percentage of COA

Did you check it against 2019-20 numbers?

Yes, is the % calculated based on previous year? Based on previous year it's a few hundred dollars over percentage. Based on current (2020/2021) it's s couple hundred short. Again, I'm not reaching out to the coach about this, it more my own curiosity.

I think it can vary from school to school. Does the NLI not spell it out clearly?

NLIs don't contain an amount. They are accompanied by a letter from the school with the amount and it was what we expected it to be. 

I''m guessing the COA listed on the school website is different then what the NCAA would go off of. 

I'm assuming that is Cost of Attendance? Shouldn't use TLAs (three letter acronyms) without defining them...

Pretty common term.

For some not all. You guys guys that have been through all of this sure. For new high school parents or players that just joined or are learning the process. Not so much.

Everyone had to start as a beginner/novice once....

Well, now you know..... ;-)

Eokerholm posted:

For some not all. You guys guys that have been through all of this sure. For new high school parents or players that just joined or are learning the process. Not so much.

Everyone had to start as a beginner/novice once....

I didn’t know. Thank you guys for clarifying

Maybe make a thread of common acronyms and put it on top page, jmo (just my opinion)

Son was offered a nice scholarship (to the school he attended) the summer between his sophomore and junior year.   The coach gave him a piece of paper that spelled it out in dollars over the 4 year period.  Scholarship amounts are not normally listed in the NLI (National Letter of Intent).

But then.  The school raised it's tuition 25% the July before he enrolled.  The tuition would then be a fixed amount for his 4 years....but ouch!  That was the equivalent to another full year of tuition we would have to pay!

We did not bother the coach about it.  Felt lucky to get anything at all and son get's to play the game he loves.   I did ask early on about getting a % rather than $, but the coach said it was so much easier to work in dollars.  (The school was recently fully funded but getting money from many different sources, many private.)

To add:  the coach approached us after Freshman year (a good one for keewartson) about adding a rather large sum to his scholarship in exchange for reducing it the the next year. We did not have to take the offer.   A player had recently gotten drafted and it freed up money immediately, while the coach could use additional money the following year for recruiting.  We took it.  A bird in the hand...

keewarson's last year is now on MLB's dime.  

So did the LOI have a % or a $ amount? If it was a % then the financial aid office SHOULD address it because the % should be applied to the school's published COA. $ is just that; it is NOT based on a % but rather just a dollar amount. Coaches can say giving $ makes things easier but what they are really doing is reducing your scholarship on future years so they can free up $ for recruiting. I haven't heard of any colleges reducing their COA lately...

My son had an offer that guaranteed $ for four years which is exactly what I've described above. Of course the COA is expected to increase every year which means if I looked at the $ amount the first year and came up with an equivalent % I would find that this % decreases every future year. This particular school made it a little better by guaranteeing the same tuition as freshman year for all four years. So the only decrease would then be room, board, fees, and what I call "funny money" (books, travel expenses, personal expenses, etc.). "Funny money" is the amount that is not directly billed to the student. 

One caveat: I'm not an expert on what the NCAA uses to determine compliance. I suppose the % could be JUST the amount directly billed to the student. In other words, tuition, room, board, and direct-billed fees. This would not include the "funny money" portion of the COA (books, travel expenses, personal expenses, etc.).

ABSORBER posted:

So did the LOI have a % or a $ amount?

 

 The "sheet of paper" son got was not a formal "letter of intent" like the ivies get.  I am sure the coach had several different ones printed out with different amounts listed and picked one for my son lol.

The year son's scholarship was reduced, by our choice, it was still  the 25% minimum. 

ABSORBER posted:

So did the LOI have a % or a $ amount? If it was a % then the financial aid office SHOULD address it because the % should be applied to the school's published COA. $ is just that; it is NOT based on a % but rather just a dollar amount. Coaches can say giving $ makes things easier but what they are really doing is reducing your scholarship on future years so they can free up $ for recruiting. I haven't heard of any colleges reducing their COA lately...

My son had an offer that guaranteed $ for four years which is exactly what I've described above. Of course the COA is expected to increase every year which means if I looked at the $ amount the first year and came up with an equivalent % I would find that this % decreases every future year. This particular school made it a little better by guaranteeing the same tuition as freshman year for all four years. So the only decrease would then be room, board, fees, and what I call "funny money" (books, travel expenses, personal expenses, etc.). "Funny money" is the amount that is not directly billed to the student. 

One caveat: I'm not an expert on what the NCAA uses to determine compliance. I suppose the % could be JUST the amount directly billed to the student. In other words, tuition, room, board, and direct-billed fees. This would not include the "funny money" portion of the COA (books, travel expenses, personal expenses, etc.).

 

I agree with the above. If I remember correctly the amount son received (%) which was COA was applied against the total bill and we paid the balance. Personal expenses, travel expenses wasnt included.  In some programs the book fees are paid by the athletic department through alumni contributions. Might be a question to ask during recruiting.

I do believe that there is a lot more scholarship creativity these days but I believe % comes out better than $$ over a 4 year period.

keewart posted:

Son was offered a nice scholarship (to the school he attended) the summer between his sophomore and junior year.   The coach gave him a piece of paper that spelled it out in dollars over the 4 year period.  Scholarship amounts are not normally listed in the NLI (National Letter of Intent).

