Really.You got a full ride, no college costs?

I haven't done all the math...I just keep writing checks.

Working with a bunch of families on college recruiting across a variety of sports.  The "full ride" stories in baseball always come up!

My 2012 had baseball scholarship offers ranging from zero to 85%.  100% if you count the service academies.  Of course he picked one with 0%...and the school did not offer merit schollies either.

My 2016 (who had ok ACT scores but not great by any means) had zero baseball scholarship $ offers.  But he had merit money ranging from $16K per year to $30K per year all guaranteed for four years with a GPA of 2.0 or greater.  That put the private D3 schools he considered at annual total costs of $20K - $30K.  A huge discount from the $50K - $60K list price of these schools.  And that's not counting any financial aid. 

Well worth the price in my mind given the 90%+ freshman retention rates, 80%+ four year graduation rates, and top notch career services.

Unless you have a top ballplayer, there is way more merit money than baseball scholarship $...presuming the targeted colleges are not "need based" financial aid only.  I encourage the families I work with, who will consider private D3 colleges, to look at the tier below the NESCACs as there is a lot of money to be had.

Tuition, room and board  $20K

Baseball $5K (25%)

Academic $6K (3.6 GPA, 31 ACT)

Really.You got a full ride, no college costs?

I've posted this before but all totaled, we paid approximately $2,000-$2,500 for her four years of college.  This was in the form of food money for her apartment.  We lived 35 minutes away and so, she could come home a couple of times per week to eat, do laundry, ... and bring her teammates here as well so that they could get a home cooked meal.  My daughter started "taco night" for the new freshmen each year and so, that might have cost us a little more but we never tracked it. 

My daughter was her coach's first recruit and he wanted her badly.  He had been recruiting her to another school before he became the head coach at UMSL.  So, he told us he would make us an offer we could not turn down.  BTW, since he had been recruiting her for so long, he knew what the other school was offering.  LOL

D3

Tuition- $50k

Academic money- $25000

3.8 GPA ACT 31

84-86 MPH FB 

Branson Baseball posted:

I haven't done all the math...I just keep writing checks.

Working with a bunch of families on college recruiting across a variety of sports.  The "full ride" stories in baseball always come up!

My 2012 had baseball scholarship offers ranging from zero to 85%.  100% if you count the service academies.  Of course he picked one with 0%...and the school did not offer merit schollies either.

My 2016 (who had ok ACT scores but not great by any means) had zero baseball scholarship $ offers.  But he had merit money ranging from $16K per year to $30K per year all guaranteed for four years with a GPA of 2.0 or greater.  That put the private D3 schools he considered at annual total costs of $20K - $30K.  A huge discount from the $50K - $60K list price of these schools.  And that's not counting any financial aid. 

Well worth the price in my mind given the 90%+ freshman retention rates, 80%+ four year graduation rates, and top notch career services.

Unless you have a top ballplayer, there is way more merit money than baseball scholarship $...presuming the targeted colleges are not "need based" financial aid only.  I encourage the families I work with, who will consider private D3 colleges, to look at the tier below the NESCACs as there is a lot of money to be had.

I could have written this exact same post almost word for word as it mirrors my two sons' experiences.   Same results for mine on the same thought process.  

We emphasized academics and fitness. The kids achieved at both. They got 50% tacked on for academics. I was 34 and 38 when my kids were born. Where I was at professionally allowed me to save from day one. I targeted 100k for each. My target was accurate. It was an assumption of full price for our in state Big Ten (which neither attended).

D1

Private university: $38k tuition, room and board. Went up to $41k by his senior year.

$36k total combined yearly scholarship amount. 

$23k baseball scholarship all four years.

$13k academic scholarship all four years.

JuCo

Tuition (in state) - $3,000/year

Books - $1,000

Living expenses (off campus apt) = $5,000 (includes food, gas, etc)

Total cost per year = $9,000

Aid (state grant per year) = $3,000

Net cost per year = $6,000 x 2 years = $12,000  total

D2 University

Total Cost of Attendance (out of state) = $26,000/year

  - Room/Board = $8,500

  - Tuition/fees = $13,000

  - Books - $1,000

  - insurance =  $1,600

  - Misc = 1,900

Aid

  -Baseball Scholarship = $9,000

  - Grant = $2,250

 Net cost before student loans = $14,750

Here is ours. D3 TOTAL COST 63000

Baseball Trip 500

We provide gloves, bats, shoes. No uniform fees.

