Did you not know that the two SLACs weren’t a possibility due to money even before the application? I mean, most of the athletic recruits I know had a good solid handle on the costs of the schools that were recruiting them and the scholarship possibilities.

It really is amazing how many kids spend a fortune and so much time pursuing the dream of the sport getting them in to college. Then you raise the great point that it might get them in, but it might not be to a school they want and or to a school they can afford.

My child recently took up a more esoteric sport that is popular at good schools (think fencing/squash/crew) and everyone told us it is great for college. That is not why they took it up and it is not great for college. There are very few spots available, there is little to no money available, and the spots at the schools my child would want to go to academically are even harder to get.

They are not going to make a living in this sport so they should go to the school that will set them up best for the future, not due to the sport. If the two intersect, that is great, but don't count on it (my child has very average ability in their sport so this is not relevant for us, but I see it at competitions).

I know a number of kids who were very good athletes but shut down the career when they realized that they could not make the teams at the schools they really wanted to go to, and that was what was most important. They did not want to go to SW Idaho State. Then compound that with money and it gets even more complicated.

Anonymous wrote:I think athletes who are going to be D1 athletes probably already kinda know that in 9th grade. It’s a tough decision, to scale back in the sports. But you have to be rationale about it. My kids have been happier after scaling back and/or leaving their sports to find other activities. There are so many things to try out in high school.

This. My kids dropped club spots and just played varsity beginning in 10th grade because it was clear that they were not going to be D1 athletes. We had seen too many kids commit to third tier D3 liberal arts schools with merit aid in order to play in college and not have to pay $95K as an athlete at Bowdoin or Carleton or similar.

I have a HS junior swimmer who has been practicing for about 20 hours a week for the first three years of high school.

Since he's good but not a superstar (Y nationals qualifier but not junior nationals qualifier), it's becoming clear that for him, swimming will actually be *limiting* his choices in college rather than giving him access.

Meaning: his times are good enough to get him into some ok DIII schools with no merit, but he could get into even better schools by not swimming and instead getting in on the merit of his grades and other extracurriculars.

Long story short: swimming in college had been a goal, but I think it's time to scale back and aim for club swim in college instead. And he's ok with that. It's actually kind of liberating!

I think athletes who are going to be D1 athletes probably already kinda know that in 9th grade. It’s a tough decision, to scale back in the sports. But you have to be rationale about it. My kids have been happier after scaling back and/or leaving their sports to find other activities. There are so many things to try out in high school.

My Dd went to a school ranked below what her high reaches were because she got significant merit. We could have stretched and paid full freight (87k) but it did t seem worth it. She’s having an incredible experience.

Ds is an athlete who could play competitive d3 but we are on the west coast and he wants to stay closer and so will likely play club. He’s on national teams.

Youth sports is such a racket.

For the purpose of merit scholarships, for the time and effort it costs to perform at the level of a D1 recruit, in most cases it's more efficient to spend that time and effort getting good grades.

Academics should always come first.

I don’t care if my kid goes to a “ lower ranked school” if they get a good education and it allows them to do what they want in life.
No one cares where you went to school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, what you're saying is that families should understand the cost picture before they begin looking at colleges they can't afford.

Yes, but also don't let your kid put so much time into sports to get good enough to get recruited. In the end, it only works out if you can pay the sticker price, you're needy enough to get substantial aid, or your kid is willing to go to lower ranked schools to get athletic $.

There are only a handful of top schools that give athletic scholarships (and they're larger schools). None of the Ivies or NESCACs do. Maybe you already knew this, but I didn't when my kid started HS and put in 20+ hours per week into their sport. Hence the cautionary tale for other parents to not make the same mistakes we did.

This is really why I spend time on DCUM. Our oldest is ninth grade, and we are trying to figure out what to do about travel sports.

High school practice runs until 5:45 pm and no bus, so we have to pick them up, and then they have club travel practice a few hours later, getting home around 9:30 pm. This doesn't seem to make any sense when sports scholarships will be almost non-existent -- if academics should come first, doesn't that mean we should scale back the club sports? The high school team seems more fun than club travel. Also way, way cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:So, what you're saying is that families should understand the cost picture before they begin looking at colleges they can't afford.

Yes, but also don't let your kid put so much time into sports to get good enough to get recruited. In the end, it only works out if you can pay the sticker price, you're needy enough to get substantial aid, or your kid is willing to go to lower ranked schools to get athletic $.

There are only a handful of top schools that give athletic scholarships (and they're larger schools). None of the Ivies or NESCACs do. Maybe you already knew this, but I didn't when my kid started HS and put in 20+ hours per week into their sport. Hence the cautionary tale for other parents to not make the same mistakes we did.

Mine had the Ivy vs okay at lower academic schools. Took the Ivy.

The entire process is making concessions and decisions.

So, what you're saying is that families should understand the cost picture before they begin looking at colleges they can't afford.

Ugh I hate not being rich right now. DC has athletic recruiting offers to some top SLAC schools, but they don't do athletic or merit scholarships. I ran the NPCs and we get zero financial aid at all of them, but they're just too expensive for us to pay full price.

Now DC has to either 1) go to lower ranked schools offering athletic/merit scholarships or 2) forego athletic recruitment and just apply EA to state schools or shot gun in regular decision in hopes of merit.

Tonight I have to tell DC that they can't go to either of the SLAC's that they really want and have offers to. And we're not prepared with essays because we spent oodles of time on recruiting on top of an intensive year round sports schedule.

I hope this serves as a cautionary tale for donut hole parents of younger athletic recruits. Don't waste your time on recruiting unless you can either pay full price, your kid is good enough to get a hefty scholarship at one of the few good schools that offers athletic scholarships *and wants to go to these larger schools*, or you qualify for significant FA.