Not sure whether it was here or on another board, but I have to say we've seen no indications that there will be any additional money "found" to help offset the high tuition costs at out of state private high academic schools.I've been reading folks say that all schools have their ways of finding you the money, but...
Or is it just too early and just too hush hush until you actually darken the doorstep of the campus with acceptance letter and spot on team in hand?
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Varies a lot by school. The very top high academic D3's tend to offer NO merit money, make need blind admissions, and pledge to meet all demonstrated financial need. Lesser academic schools that are in a a feverish competition for the best students, offer lots of merit money. Merit based scholarships are essentially tuition discounts. They are used to attract better quality students. Some small "liberal arts" schools are so desperate for students, they will offer "merit" money to pretty unremarkable students. Many fail to meet their admission quotas from year to year. Others are less desperate for students in general but are desperate to attract the top of their admission pool.
So what counts as "meritorious" varies a lot from school to school depending a lot on their competitive advantages or disadvantages.
There are also special talent scholarships -- usually they come as the result of some competition. But athletics does not count as a special talent in this sense.
Also, some schools make it clear up front that they will NOT increase merit aid in response to better offers from others schools. Others may.
Bottom line. It's very much a school by school sort of thing. Hard to generalize except to say that at the very top of the High Academic chain -- where acceptance rates are in the single digits and yields are 75% or higher and endowments are large -- you will not find a lot or any merit money being doled out at all.
I do not know of any "rules" per se; however, it has been my observation that high cost schools have to compete with the best public education. Over the last 10+ years; I have seen academic packages that ultimately reduce the cost of private schools to a net amount that one would pay if attending the best public school in your state. Does it happen all the time; no, but I have seen this happening more often then not.
Very small sample size, but we have some anecdotal evidence to support what ILVBB says. Unfortunately, the best public schools here in CA are not cheap.
Varies a lot by school. The very top high academic D3's tend to offer NO merit money, make need blind admissions, and pledge to meet all demonstrated financial need. Lesser academic schools that are in a a feverish competition for the best students, offer lots of merit money. Merit based scholarships are essentially tuition discounts. They are used to attract better quality students. Some small "liberal arts" schools are so desperate for students, they will offer "merit" money to pretty unremarkable students. Many fail to meet their admission quotas from year to year. Others are less desperate for students in general but are desperate to attract the top of their admission pool.
I found this to be the case with my 2015 daughter and her softball teammates.
A student most have something for the school to work with. If the student is in the lower range of their acceptance, they may only be able to offer what they can offer. If a student has good grades and test scores plus maybe some extra curricular's (not athletics) then the school may have something to work with especially if the student has other suitors.
Also do not take the first offer as their best offer. We went back and forth between several schools and my ask was to get me to my EFC. No school could, Except one. But when push came to shove Son did not want to attend that school and for a few thousand a year, I preferred that he went to his first choice.
Do not fall for we will match your best offer. When we went through that we found out it was for all schools except one. You guessed it the one that offered to meet our EFC. These coaches know what the other schools cost and know that they will be in the ball park. Another schools offer may not be the matching schools best offer. You want each schools best offer. I heard a lot of no's. But many times when going back no's would turn to yes'. I would not accept no until I heard it twice.
A coach may or may not have pull in financial aid. If they do it is usually not much.
I concur with ILVBB. One way to get an idea on what kind of package a school is capable of offering is to look at their endowment balance. Schools with large endowments per student have the capability of offering more if they want to attract top academic talent. They also tend to invest in the infrastructure.
I am sure it is the same elsewhere, but the two top private schools in Texas, Rice and Trinity have endowments of $2B and $1.2B respectively. Obviously they have to have the right academic focus, but it is no accident they are on top because they can afford to be.
If you are serious about a school, call their admissions office, it was my experience that are very helpful.
My son is attending a D3 this year. It was quite a bit more expensive than public universities he was interested in but after the academic money he received it is virtually the same cost to us. Plus he can play ball at the D3 and cannot at the larger public university. Also, we were able to show his current school the academic packages he was offered elsewhere and was able to get a little extra. The recruiting coordinator had my son go ahead and apply before they asked him to come play ball for them so they were sure he would be accepted and that we could afford to send him there. Don't let the price tag of some private D3s scare you off.
