Revising this thread because son is going through the same situation has offers from both JUCO's and some serious interest from D3's.
Very High academic kid. Could go JUCO route completely free. Could get a hefty scholarship at a D3, but it would not cover all the costs and it would still be expensive. What are your all thoughts for an academic kid? What is the level of competition for both of them? Both are good programs. Would love to hear your opinions.
Just my thoughts, but if your son his unsure of what degree he is going to pursue, I'd be inclined as a parent to recommend going the JuCo route. I would be hesitant to spend a lot of $$$ in terms of loans and/or cash on a child who is unsure of what he wants to do. At least at a JuCo, the cost would be minimal (in your case, no money lost) if he doesn't do well academically. If he's unsure, he can pursue a general studies AA and then transfer to a 4 year school. Of course, there is no guarantee a 4 year school will have interest baseball wise after junior college.
I am assuming he is doing well in HS academically if he qualified for a "heft" D3 scholarship as D3's cannot offer athletic scholarships. Any scholarships they do offer could be attained by any student.
Another factor to consider, does the junior college have a good record of placing players to D1/D2/D3 schools?