Do you really want your HS teen to get a D1 "full ride"?

[Anonymous]

As requested from folks on the Private school Forum, posting here:

Read if you have always thought it would be "so great" for your DC to get a full ride to a D1 school:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:



PP, you seem to have made your decision , which is fine. However, as a former D1 athlete in two sports, here is what I would advise you:

The question is not, "which school will best train and show case my kid so that they get a full ride to a D1 school ?" The question is: will your child likely make US Olympic team in or just after college and or be offered a pro contract ?

If the answer to that is "looks like it" Say, your child is Junior national champion or has broken the American record in their age group or something , then by all means , be focused on the best place to get a D1 full ride.

If the answer is " no" and you just want your kid to get a full ride to college and a " decent school" where they can prepare for a career in a non-sports profession , then I would re-think the amount of emphasis you are putting on sports during their developmental years and in determining their college choice.

Why do I say this?

I had a full ride and let me tell you: I earned every dollar. It is a full time job + . Your kid will spend 4-5 hours per day at practice , plus travel every weekend beginning on Thurs evening and compete Fri/Sat and return on Sunday and depending on the sport they will do this 9 mos a year for all four years. ( FB and BB travel by plane , but other sports think long bus ride of 4- 7 hours each way EVERY weekend in college for 4 years ). Your child will train through each winter break, spring break and summer, likely with their team and away from your family and possibly at the expense of summer internships.

Likely their class schedule will have to be changed and they will have to go an extra semester or extra year ( and you will then have to pay tuition)

Your DC will be prohibited under NCAA rules from working during the school year ( this includes unpaid positions that may further their professional goals outside of sports )

They will not be alllowed do that . On the other hand , your child will be forced to eat dinner with Alums who are big donors whenever they come calling the AD and , from wjat my friends on FB or BB , tennis or Golf teams told me there are some pretty creepy alums. That is a mind bender for an 18 year old to have a fat , fifty and balding " friend" who wants to hang out with them and sorry if your DC has a test or a real date. $$$$ giving Alum must be catered to. This can bend the mind of some 17 year olds, just sayin'

This will go on for 4 years from age 17/18- age 21/22 . At same time, you will no doubt hope/ expect that your young adult is developing some sense of their professional goals , networking and preparing for a career once they graduate.

What I am saying is , its great to be offered a full ride at a D1 school when you are a 18 year old still living at home. But, it is a contract and your teen will have to deliver on it , first and foremost and they may be surrounded by adults who don''t give a damn about them , just their performance. For 99.9% of population ( even gifted athletes) its best to choose your education first and the sport 2nd. Maybe this was not true 40 year sago, but I went to college in 80's and my D1 school chewed up and spit out its athletes. . I am glad I was in a program where most graduated with a degree. FB and BB though , good god, they just used those kids.

I knew someone who passed on 4 full ride offers and went to Harvard instead. As seniors we all thought , " why would she throw her talent away going to some pussy ass Ivy school with a sucky program" . She ended up in a much better position than all of us in 4 years.



This post should be pinned in its own section.

+1

[Anonymous]

Excellent and very true from what we've seen too. I agree too that this should be pinned in its own spot.

[Anonymous]

What if you get a merit full ride?

[Anonymous]

But isn't that the real benefit of excelling in a sport--- getting the hook into Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if you get a merit full ride?

Completely different ball game. Read the fine print but those are generally excellent deals for the student with few if any of the pitfalls of athletic full scholarships mentioned above.

Signed,
Someone who accepted a merit full ride to a decent but not top or super prestigious state school, and had a relative on a major (not quite full ride) athletic scholarship, thus allowing me to compare the two at least a bit.

[Anonymous]

I also went ivy instead of somewhere with an athletic scholarship. That is what I would choose for my kids, if that is an option.

[Anonymous]

I had full academic ride to UVA. No strings just had to maintain certain GPA/not hard

[Anonymous]

Would the same be true of D2 or D3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would the same be true of D2 or D3?

No, because d3 doesn't do athletic scholarships. You can quit the sport and stay at the school.

My DC was recruited by a couple of D1 schools and opted not to pursue them for some of the reasons in the OP. Was also recruited by D3 schools but wasn't interested in smaller schools. So is not doing sports in college and really enjoying it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had full academic ride to UVA. No strings just had to maintain certain GPA/not hard

Not the same at all as an athletic scholarship.

[Anonymous]

NP who had athletic scholarship and agrees with everything from the first post. Would like to add that the onerous obligations seem even worse if you sustain an injury that is long-lasting and painful but does not rule out continuing your sport. So then you are in pain, have all the regular practices plus hours of PT and keeping up with your coursework. Glad I did it get out of my childhood home, but it was not easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As requested from folks on the Private school Forum, posting here:

Read if you have always thought it would be "so great" for your DC to get a full ride to a D1 school:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:



PP, you seem to have made your decision , which is fine. However, as a former D1 athlete in two sports, here is what I would advise you:

The question is not, "which school will best train and show case my kid so that they get a full ride to a D1 school ?" The question is: will your child likely make US Olympic team in or just after college and or be offered a pro contract ?

