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Hello all,

I am a HS senior who is currently narrowing down my college options. I have 2 schools which I really want to go to, and academically and baseball am a very good fit, but both have extremely high sticker prices. I do not come from a "low income" family but the price in the mid 60's is way too high for my parents and I. And since it's D3, they can't give me Athletic aid and they are high academic schools that I am good enough to get in but not blowing them out of the water so merit aid may be tough to come by too. I was wondering if anyone on here has been through this process of trying to figure out how to pay for college at one of these small D3s and would be able to give me some advice,

Thanks in advance!

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My 2017 went through some of the same questions.  Important things for you to do and consider are:

  • Be sure you sit down with your parent(s) the first weekend of October and have them complete the FASFA information online.  You can input up to 10 schools you are interested in now, but don't worry, you can always change later
  • Once you have the FASFA calculated, you will be told what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is...that will dictate if you qualify for any need-based aid at certain schools like the D3s
  • If you happen to be caught in the middle like many families are--too much income to qualify for need-based aid but not enough income to really be able to pay the EFC--you will know what high cost schools to eliminate
  • As you noted, many of the really high academic D3s will not be able to offer you merit aid, so assume full cost if you do not qualify for need-aid
  • You may be able to offset some of the cost with a student work program, but it barely makes a dent in the cost of these private schools and with baseball, you won't have much time to work
  • If you know for sure that you cannot afford full tuition at a private school, alter your approach to consider other strong academic schools who can offer you merit money based on strong grades or high test scores
  • Go on the websites of these "lesser" schools and utilize their Net Price Calculator to get an estimate of what all of the costs are.  My 2017 after learning of some merit aid estimates from some of these schools got the costs down more close to in-state tuition at the public universities

It all starts with the FASFA--you need that information to know what schools and baseball programs might be an option for you and your family to afford.  Start there and keep an open mind where you might find the right fit of a strong college that is affordable and provides an option to play baseball.  There is a lot of debate of how much value some of these really high cost schools really provide versus their cost, particularly if you think you might go to grad school.  So do your research and you might be surprised at what you find. Good luck!

 

Good advice from Backstop, Dylan.  You, or rather, your parents, need to fill out the FAFSA.  If the admissions offices at these schools have already said you'll get in you may also be able to contact the financial aid office and ask for a pre-read, which means that your family will have to fill out an even more intrusive FA document called the CSS, and you may be able to get an idea of what if any aid these schools can give.

This site can also help you get an idea of the real cost of various schools.  https://professionals.collegeb...nancial-aid/netprice

Usually, when a player comes on here and asks about the process of college recruiting we're quick to compliment him for taking care of business himself.  But in this case, your parents really need to get extremely involved ASAP.  Honestly, it's not going to be fun for them. But unless you have your own money and/or plan to take out a lot of loans, they need to get in the game right now.

 

What you need to understand about financial aid is ....  well, it's complicated.

You refer to "high academic" D3.   You should know that the  very highest academic D3's -- the ones that admit in the single digits  and have relatively  high yields (= % of admitted students who choose to attend, which cluster in the 30's or low 40's for the most elite D3 schools  - and much higher even than that for, say, the IVY's or Stanford (80+))  tend  not to give merit based aid at all.   This schools mostly give only need based aid.   That's in part because they are determined to be open to all comers, based on academic merit alone, independently of financial means.  It's also partly because they have no need, thanks to their large endowments, to  chase full tuition paying students to fill out their ranks of students.  

If you're talking about one of these schools, merit based aid is not in the cards. 

It should also be said about need based aid that the federal  formula  for calculating expected parent contribution can feel completely unrealistic, depending on what part of the country one is from, to parents.  For example, in our case, our EFC was like 90K.  No way in hell we could make that work.   Thankfully, because of a benefit from my employer,  I wouldn't have had too, even if no other form of aid was available. 

The problem, among other things, is that the Feds take no account of what it costs to live in a place like California.  They consider our exorbitant mortgage payments a "life-style choice,' for example.   I don't know where you live or what your parents earn or are worth  obviously.  But you should be warned that what the financial aid office says they can afford may not be what they themselves think they can afford. 

Thankfully,  some  colleges  have their own "local"  formula for calculating need.   Stanford, for example, has decided that parents making under 125K with "typical assets"  (whatever that means)   -- which is a decent income by national standards -- will be expected to make no contribution to tuition payments.  Even families with incomes up to 225K -- which is, again, very decent by national standards -- may qualify for financial assistance.

The point is that a wealthy university like  Stanford can afford to be  considerably more generous with aid than less well-endowed universities.    Doling out that that kind assistance takes a really BIG endowment.  It is simply not something that every private college or university can do.  

Some top academic D3 are very well endowed, perhaps as well endowed on a per capita basis  as Stanford and its brethren.  So perhaps some very  well endowed need blind high academic D3's have made a choice similar to Stanford's. That's something you can probably find out with a little leg work.  

 The best bets  for getting a good aid package and saving your parents lots of dough at a "high"  D3 school are second tier but still reasonably high academic schools that are less selective than those that admit in the single digits and have somewhat lower yields.  Some so-called "highly selective"  high academic D3 really aren't all that selective.  They may admit as many at 40 - 50% of applicants  and have yields in the low 20's or even mid teens.  

Partly because of the relatively low yields, such colleges often operate as if they are in something of a dog-fight for desirable students.   In fact, they somewhat are.  That's  where merit money comes in.   And that's where your leverage comes in too, as long as there is something about you that makes them  especially want you as part of their incoming class.   The thing you need to know is that merit money can come in all forms.   It's not JUST a matter of high GPA.  Though all these second and third tier "high academic"  want that too, its not all they want.   For example, my  own son, who was no great scholar in high school,  is, however, a promising artist.  He was offered substantial art scholarships at three of the schools to which he was accepted  -- despite the fact that his grades and test scores were at best middle of the pack at each of the  schools to which he was accepted.  

So the question you need to ask Is whether there something unique about you that might make a school want you as part of its student body -- even though you grades might not "blow them out of the water."   Usually, you can get a feel for this by perusing a school's website.  They usually have a lot of information about the different sorts of scholarships they offer and what it takes to get them.

Hope that helps a bit.  Happy hunting.  

 

Last edited by SluggerDad

Have you sat down and talked with the admissions office at both these schools?  They should be able to give you an idea of what it will truly cost to attend along with how much aid to expect.  Take a very close look at the cost to attend.  Many times, in addition to tuition and room and board, they include things such as travel allowance, spending money, etc.  You will need to strip those out of the cost of attendance to get a true idea of the size of checks you and your parents will be writing.

 

Dylan, you got some wonderful advice above.  Some things that weren't suggested yet, that I thought of but could be wrong, was a junior college route?  Perhaps only paying for 2 years (providing most of your credits transfer) at the high sticker price might be a better plan?  Or do you have a NAIA school near you that may be a good option?

Everyone has to make their own choices on what may be best for them. If my son were in a similar boat I would caution him that it may not be worth it to have to pay back 100K+ (that's over 4 years) in student loans for the chance to play baseball. $100,000 is a HUGE amount!  Do you really want to drive a super cheap USED car and live in a tiny little apartment because you can't afford your school loan payment, even though you are working full time?  It takes time to build up your salary.  Very few people make more than $50K right out of college and many don't make more than$30K.  Paying a $500-$700 school loan EVERY month for 15 years can kind of ruin your life. Perhaps rather than figuring out how to do it you should focus on SHOULD you do it?

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