My son went from what some thought a 2003 10th round choice to being drafted in the mid-40's after being forthright with the scouting bureau in his desire to go to school. That school was a mid-major with a nice scholly so I'm not sure how that would have affected his status or draft position.
IMHO what did affect his position in the draft was that he threw out a signing bonus number that was matrixed out by calculating the benefit of an education in hand versus the loss of potential income by going to school after a career ended and potentially a family to support. In the end I'm sure that bonus amount scared off teams...so be it.
With the small percentage likelihood of making the big dance, a reality check needs to be taken. MILB is poverty pay
If a career ends without the "big payday" and you live off the MILB salary without a substantial signing bonus you will begin your life after baseball broke.
Lets say a good portion of your signing bonus included a scholarship program, after your baseball career is over you will be in school for another 4 years, still broke.
After finishing school you may be entering the job market at around 30 years old at an entry level position. Sometimes that age issue is a disadvantage for being hired.
Careers in the working world includes investment opportunities ie 401K, stock, and savings that were lost because baseball doesn't offer them.
The biggest reason for his decision was that of potentially supporting a family without an existing nest egg. While the initial dream was to play baseball the reality check revealed the ultimate dream of raising a family "comfortably". That is not cheap endeavor and requires life long planning for the future which is potentially is lost while playing baseball. In a risk analysis sense a MLB contract is a high risk adventure and failure to reach the ultimate level is "lost opportunity" toward that "family dream".
In hindsight, my sons decision and plan worked out just fine for him. He graduated with a double major, lived the college experience, got an ok signing bonus with more school attached, and is still living the original dream.
The kids approach to school and the terms of his college "buyout" were so mature that regardless of what happened, he would make it work.
But, then again, to each their own. I probably would have signed for a bus ticket and a big bag of Davids seeds. That must be why my wife still calls him the only adult male in the family.
Sorry if this went a little off topic but when I thought it served a purpose in regard to the realities of making a big decision .