If the answer to that is "looks like it" Say, your child is Junior national champion or has broken the American record in their age group or something , then by all means , be focused on the best place to get a D1 full ride.

If the answer is " no" and you just want your kid to get a full ride to college and a " decent school" where they can prepare for a career in a non-sports profession , then I would re-think the amount of emphasis you are putting on sports during their developmental years and in determining their college choice.

Why do I say this?

I had a full ride and let me tell you: I earned every dollar. It is a full time job + . Your kid will spend 4-5 hours per day at practice , plus travel every weekend beginning on Thurs evening and compete Fri/Sat and return on Sunday and depending on the sport they will do this 9 mos a year for all four years. ( FB and BB travel by plane , but other sports think long bus ride of 4- 7 hours each way EVERY weekend in college for 4 years ). Your child will train through each winter break, spring break and summer, likely with their team and away from your family and possibly at the expense of summer internships.

Likely their class schedule will have to be changed and they will have to go an extra semester or extra year ( and you will then have to pay tuition)

Your DC will be prohibited under NCAA rules from working during the school year ( this includes unpaid positions that may further their professional goals outside of sports )

They will not be alllowed do that . On the other hand , your child will be forced to eat dinner with Alums who are big donors whenever they come calling the AD and , from wjat my friends on FB or BB , tennis or Golf teams told me there are some pretty creepy alums. That is a mind bender for an 18 year old to have a fat , fifty and balding " friend" who wants to hang out with them and sorry if your DC has a test or a real date. $$$$ giving Alum must be catered to. This can bend the mind of some 17 year olds, just sayin'

This will go on for 4 years from age 17/18- age 21/22 . At same time, you will no doubt hope/ expect that your young adult is developing some sense of their professional goals , networking and preparing for a career once they graduate.

What I am saying is , its great to be offered a full ride at a D1 school when you are a 18 year old still living at home. But, it is a contract and your teen will have to deliver on it , first and foremost and they may be surrounded by adults who don''t give a damn about them , just their performance. For 99.9% of population ( even gifted athletes) its best to choose your education first and the sport 2nd. Maybe this was not true 40 year sago, but I went to college in 80's and my D1 school chewed up and spit out its athletes. . I am glad I was in a program where most graduated with a degree. FB and BB though , good god, they just used those kids.

I knew someone who passed on 4 full ride offers and went to Harvard instead. As seniors we all thought , " why would she throw her talent away going to some pussy ass Ivy school with a sucky program" . She ended up in a much better position than all of us in 4 years.



This post should be pinned in its own section.

+1

+2 Thank you for your honesty. So many of these parents need to wake up. A friend whose daughter was a recruited athlete told me that the coaches at the schools would tell her that there are 3 aspects to college: academics, a social life and your sport. You will only be able to do 2 of them well so decide what's most important to you for college.

[Anonymous]

My nephew is D1 football on a 75% scholarship and I see everything OP describes- he does it because he absolutely loves to play, and wouldn't have his college experience be any other way. he's realistic though- he's not in the SEC or a big conference where he is going to go anywhere beyond college (yes, its possible in other conf., but its rare, hell its a LONG shot from even the big schools because of #s).

If the kid doesn't absolutely love it, it won't work- it is in many ways a sacrifice as much as it is a privilege.

[Anonymous]

There are many different experiences, OP. I'm sorry yours was negative. But also, playing 2 sports is a bit strange and extreme. My D1 scholarship experience was very positive. I never had to do donor dinners or other any other obligations outside of training. I didn't mind not being able to work during the school year because, well, playing sports was a much better job than working retail. I got to pick my classes before all other students so I never missed a class or had to rearrange my schedule since I could chose the classes that worked with practices and games and travel. I was home for breaks and did train on my own, but it wasn't hard to go running and lift weights for 1-2 hours a day... it was actually a welcome break from being home with my family all day.

Honestly, playing sports kept me in line. My grades were great when I was playing and fell apart the season I took off. I think you have to look at the athlete, the program, the sport, etc. There are so many factors, but my experience was wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Good post OP.

Oldest DS played a sport at a D1 - was not a starter. The advice that he gave younger DS (who was a better club player and recruited by mid size and smaller D1) was not to do it. He told him that 95% of his college memories relate to the sport he played - and they were not all good memories. Like OP said, oldest DS said he felt like an employee and not a student athlete. At the end of the day, he wished he would have been able to spend his time pursuing other interests.

Youngest DS listened and attends an academically inclined D3 school. Played his sport for 2 years and quit the sport after his sophmore year. Is not active in student organizations and now doing an internships in his major. He is loving college.

Both DH and I are college graduates but we were not athletes and we attended schools that are D3. We allowed DS1 to pursue what he thought was his dream at the time. We never pushed either of them athletically. Looking back, I wish we had more of a sense of what D1 was like from a parents' perspective. We would have been able to give him better advice. We are able to advise friends who have this issue. I just tell them that your kid is going to be the one bearing the brunt so make sure they are fully committed and understand everything it entails.