(Grant 31,500)

(Scholarship 7,000)

Our out of pocket $24,500  Our Ride is roughly 60%

College Loan 1500

Work Study 1500

Fed Stafford 5500

We are using a payment plan to try to do this out of pocket rather borrow. Our goal is that he graduates with >3.0 and owe less than a nice new car. He got a 29 on ACT and is not a pitcher.

Would he have gotten this without baseball? Maybe. Would he have even looked here? Not a chance. But yet here he is and is happy and having success.

I've posted this link before on my own website and on this site: Linfield College scholarship calculator. Every year, colleges are becoming more transparent in their Merit Aid scholarships. Just look up/google your favorite D3 with the word Merit Aid and see if they have one on their website. Insert your player's GPA and test scores, you should see a fairly accurate number pop up. The Linfield calculator was accurate for the merit money our player received in his acceptance packet and, just to re-emphasize the difference b/t merit and athletic money...it won't get taken away if he doesn't continue on, for whatever reason, with his baseball career.

If you're nervous about "No Name U", then check out the bios of the faculty. The surplus of PhDs is a boon to lower-tier college applicants. Just sayin'...

Private D2.  32,000 a year.  18,000 athletic scholarship, 12,000 preferred student academic money (GPA above 3.0)  

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

runitout posted:

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

 

Pretty sure 13 yo's don't know you have to pay for books in college.

Ouch.

Go44dad posted:

runitout posted:

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

 

Pretty sure 13 yo's don't know you have to pay for books in college.

I remember vividly having to pay for college books...they changed ONE word and poof it was a new edition at full price...*grumble-grumble*.

Then again, when I was in high school I remember having to put book covers on my books on my first day of school, now they all have e-books and my son has a couple of work books he brings home, but that's about it.

Private D3

Total Cost 67,800

Scholarships /FA 66,600

Son worked in summer paid the 1,200

I have paid for travel and room stuff, computer...

ACT 34  GPA 4.5

RHP 87-88

I hope we get enough participation to help out someone behind us be more prepared.

Can I ask exactly how this information is expected to help out someone behind us?  For starters, the data looks like it is going to be skewed towards the high end (who really wants to post about their kid getting the minimum D1 scholarship at 25% and nothing else?).  There is tons of information about college costs and academic monies available that will be far more applicable than what is captured here.  I realize you may have very good intentions, but I am not sure that this might actually result in some misinformation due to posting bias.  

Average D1 baseball athletic scholarship at a fully funded program will run 40% with a minimum of 25%.  If program is not fully funded, then the average will naturally go down.  Many Power 5 schools will also be paying out stipends, as will other D1's, which could add from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $5k.  Guys down the middle (C, P, SS, CF) will average more than others.  All pretty simple.

On the academic side, that is when things get really complex - and some really big, 4 yr guaranteed dollars come into play.  Score big in the academic side and of course you will get significant help.  End up at a school with a large endowment and depending on family income net cost can be nominal.

Hopefully where it helps is having a more realistic estimate of what the reality really is? My kid plays good, somewhat smart. What can I expect as a percentage?  That really is all.

FWIW if my son received a d1 with min I would have no problem sharing that. 

runitout posted:

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

 

I also remember Coach O'Connor saying publicly on numerous occasions, "No one gets a 100% full ride (as far as strictly baseball $) in his program."  He elaborated by saying that he wants all his players to "have skin in the game," as he called it.  Now, how close to the 100% line he's willing to go, I have no idea?

I have heard over the years about kids getting 100% rides for baseball at various programs.  The cynic in me has always doubted it, but why not?  Coach's discretion how he divides his scholarship dollars.  Not a job I'd like to have.  Especially at a place like UVa.

When you hear 25% (or insert percentage here) athletic scholarship,  what is covered?  Is it just tuition, total cost of attendance, room & board, books etc. 

