struggling with 50% athletic scholarship vs full pay better school..

[Anonymous]

I don’t think it’s at all clear. Possible to come out of the other school with better opportunities if it’s close knit and team alumni help each other out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re in a similar boat. DC decided to ED to his (very expensive) top academic choice (D1) school and just try out for the club team. As soon as he submits his ED application he gets contacted by a coach from a D3 SLAC inviting him to an official visit with a very generous merit scholarship, based on his academic stats, that would essentially bring the cost down to in-state tuition range. Now we’re trying to decide if it’s worth the visit before ED decisions come out and change to RD or wait and see if he gets in ED and let that decide for him, at the risk of the offer from the D3 school getting pulled.

We’re also going through the “broken leg” scenarios, as a PP mentioned. I don’t think there is a wrong answer. And there’s always the transfer portal.

Np. Can I ask what sport and the range of the offer? Dc is also an athlete and unfortunately we haven’t gotten much in merit offers but maybe I’m expecting too much

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer seems clear unless the Ivy is Brown.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Think long-term - past college. Which school experience will be best for future plans?

Playing a sport leaves little time (or at least a lot less time) for other activities - something to keep in mind.

[Anonymous]

Fwiw I chose a scholarship at T20 law school over an Ivy law school. After graduation, I ended up in Big Law firm that hired a lot of Ivy law graduates. I ended up in the same place as the Ivy grads, but had a lot less debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we will be full pay at ivy. We are looking at the question will ivy brand and connections be worth more over a lifetime than the nearly $200k that will be saved over 4 years at lesser school. DC is pretty laid back, so probably equally happy at either. Econ major at ivy vs business major at other school, which really does place well with their grads. So trying to boil it down to is the ivy name and experience worth the full price tag

Which ivy? And what other school? Hard to answer without that info.

Ivy is HYP - not giving other school or sport sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re in a similar boat. DC decided to ED to his (very expensive) top academic choice (D1) school and just try out for the club team. As soon as he submits his ED application he gets contacted by a coach from a D3 SLAC inviting him to an official visit with a very generous merit scholarship, based on his academic stats, that would essentially bring the cost down to in-state tuition range. Now we’re trying to decide if it’s worth the visit before ED decisions come out and change to RD or wait and see if he gets in ED and let that decide for him, at the risk of the offer from the D3 school getting pulled.

We’re also going through the “broken leg” scenarios, as a PP mentioned. I don’t think there is a wrong answer. And there’s always the transfer portal.

Np. Can I ask what sport and the range of the offer? Dc is also an athlete and unfortunately we haven’t gotten much in merit offers but maybe I’m expecting too much

it’s a 50% athletic scholarship

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re in a similar boat. DC decided to ED to his (very expensive) top academic choice (D1) school and just try out for the club team. As soon as he submits his ED application he gets contacted by a coach from a D3 SLAC inviting him to an official visit with a very generous merit scholarship, based on his academic stats, that would essentially bring the cost down to in-state tuition range. Now we’re trying to decide if it’s worth the visit before ED decisions come out and change to RD or wait and see if he gets in ED and let that decide for him, at the risk of the offer from the D3 school getting pulled.

We’re also going through the “broken leg” scenarios, as a PP mentioned. I don’t think there is a wrong answer. And there’s always the transfer portal.

Np. Can I ask what sport and the range of the offer? Dc is also an athlete and unfortunately we haven’t gotten much in merit offers but maybe I’m expecting too much

it’s a 50% athletic scholarship

That’s amazing! Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:how do most people evaluate the “value” comparison in situations like this? We can afford the full pay, but we aren’t rich. full pay is an ivy, 50% scholarship at a school in T25-50 range

Then do it. Ivies and similar-level private schools open far more doors than T25-50, as well as have a peer group that will push your student. Fewer than 50% are full pay at ivies; there are plenty of kids on pell grants, diverse backgrounds etc. The common ground of all but the most hooked is that they are top1-2% as far as intelligence, creativity, ambition, and more. Combine that with the best faculty in multiple different areas, who care about students and make room for them in research. To get to study in that environment is worth the $ if you can afford it with minimal or no loans. When you have one at an ivy and one at a T40ish private, the differences are night and day.

[Anonymous]

$200k that will be saved over 4 years at lesser school.

This does not seem like much of a savings to me - not enough to turn down the Ivy. I don't send my children to college to play sports. I would never force my kid to go to a school they didn't want to attend because it was higher ranked, but I don't go along with the idea of choosing a college based on playing a sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we will be full pay at ivy. We are looking at the question will ivy brand and connections be worth more over a lifetime than the nearly $200k that will be saved over 4 years at lesser school. DC is pretty laid back, so probably equally happy at either. Econ major at ivy vs business major at other school, which really does place well with their grads. So trying to boil it down to is the ivy name and experience worth the full price tag

Which ivy? And what other school? Hard to answer without that info.

Ivy is HYP - not giving other school or sport sorry

No brainer then. HYP for sure.

Will your DC be playing their sport there? (I’m assuming yes, because how else would you know in early November that they’re in?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we will be full pay at ivy. We are looking at the question will ivy brand and connections be worth more over a lifetime than the nearly $200k that will be saved over 4 years at lesser school. DC is pretty laid back, so probably equally happy at either. Econ major at ivy vs business major at other school, which really does place well with their grads. So trying to boil it down to is the ivy name and experience worth the full price tag

Which ivy? And what other school? Hard to answer without that info.

Ivy is HYP - not giving other school or sport sorry

Harvard, Yale, & Princeton are still worth full tuition if not a hardship on the family. Without knowing the other school, then Harvard, Yale, or Princeton unless the business school is offering cutting edge programs involving AI/ML/special analytics options.

Also, depends upon whether or not the student has a specific career in mind. Also, majoring in business at a top business school in undergraduate school often negates the need to later earn an MBA degree whereas an econ major might benefit from an MBA after several years of post-undergraduate work experience.

If the student is ready for the academic grind, then Princeton is probably the better option between a lower ranked business school and an Ivy.

A Harvard degree is respected worldwide so full pay to Harvard may be a wise investment if no loans are required.

Again, not easy to answer without more specifics regarding desired career and the name of the business programs university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

$200k that will be saved over 4 years at lesser school.

This does not seem like much of a savings to me - not enough to turn down the Ivy. I don't send my children to college to play sports. I would never force my kid to go to a school they didn't want to attend because it was higher ranked, but I don't go along with the idea of choosing a college based on playing a sport.

+1

That’s a ton of pressure to put on your kid if you don’t have to.

What if the coach or the team culture turn out to be a terrible fit?

What if they are battling an injury or have reason to worry that they’ll be cut or replaced by a transfer student?

I’d hate for my kid to feel forced to continue with a sport under those conditions.

All that said, if you can’t afford full pay, I get it. But if you can afford it, but you’re thinking about this as a ROI type decision, I encourage you to factor in the risk - to them and to you, financially - that the sport situation doesn’t play out as you all hoped and they either quit the team or get cut.

[Anonymous]

depends. if it is a private like northeastern or emory, i’d go full pay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:depends. if it is a private like northeastern or emory, i’d go full pay

Might be USC, might be Bucknell.