If you had your child play a sport to get a college scholarship, did it pay off or not?

[Anonymous]

23:02 Really? The parents of the recruited athletes I know acknowledge their children would not have been accepted if they hadn't been athlete scholars.

ED is early decision.

[Anonymous]

There's a study that found that, at least for soccer, most families would be in a better position to finance college if they saved all the money they spent on trainers and tournaments in far-flung places. For all the reasons cited above, including injury, loss of interest, and simple lack of talent. Yes, a few stellar kids get scholarships, but that's really a tiny fraction. I think the study is cited in the book Soccer Head, or maybe the book How Soccer Changed the World.

Other sports may be different, I don't know.

[Anonymous]

"So, for example, division 1 women's field hockey can have 12 equivalency scholarships. A coach is free to have 25 women on the team, and can divvy up the money among the 25 any way she wants. So a few players might get substantial scholarships, the rest won't get much. There are even fewer scholarships available at Division II schools (which generally speaking, aren't well known schools). There are NO athletic scholarships allowed at Division III schools. Any aid offered there must be financial aid or merit aid. "

This.

My cousin got in to a SLAC in Ohio with a partial athletic scholarship for field hockey. ($2,000) She loved the school and playing at the college level. Problem was, the rest of the tuition costs were over $35k per year. Her dad couldn't afford for her to attend more than one year.

She is now back home going to the local community college and trying to get into a big state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great question & topic!

I will tell you what I've come to discover:

Unless your child is a PHENOMENAL athlete, all the hours of training, early mornings, long trips and tons of money are a WASTE! Schools do not throw their money behind mediocre athletes. You child would be better off focusing on making good grades.

Now, if your child happens to love the sport and they're involved simply for the love, that's great! But if the goal is scholarship money, that does not happen unless the child is TOP NOTCH! Any college counselor will tell you that.

Same PP here.

Just wanted to add my impression of the college athlete. When I was in school (on academic scholarship) I remember feeling badly for the athletes who were basically slaves to the school we attended. They didn't have all the freedoms I did. While I was able to hang out with friends and do whatever I wanted, they were in mandated study halls at certain hours, then they had to eat together, live together, practice for hours on end, etc...I was dating an athlete and had to wonder at the time if the sacrifice was worth it and how much more of the FUN part of the college experience he would've had if he'd gotten an academic scholarship or had parents pay out of pocket.

So you play sports and hit the books for 4 years. Where's the fun in that?

And as a PP said, do NOT put all eggs in one basket.

And another perspective: I LOVED playing a sport in college. I wasn't the type to get hammered 3 days a week so it worked out for me. And we never had mandated studying or eating together or living together. My teammates and experience playing in college made it so much richer to me.

But the point is, your child should play a sport because they enjoy it and they want to. If they get a scholarship, that's icing on the cake.

+1 I did my sport simply out of love of the game (fencing). We didn't have any mandated study halls or living arrangements; it was assumed you were your own person and could handle your academic life. As it stood most of us were in STEM and the team average GPA was higher than the school average. There weren't many scholarships though. If you were getting any assistance then most likely you were an east European who'd already been to the olympics.

TBH though dealing with the NCAAs was kind of a hassle. If I was entering college now I'd go to uni in a city that had a strong club or salle, just go to national events, and bypass college competition altogether.

[Anonymous]

I see people shelling out huge money for traveling for their kids sports. $200/weekend maybe minimum for 20 weeks of the year.....that's a good chunk of change if invested well could get you tuition with no strings attached!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a study that found that, at least for soccer, most families would be in a better position to finance college if they saved all the money they spent on trainers and tournaments in far-flung places. For all the reasons cited above, including injury, loss of interest, and simple lack of talent. Yes, a few stellar kids get scholarships, but that's really a tiny fraction. I think the study is cited in the book Soccer Head, or maybe the book How Soccer Changed the World.

Other sports may be different, I don't know.

You can't put a price on all the things soccer gave me. The scholarship was a bonus, but I would be a much weaker, unhappier person without it.

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting topic and I guess I am not surprised that the parents who are seeking scholarships have not chimed in because, in the end, it is kind of embarrassing. My daughter played on a WAGS soccer team last year where the parents were absolutely nuts and many if not most of them thought their daughters would get scholarships, and a few would be invited to the Olympics camp. They were not even a top Division Team . . . What was weird, is with one exception, I think the kids understood that their parents were nuts, which just seemed so sad. Anyway, the local paper listed scholarship athletes last week, and worth taking a look at -- usually one or two per sport at most, which means in a sport like soccer 20 kids did not get a scholarship, 40 in football etc. . . Bad odds but I agree that it can help with admissions particularly at a D3 school, and sports also provide a lot of benefits for most kids. It is the parents who should be jailed for using their kids for bragging rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a study that found that, at least for soccer, most families would be in a better position to finance college if they saved all the money they spent on trainers and tournaments in far-flung places. For all the reasons cited above, including injury, loss of interest, and simple lack of talent. Yes, a few stellar kids get scholarships, but that's really a tiny fraction. I think the study is cited in the book Soccer Head, or maybe the book How Soccer Changed the World.

Other sports may be different, I don't know.

You can't put a price on all the things soccer gave me. The scholarship was a bonus, but I would be a much weaker, unhappier person without it.

