opted not to pursue recruiting in college. Only 3 kids got scholarships. Two were generous, one knocked down the price and the remainder covered by EFC and need. The other three are playing but minimal money - in that group, all probably measure up with your DC.

One kid really expected to get a scholarship AT ANY SCHOOL and it simply didn't pan out. Kid was super fast, quite talented, not always the best team player, and on the very small side for even a D3 school. Parents were devastated.

Finally, how are you paying less than 5k at a high academic D3 as D3s do not offer athletic scholarships? Perhaps your DC got a robust aid package, even merit, but not an athletic scholarship.

It's 5k per year spent on the sport during middle school and high school. None of this is for scholarship money. We will be full pay at the D3 which only offers need based aid. Without the sport, admission would have been a total crap shoot even with top stats. That's why being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

This is how it’s done, and previous poster is DCUM getting wrong. People don’t do athletics for scholarship, they do it for the admissions bump, and being full pay is part of that arrangement
.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did DCUM get wrong?
The stakes are just not that high. Going to T10 v. T30 v. T50 isn't going to make or break your life. Also, acknowledging what you can control versus what you can't will be helpful. Fretting over what amounts to admission lottery picks isn't healthy for anyone and definitely not worth risking a child's mental health over. If your kid gets in, great! If not, there are myriad other attractive options. Make sure your child can articulate a reason he/she would be excited to go to any school on his or her list, from the easiest to get into to the hardest.

What did DCUM get right?
Get a rolling admission in hand ASAP. Both of mine were so happy to be able to have their "worst case scenario" known. When you know that if "worse comes to worst" I'm off to Pitt, that's a pretty great thing because Pitt is awesome.

You are everything that is wrong with this board. And DC school/colleges. Seriously, listen to yourself.

--parent of kids not at Pitt

Not PP. Please explain.

Ditto. What's so horrible here? My DC did the same thing after a Sept tour of Pitt and is hoping for an acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen so many threads over the years in this forum from parents asking questions. I’m curious for those people who started threads and whose kids are now in college, what did DCUM get right and wrong for you?

Money. totally wrong about money. We are a donut hole family, and all we could afford was in-state tuition. period. Forget about merit aid at so-so SLACS. Ain't gonna happen unless you've got at least $60K to spend per year instead of $85K. That difference didn't matter to us -- neither was affordable.

Kids are ecstatically happy at very low-ranked colleges. It really doesn't matter where they go to college as long as they are happy there. All this prestige crap is garbage. Total, utter, garbage. I went to a fancy college and hated it. I wish I'd gone to a less prestigious college, as my kids did, and did well and was happy. I've regretted it to this day, and it really did very little for me. 2+2 = 4 everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What DCUM got right: being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

+1
Talent and hard work in athletics and in the classroom can really pay off!

What do people do with kids who are not talented athletes?

Get them started with a sport they enjoy when they are young. You don’t need to be a natural athlete. It can be learned.

Yes, any kid can learn a sport and get better. But, if your goal is for your kid to be recruited, that’s another matter. Many parents waste 10s of thousands of dollars and tons of time trying to turn their mediocre athlete into a recruitment star. It overwhelmingly doesn’t work. If your kid loves their sport, they get playing time, and they excel relative to others in the game, you may have something. Otherwise, put your money in a 529.

Point taken. My kid is a recruited athlete at a high academic D3. Good but not great athlete. We spend less than 5k per year. Grades and stats in the top 25% of applicants in a school that accepts less than 7%. The investment in the sport was well worth it.

But that is basically a needle in a haystack. One DC played club for years and opted not to pursue recruiting in college. Only 3 kids got scholarships. Two were generous, one knocked down the price and the remainder covered by EFC and need. The other three are playing but minimal money - in that group, all probably measure up with your DC.

One kid really expected to get a scholarship AT ANY SCHOOL and it simply didn't pan out. Kid was super fast, quite talented, not always the best team player, and on the very small side for even a D3 school. Parents were devastated.

Finally, how are you paying less than 5k at a high academic D3 as D3s do not offer athletic scholarships? Perhaps your DC got a robust aid package, even merit, but not an athletic scholarship.

It's 5k per year spent on the sport during middle school and high school. None of this is for scholarship money. We will be full pay at the D3 which only offers need based aid. Without the sport, admission would have been a total crap shoot even with top stats. That's why being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

This is how it’s done, and previous poster is DCUM getting wrong. People don’t do athletics for scholarship, they do it for the admissions bump, and being full pay is part of that arrangement
.

