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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the past they did. Now they just find a private endowment scholarships for an athlete they really want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also note, athletic scholarships are for one year only and must be renewed each year. Get hurt? There goes your scholarship.

Not always true, I know several players who were kept on scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the past they did. Now they just find a private endowment scholarships for an athlete they really want.

+1000

as much as people don't like to hear it, if there is a kid a school wants, the school has many ways to get that kid. grant in aid, financial aid, hardship costs etc it is all there at every school.

[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.

if your kid is doing all that before the age of 12 it is a waste of money. The kids who were amazing at age 6-9 might not be that kid then, once a kid starts developing is when you want to evalaute things. If you are not saving for college you are a fool.

If the kid happens to get $$ for school great but we look at it this way, if we have to ask them to get ready for practice and they push back they are not into it, they must do a sport , a music program, and volunteer at church. we encourage them to be in different sports during different seasons. studies show kids who od the same sport year round without other sports are more prone to injury. save for college, manage expectations but work hard.

our kids are in the travel level for 2 sports each, if it were a stretch financially we wouldn't do it but we fund college first. there are soem travel programs that require your undivided commitment, those are not for us. for some people it is but not us.

[Anonymous]

It did not pay off, as he got a concussion.

[Anonymous]

sorry to hear that, PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The real advantage to sports is the admissions edge, not the scholarship. Sports help even if a student is not recruited. Especially being a captain.

I'm interested in this. I'm not looking for scholarship but wondering how much it'll help with admissions. So if my son is playing soccer with a travel team, but he's not good enough to be recruited for college, how much does it help? I've heard people say if they're not recruited, then it just counts as an activity. Does that mean it counts about as much as being in the French Club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The real advantage to sports is the admissions edge, not the scholarship. Sports help even if a student is not recruited. Especially being a captain.

I'm interested in this. I'm not looking for scholarship but wondering how much it'll help with admissions. So if my son is playing soccer with a travel team, but he's not good enough to be recruited for college, how much does it help? I've heard people say if they're not recruited, then it just counts as an activity. Does that mean it counts about as much as being in the French Club?

Really doesn't help much, and yes, not much different than French Club. On the common app you list your top 10 activities, along with time spent per week. You really don't have much space to describe it. If your DC also plays in high school, and refs games, and is a captain, etc. it does help show a passion for soccer and leadership. If he's just a player on a travel team it's not that much of a help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Full ride scholarships are generally available only for division 1 football (85 scholarships per school), men's basketball (13), and women's basketball (15), tennis (8), gymnastics (12), and volleyball (12). That's it. Under NCAA rules, no other sports require full ride scholarships. Instead, the other sports are "equivalency" sports, with the limits set at total scholarships equal to x full ride scholarships. 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.

So the reality is, even for top athletes, there are very few full rides to college out there, unless you play football. As this article discusses, excluding football and basketball, the average athletic scholarship in 2004 was $8k.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

The real advantage to sports is the admissions edge, not the scholarship. Sports help even if a student is not recruited. Especially being a captain.

This is very true. I know four student athletes who gained entrance to colleges (two Ivy's and two very selective state schools) that they would not have otherwise been able to attend. As PP said,, that is the real advantage. Grades can be lower and other activities are less important in light of assumed dedication to a sport.

That's just sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Full ride scholarships are generally available only for division 1 football (85 scholarships per school), men's basketball (13), and women's basketball (15), tennis (8), gymnastics (12), and volleyball (12). That's it. Under NCAA rules, no other sports require full ride scholarships. Instead, the other sports are "equivalency" sports, with the limits set at total scholarships equal to x full ride scholarships. 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.

So the reality is, even for top athletes, there are very few full rides to college out there, unless you play football. As this article discusses, excluding football and basketball, the average athletic scholarship in 2004 was $8k.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

The real advantage to sports is the admissions edge, not the scholarship. Sports help even if a student is not recruited. Especially being a captain.

This is very true. I know four student athletes who gained entrance to colleges (two Ivy's and two very selective state schools) that they would not have otherwise been able to attend. As PP said,, that is the real advantage. Grades can be lower and other activities are less important in light of assumed dedication to a sport.

That's just sad.

Don't be daft. Having good college sports is good for the school (not thinking of huge obnoxious football / bball culture though). The athletes still have to pass their classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It did not pay off, as he got a concussion.

Do explain. When I went to school they promised me that even if I got a career ending injury that I would have my scholarship for four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It did not pay off, as he got a concussion.

Do explain. When I went to school they promised me that even if I got a career ending injury that I would have my scholarship for four years.

Perhaps the concussion came in high school. I know several soccer players who had to quit after concussions.