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[quote=Anonymous]Snark aside on this board, I have a bit of experience so share bc DD was in a similar position last year.

She is an athlete who was choosing between an Ivy and an out of state R1 flagship university that is ranked top 15 in her sport and 30+ by USNews. The Ivy was ranked about 50 in the sport and top 10 US News.  Academically she was in honors classes at an elite day school but not tippy top of her class so we could in no way have counted on being admitted to the Ivy w/o sports. Bc her HS is rigorous I think she would have been fine academically at the Ivy. Dont they say the hardest thing about Harvard is getting in.

She picked the flagship bc she cares a ton about the sport and loved the team/coaching environment but also was really swayed by the academic supports.  There is an academic adviser dedicated to the team who helped her pick classes and get in to certain sections that would not conflict with her practice/game schedule. They required to be at team study hall a certain number of hours per week and the adviser is there to help organize their work (you have a midterm or a big paper in 2 weeks, how is it going, do you have a study plan or a topic picked, etc.) To be clear, the adviser doesnt do her work just checks in to make sure she isnt having trouble and to help her address it quickly if she is. Frankly I wish all freshmen could have support like this.

She feels very confident about where she stands academically at this school; her high school preparation means that writing a 10 page paper is not a panic moment, etc.. Nationally its very well respected college and am sure her degree will help her in her future life and the sport means she has an easy to explain why she chose it.

I have not heard of other kids getting booster support with jobs/internships but last year's seniors went on to good jobs or grad school. Maybe boosters is more of a thing for higher profiles sports or if you get lucky bc a specific booster played your specific sport.  Its also probably more of a thing for the star of the team as opposed to a developing freshman.

Athletically, she loves having a community w/in a large university but being on a team of this caliber is hard work. She has practice 2x per day most days. She is holding her own and can already tell she is making big strides but she really "leveled up" moving from a senior player on her club team to freshman on this college team. 
 
I would say the thing is make sure your kid is going to a place where they are comfortable; just like everyone find the right fit.  DD expected to LOVE the Ivy but the recruiting visit was ho-hum and the team wasnt as clearly bonded and friendly than at the flagship.

Be prepared to take on a challenge either academically or athletically but be wary of both.  For example a kid from her club team went to a school similar to Stanford the year before, ie top 10 academically and athletically. She realized she would not have time to challenge herself academically bc of her competition schedule. She wanted to major in a science discipline but would not have time to take classes with labs, etc.  She ended up transferring to an Ivy and is competing and taking the major she wants. She is very talented and will likely be a top Ivy league player but it was a better fit for her. 
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