So is a funded "1" scholarship equal to the cost of tuition or tuition plus room and board?  Just interested to know. 

One of the schools (DII) that has been talking to my 2018 mentioned during a camp this year that they carry 40 plus players on the roster and bring in typically between 6-9 freshmen per year with only 3-6 of them receiving athletic $...coach mentioned he likes to spread it out, but looks at need based as well when deciding who gets what.  If this specific DII was only fully funded for half of what is permitted by the NCAA (4.5 scholly's), then the difference between "just tuition (32K)" vs. "tuition plus room and board (52K)" would be substantial.

#1 Assistant Coach posted:

runitout posted:

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

 

I also remember Coach O'Connor saying publicly on numerous occasions, "No one gets a 100% full ride (as far as strictly baseball $) in his program."  He elaborated by saying that he wants all his players to "have skin in the game," as he called it.  Now, how close to the 100% line he's willing to go, I have no idea?

I have heard over the years about kids getting 100% rides for baseball at various programs.  The cynic in me has always doubted it, but why not?  Coach's discretion how he divides his scholarship dollars.  Not a job I'd like to have.  Especially at a place like UVa.

Just got a PM from a poster who just blew my theory out of the water.  Of course if a coach is willing to give you 100% in baseball dollars?  Take it!

My son got an offer from a very low rated (both academically and Baseball) D1 that would have covered 100% of the cost of attending.  Because of his grades he'd get a lot of academic money and they promised to make up the rest in baseball dollars to cover 100% of his costs, fees and books included.  He passed for another D1 opportunity and ended up with 80% of his college costs covered by baseball scholarship, academic money and a state grant.  I know of several players who attended the low rated D1 because of this, their families would have had a hard time covering even the 20% we had to pay.  

FriarFred posted:

When you hear 25% (or insert percentage here) athletic scholarship,  what is covered?  Is it just tuition, total cost of attendance, room & board, books etc. 

My son got what amounted to 25% of tuition and room/board.....no books, etc.  On his NLI, the number was listed as $XXXX, not 25% of anything.  He gets half of the $XXXX each semester.  He's on campus now, so it just comes off his total bill (tuiton, room/board all comes on one bill).   Once he moves off campus next year his money will just come off his tuition cost since his rent will be paid to someone off campus.  Between his baseball money and academic money, he'll basically be covering tuition and maybe a little for books.  We'll just need to cover his rent/food/etc, which at his school is a heck of a lot less money off campus than it is while he's living in the dorms. 

My son will be playing at an NAIA school next fall.  They will be paying tuition, fees and dorm.  My son considers that a full ride.  He forgets about food and books.  

-And for full disclosure: he has his choice of staying in the dorm, or $5000 towards an apartment.

#1 Assistant Coach posted:

#1 Assistant Coach posted:

runitout posted:

Thanks all who have posted. I will try to post a percentage range of "ride"s. Would love to get some d1 percentages. I recall Brian O'Conner saying that you should be happy to get books paid for sometimes. 

 

I also remember Coach O'Connor saying publicly on numerous occasions, "No one gets a 100% full ride (as far as strictly baseball $) in his program."  He elaborated by saying that he wants all his players to "have skin in the game," as he called it.  Now, how close to the 100% line he's willing to go, I have no idea?

I have heard over the years about kids getting 100% rides for baseball at various programs.  The cynic in me has always doubted it, but why not?  Coach's discretion how he divides his scholarship dollars.  Not a job I'd like to have.  Especially at a place like UVa.

Just got a PM from a poster who just blew my theory out of the water.  Of course if a coach is willing to give you 100% in baseball dollars?  Take it!

If it was a school in Georgia they have the Hope to pay 100% of tuition as long as gpa stays north of 3.0 I think. That would allow GT or UGA to recruit primarily in Ga from a deep pool of talent and bring in 2-4 high percentage players from out of state. I had a friend whose sister was a great pitcher and he said that schools w/out a Hope type system hated recruiting against them as (his sister among others) got huge $ to leave home state.

Being smart is still the best safety net. WVU RC told a parent at a USA baseball event point blank if they don't cost them $ they stay unless they are a problem elsewhere. Did not say play but he made abundantly clear in that awesome Texas way that they put the best possible team they had on the field.