I have several kids on travel teams and I haven't met the braggart, overly ambitious parents. Most, like me, would be very happy if their kid got offered a scholarship but know it's unlikely-there are so many talented kids out there, but it's rare to see any that truly stand out. But I do know, like the poster above, that my kids are happier and stronger and healthier from playing soccer and really love the practicing and team spirit and competition. That is what matters and I don't begrudge the money it costs in travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a study that found that, at least for soccer, most families would be in a better position to finance college if they saved all the money they spent on trainers and tournaments in far-flung places. For all the reasons cited above, including injury, loss of interest, and simple lack of talent. Yes, a few stellar kids get scholarships, but that's really a tiny fraction. I think the study is cited in the book Soccer Head, or maybe the book How Soccer Changed the World.

Other sports may be different, I don't know.

You can't put a price on all the things soccer gave me. The scholarship was a bonus, but I would be a much weaker, unhappier person without it.

I have several kids on travel teams and I haven't met the braggart, overly ambitious parents. Most, like me, would be very happy if their kid got offered a scholarship but know it's unlikely-there are so many talented kids out there, but it's rare to see any that truly stand out. But I do know, like the poster above, that my kids are happier and stronger and healthier from playing soccer and really love the practicing and team spirit and competition. That is what matters and I don't begrudge the money it costs in travel.

+100

I have met some of "those" parents, but agree that my kids are happier, stronger and healthier from their years of soccer. Oldest now plays for HS team and wouldn't trade the experience. And this is despite being told he could very likely get a D1 scholarship in another sport. Sometimes it's just about letting kids do what they love. You can't "have" a kid play a sport to get a college scholarship. It doesn't work that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a study that found that, at least for soccer, most families would be in a better position to finance college if they saved all the money they spent on trainers and tournaments in far-flung places. For all the reasons cited above, including injury, loss of interest, and simple lack of talent. Yes, a few stellar kids get scholarships, but that's really a tiny fraction. I think the study is cited in the book Soccer Head, or maybe the book How Soccer Changed the World.

Other sports may be different, I don't know.

You can't put a price on all the things soccer gave me. The scholarship was a bonus, but I would be a much weaker, unhappier person without it.

I have several kids on travel teams and I haven't met the braggart, overly ambitious parents. Most, like me, would be very happy if their kid got offered a scholarship but know it's unlikely-there are so many talented kids out there, but it's rare to see any that truly stand out. But I do know, like the poster above, that my kids are happier and stronger and healthier from playing soccer and really love the practicing and team spirit and competition. That is what matters and I don't begrudge the money it costs in travel.

+100

I have met some of "those" parents, but agree that my kids are happier, stronger and healthier from their years of soccer. Oldest now plays for HS team and wouldn't trade the experience. And this is despite being told he could very likely get a D1 scholarship in another sport. Sometimes it's just about letting kids do what they love. You can't "have" a kid play a sport to get a college scholarship. It doesn't work that way.

We are in a similar position - DC played his last season of high school soccer in the fall and we all agreed that the journey and cost was totally worthwhile. He could have played in college but not at the caliber of college he wanted to go to. But he loved soccer, we loved soccer, and he wanted to play soccer in high school. Playing at a competitive/travel level was important to him. It was about skill development, the level of play and level of commitment of the other players that mattered, not whether it was a path to a college scholarship. You do have to be realistic about it - the best way to do that is look at the roster for the colleges your DC is interested in. It will almost always list their clubs. At the selective academic schools, and the big soccer schools, the rosters are almost all academy players or international kids.

I will say its a little different for girls. DC has a lot of girl friends who are playing soccer in college - some on full rides, some not. This area seems to be a strong one for girl players.

[Anonymous]

DH was recruited for Ivy based on sports (among other things) Since the money was so small compared to the overall cost, he dropped out of the sport, but not out of the school. He had a much more enjoyable experience and had higher grades. Yes, college sports are quite a commitment. Any college level athlete will confirm this. His roommate stayed in for the love of the sport (gymnastics) but he suffered later from the injuries. Very painful in his 30s.

[Anonymous]

17:02 ~ 23:02 here. yes, as I said, all that I know.

[Anonymous]

Ivies don't give athletic scholarships. They give financial aid based on need. My kid was recruited to an Ivy and rowed there. We got a tiny bit of F.A. and were nicely surprised. It was not a scholarship.

Anonymous wrote:DH was recruited for Ivy based on sports (among other things) Since the money was so small compared to the overall cost, he dropped out of the sport, but not out of the school. He had a much more enjoyable experience and had higher grades. Yes, college sports are quite a commitment. Any college level athlete will confirm this. His roommate stayed in for the love of the sport (gymnastics) but he suffered later from the injuries. Very painful in his 30s.

[Anonymous]

I was on scholarship for cross country/track at a Division I school, and I personally think its almost too hard to do both. I constantly felt stressed out: stressed about training, stressed about meets, stressed about studying, etc. etc. I met lifelong friends, but I'm not sure it was worth it. Looking back at those years, I don't want to relive them and when I do think a lot about it, I get that familiar pit in my stomach of anxiety.

[Anonymous]

I was a college rower, and I'm amazed at the PPs who said there are scholarships for crew! But I was in college...well, a while ago. I ended up not going to a division 1 school so that I could row seriously and also study seriously. I chose my school because I LOVED to row and wanted to keep rowing all 4 years without having to make a choice between my boat and my grades. I hope, if my child has a passion - sports or whatever else - we can find a way to pay for college without requiring him to make his passion his meal ticket.