But then.  The school raised it's tuition 25% the July before he enrolled.  The tuition would then be a fixed amount for his 4 years....but ouch!  That was the equivalent to another full year of tuition we would have to pay!

We did not bother the coach about it.  Felt lucky to get anything at all and son get's to play the game he loves.   I did ask early on about getting a % rather than $, but the coach said it was so much easier to work in dollars.  (The school was recently fully funded but getting money from many different sources, many private.)

To add:  the coach approached us after Freshman year (a good one for keewartson) about adding a rather large sum to his scholarship in exchange for reducing it the the next year. We did not have to take the offer.   A player had recently gotten drafted and it freed up money immediately, while the coach could use additional money the following year for recruiting.  We took it.  A bird in the hand...

keewarson's last year is now on MLB's dime.  

 

 

We had a similar situation. In two years, I have had two conversations with a coach — always the recruiting coach and so far it's always been "here's what we're doing this year, here's what we will do next, if you're okay with it." They always talk percentages. I like it because it's my chance to ask stupid questions if I have them.

Just an FYI. Unless the RC is an Associate HC, business decisions should be discussed with the HC.

IMO, thats his job!

TPM posted:

Just an FYI. Unless the RC is an Associate HC, business decisions should be discussed with the HC.

IMO, thats his job!

He is associate HC (although I had to look it up to find out for sure). He was there at our initial meeting when HC  made his offer, and since then, he's been the one who reached out. Very patient with questions, which I appreciate.

Son got a dollar amount, but was based on percentage. Dollar amount was based on 25%. If the COA listed on the school's website is correct, it would actually put him at ~24.7%. Which if I understand, isn't actually possible.

This is why I'm wondering if a different COA calculation is being used on their website vs. what it actually is. Again, the end result is negligible. I only thought to ask because it puts him under the 25% threshold.

Iowamom23 posted:

TPM posted:

Just an FYI. Unless the RC is an Associate HC, business decisions should be discussed with the HC.

IMO, thats his job!

He is associate HC (although I had to look it up to find out for sure). He was there at our initial meeting when HC  made his offer, and since then, he's been the one who reached out. Very patient with questions, which I appreciate.

That's perfect. The associate head coach has the same responsibilities as HC in his absence or in a specific task. I am not sure if folks know that but its important to know!

keewart posted:

 The "sheet of paper" son got was not a formal "letter of intent" like the ivies get.  I am sure the coach had several different ones printed out with different amounts listed and picked one for my son lol.

The year son's scholarship was reduced, by our choice, it was still  the 25% minimum. 

That's a good point, I'm guessing if the scholarship is listed as a dollar amount based on the minimum 25% then it would have to increase the following year to adjust for any COA increases. 

nycdad posted:

Son got a dollar amount, but was based on percentage. Dollar amount was based on 25%. If the COA listed on the school's website is correct, it would actually put him at ~24.7%. Which if I understand, isn't actually possible.

This is why I'm wondering if a different COA calculation is being used on their website vs. what it actually is. Again, the end result is negligible. I only thought to ask because it puts him under the 25% threshold.

That's why its important to look at the billable portion of the COA. Just about every school lists costs that are not billed to you and I would imagine the % does not cover those expenses as they are likely different for every student. And since the $ amount is based on a 25% minimum you should at least feel comfortable knowing it will increase in subsequent years if the COA increases. Is your son a 2020? If so then I'm sure the amount listed on the NLI may change when you get the actual bill this fall which will reflect the actual cost. That's when you need to make sure it's at 25%.

keewart posted:

 The "sheet of paper" son got was not a formal "letter of intent" like the ivies get.  I am sure the coach had several different ones printed out with different amounts listed and picked one for my son lol.

The year son's scholarship was reduced, by our choice, it was still  the 25% minimum. 

Of course there are NO formal letters for the Ivies expect for the admissions acceptance!!!

ABSORBER posted:

nycdad posted:

Son got a dollar amount, but was based on percentage. Dollar amount was based on 25%. If the COA listed on the school's website is correct, it would actually put him at ~24.7%. Which if I understand, isn't actually possible.

This is why I'm wondering if a different COA calculation is being used on their website vs. what it actually is. Again, the end result is negligible. I only thought to ask because it puts him under the 25% threshold.

That's why its important to look at the billable portion of the COA. Just about every school lists costs that are not billed to you and I would imagine the % does not cover those expenses as they are likely different for every student. And since the $ amount is based on a 25% minimum you should at least feel comfortable knowing it will increase in subsequent years if the COA increases. Is your son a 2020? If so then I'm sure the amount listed on the NLI may change when you get the actual bill this fall which will reflect the actual cost. That's when you need to make sure it's at 25%.

My son is a 2020. The COA (on the school's website show direct and indirect) indirect are non billed, meaning they will not show up on our bill we get in may. That includes books and personal/transportation. If I were to subtract those costs (as published on the website) it would put his athletic money closer to 26/27.

From reading the NCAA guidelines I think books and certain other costs are included in COA. But as you point out understanding the billable portion of the COA is what matters, and that's basically my question.

My son just has a verbal offer, but when the coach laid out the offer for us, he told us that the baseball scholarship did not include certain costs of attendance that the we would see if we looked on the university websites for COA.  He said that the university included personal costs of  $2,092 and transportation cost of $2,238 in the COA calculation & that the athletic department did not include these costs, but did include books.  Maybe it's something similar in your situation?

I'm guessing that's what it is.