HOPE scholarship in Ga now closer to 60% of tution and the number continues to shrink. Paul Coverdell much higher but requires a 3.75GPA out of HS. A few schools in bordering states now match HOPE dollar for dollar.

runitout posted:

Hopefully where it helps is having a more realistic estimate of what the reality really is? My kid plays good, somewhat smart. What can I expect as a percentage?  That really is all.

FWIW if my son received a d1 with min I would have no problem sharing that. 

 

I would have no problem sharing a minimum 25% D1 scholarship either, I'm just saying that a true representative population is probably not going to come forward and post.  If you have some level of knowledge, which I assume you do given your interest, it would probably be more helpful for you to outline a "typical" baseball scholarship and then discuss how academic monies can be brought in to potentially cover the gap.  Getting a bunch of folks posting "full ride" combined scenarios doesn't help paint a realistic picture.  There are some questions that are being asked that are related where the answer could help clarify - like what does 1.0 D1 scholarship cover.  I'll give that a shot.

A D1 scholarship (1.0 - 100%) - think football player - covers tuition/fees, room & board and books.  Books are basically loaned out and have to be returned at end of semester (cannot resell in other words).  Room & board can either be in the dorm/cafeteria or cash payments in an equal amount that the player then uses to pay rent, buy groceries. Some programs may provide additional funds in the form of a stipend, but these amounts are not included in the scholarship calculation.  The minimum 0.25 scholarship essentially looks at the full cost and takes 25% of that total.  The school will generally apply these partial scholarship dollars towards tuition, then room & board if tuition gets covered.  If you can get tuition covered at many D1 schools, you are probably in the 40% range (doesn't apply to the higher priced schools such as Vanderbilt) given the increased cost associated with room & board..  Scholarship percentage is calculated based on either in-state or out-of-state tuition - whichever the player is having to pay.  A player cannot receive aid from the school in excess of 100% of the total cost, however Pell grants are not included and can be received in addition to the 100% costs.  Big time football can get 100% scholarship, stipend (max is around $5k) plus the Pell grant (approximately $5K) if family income level meets eligibility.  I'm 90% confident of the accuracy, but please provide correction or amplifications as needed.

D1 with stipend

$39,122 per year.

65% athletic scholarship

All books, fees and tuition are covered, remaining $ covers rent ($450.00 monthly.) We pay for utilities and food. Total out of pocket cost is around $3,500 per year not including summer/holiday travel costs. 

My son had several offers from D1 schools in CA ranging from 25% to 80% of total college costs:  A couple private schools with costs at $64K offered 80% and 60%, a couple state schools with costs at $33K, one offered 25% and the other 80%.  So took the private school for 60% as it was his dream school.  This was back in 2010 and I'm not aware that any of those schools gave any baseball player a 100% full ride, but it was possible to get 100% paid for.  For example, if son had taken the 80% offered (plus a small stipend) by a state school, there would have been grants that would have made up the difference and I thought at the time they offered only 80% knowing we had grants available to make up the difference.

I don't know any "verified" D1 guys who got 100% just for baseball.  You hear people say "so and so got a full ride".  I assume they don't know the percentages of athletic/academic or may not even know that every baseball kid doesn't get a full ride like football or basketball.   Yes, I personally know some that are 100% combined.  I'm sure there are probably some who get 100% in baseball money, but if you look at what taking 1 full scholly out of the 11.7 does to the coaches options for other kids, I just can't see it being nearly as common as people seem to think.  Heck, I know some people who thought my son got a full ride just because they heard he got a baseball scholarship.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

I don't know any "verified" D1 guys who got 100% just for baseball.  You hear people say "so and so got a full ride".  I assume they don't know the percentages of athletic/academic or may not even know that every baseball kid doesn't get a full ride like football or basketball.  