+100

Sure, if the family has the money to pay. Some people are actually looking for actual athletic scholarships that mean money off of tuition. Shocking for DCUM, I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What DCUM got right: being a recruited athlete is the best hook.

+1
Talent and hard work in athletics and in the classroom can really pay off!

What do people do with kids who are not talented athletes?

Get them started with a sport they enjoy when they are young. You don’t need to be a natural athlete. It can be learned.

Ha! Just make sure if you are looking for sports scholarships that you pick a sport with a lot of teams at a lot of schools and not one that has fewer than 100 schools with less than 15 per team. Look at sports like soccer.

LOL soccer waste total waste. Lax too.

Soccer is the best sport in the world.
A lot of people play it for life time.
Look at the fields around you.

There are tons and tons of schools with college soccer and lax teams. That's the way to go (unlike gymnastics with only 80 something teams across all divisions).

There are 70-something D1 lacrosse teams, and many of them are only partially funded. Even for a fully funded program, you're talking 12.6 scholarships for a 45+ person roster.

Also, both soccer and lacrosse (on the men's side especially) are unbelievably competitive. I take it you never played any sports at a (reasonably) high level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have seen so many threads over the years in this forum from parents asking questions. I’m curious for those people who started threads and whose kids are now in college, what did DCUM get right and wrong for you?

Money. totally wrong about money. We are a donut hole family, and all we could afford was in-state tuition. period. Forget about merit aid at so-so SLACS. Ain't gonna happen unless you've got at least $60K to spend per year instead of $85K. That difference didn't matter to us -- neither was affordable.

Kids are ecstatically happy at very low-ranked colleges. It really doesn't matter where they go to college as long as they are happy there. All this prestige crap is garbage. Total, utter, garbage. I went to a fancy college and hated it. I wish I'd gone to a less prestigious college, as my kids did, and did well and was happy. I've regretted it to this day, and it really did very little for me. 2+2 = 4 everywhere.

A donut hole family. No, you save and kids go to a state school like the rest of our kids. So tired of comfortable families screaming poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The students from our W school that got into Ivy League schools were ALL legacy and sports admits. All of them. Unless you have a hook, focus on top public schools and/or the top in your state. It’s not a lottery getting into a top Ivy school, it’s that their parents are alumni.

+2 My kid is at a Big3 private and the Ivy admits were all (almost all?) athletic recruits, legacy (usually double legacy) or URM. And the legacy kids were usually ALSO URM or athletic admits. I will add that all of these kids are are known to be very smart with high stats. I know one crazy smart accomplished kid that went HYP last year and I was sure they were not a recruit or URM or legacy. And then my kid said in passing that parent and grandparent went to the school.

Not true in every case. The ivy admits I know were not URM, not athletes, and not legacies, but were high-stat students at low-income public schools who demonstrated an interest in politics and social justice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The students from our W school that got into Ivy League schools were ALL legacy and sports admits. All of them. Unless you have a hook, focus on top public schools and/or the top in your state. It’s not a lottery getting into a top Ivy school, it’s that their parents are alumni.

+2 My kid is at a Big3 private and the Ivy admits were all (almost all?) athletic recruits, legacy (usually double legacy) or URM. And the legacy kids were usually ALSO URM or athletic admits. I will add that all of these kids are are known to be very smart with high stats. I know one crazy smart accomplished kid that went HYP last year and I was sure they were not a recruit or URM or legacy. And then my kid said in passing that parent and grandparent went to the school.

Not true in every case. The ivy admits I know were not URM, not athletes, and not legacies, but were high-stat students at low-income public schools who demonstrated an interest in politics and social justice.

You all need to meet more people. Plenty of people who don’t fit into any of those boxes get in.

[Anonymous]

Wrong: the relentless push by some to obsess over “fit” and insist that kids are better off at CTCL schools instead of second tier state schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wrong: the relentless push by some to obsess over “fit” and insist that kids are better off at CTCL schools instead of second tier state schools.

When you think about, is it really possible to get a feel for "fit" unless you're already there on a consistent basis? You really can't base it totally on a visit or two. In addition, "fit" can be transient and affected by factors that can change such as mental health, roommate, dorm, classes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Point taken. My kid is a recruited athlete at a high academic D3. Good but not great athlete. We spend less than 5k per year. Grades and stats in the top 25% of applicants in a school that accepts less than 7%. The investment in the sport was well worth it.


Does your kid have an athletic or academic scholarship?

You must be getting need-based aid, since there are no DIII athletic scholarships and the top academic schools give very, very little merit aid, if any.