Sometimes the parents of a baseball player will claim a "full ride."  There was a parent I knew quite well that made such a claim and at the time I accepted that as true as I thought she knew what what she was taking about.  The following year my son was being recruited by the same school and in talking with the coach, he was pretty adamant in stating that he "NEVER" gave or gives players a "full ride."  I don't feel the parent was trying to be deceptive, but I think to her "full ride" meant the full amount of tuition and not the other college costs.  And I now think a lot of people think of "full ride" in that way until they learn otherwise.

While I think this is a very worthwhile thread started by Runitout, I would have to agree with Screwball that there is certainly a posting bias in play.  Those who get/got a good portion of costs covered are going to be far more likely to "play along" here than those who got relatively little.  

I'll try to provide some balance...  of the few dozen or so players who I have  information on (with an information reliability level of good to excellent), I would say the average is 25% - 50% of costs covered, including combined athletic and other $$.  I know of only one or two who claim "full ride" or very close and the math involves cumulative athletic and other $$, not 100% athletic.  Many offers are a % of tuition, not all costs.  Even more offers are presented in a flat $ amount.

I've said before, don't underestimate the cost of living, particularly in big cities, where both on-campus and off-campus options can be driven way up.  

And, here's a twist - youngest son's current school offered him two options... one was a reasonably generous athletic $, the other was no athletic $ but a lesser sum from other "creative buckets".  At this school, if you are on athletic $, you are required to live in the dorms.  The room and board costs at this school are disproportionately high compared to the area cost of living.  By choosing option "B" and living off-campus, he came out ahead financially, has a much nicer living setup, eats better and has far less restrictions.  But he had to be walked through the scenario several times before his pride was OK with taking no athletic $.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 25% minimum required if a player is receiving athletic money is based on total cost (tuition + room and board).  I don't think a school can give you 25% of tuition only as a baseball offer.....ex) if your schools total cost is $10K tuition and $10K room/board, you're required to get $5K, not $2500.   I'm sure it can be worded differently, especially if you live off campus, but the total value is based on tuition + room/board

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 25% minimum required if a player is receiving athletic money is based on total cost (tuition + room and board).  I don't think a school can give you 25% of tuition only as a baseball offer.....ex) if your schools total cost is $10K tuition and $10K room/board, you're required to get $5K, not $2500.   I'm sure it can be worded differently, especially if you live off campus, but the total value is based on tuition + room/board

That is my understanding.  If total cost is $20k, then minimum must be $5k based on my understanding of D1.   Once you get away from D1, my knowledge begins to wane as it relates to allowed scholarships and minimums.  That said, other classifications (NAIA, JUCO) do have vastly different rules which I am certain are spelled out elsewhere on this board.  I haven't done any research, but would love to know the relative increases in tuition versus increases in room & board over the past 10 years and your basic State U.  Seems dorms are getting much nicer and costs are typically in excess of tuition, sometimes by a factor of 1.5x.  As noted above, there are times where off campus housing (when available and allowed by school/program) can provide a much lower cost alternative especially when the required meal plan can be avoided.

2017LHPscrewball posted:

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 25% minimum required if a player is receiving athletic money is based on total cost (tuition + room and board).  I don't think a school can give you 25% of tuition only as a baseball offer.....ex) if your schools total cost is $10K tuition and $10K room/board, you're required to get $5K, not $2500.   I'm sure it can be worded differently, especially if you live off campus, but the total value is based on tuition + room/board

 I haven't done any research, but would love to know the relative increases in tuition versus increases in room & board over the past 10 years and your basic State U.  Seems dorms are getting much nicer and costs are typically in excess of tuition, sometimes by a factor of 1.5x.  As noted above, there are times where off campus housing (when available and allowed by school/program) can provide a much lower cost alternative especially when the required meal plan can be avoided.

My kids both go to State D1's here in Ohio.....the tuition + room and board is virtually identical if you're in a dorm, roughly $20k and $21K. My daughter is a senior....her total cost (tuition + room/board)  has gone up about $3500 since she started 4 years ago.   Tuition is almost exactly half the total amount at both.  My daughter is off campus now.  Costs for her are ridiculously high compared to most other schools as the entire area within about a 3 mile radius of her school is all college housing and they know they can get whatever they want.  She lives with 5 others in a half of a huge duplex.  Her half has 5 bedrooms, so does the other half, so 12 kids total.....at $600/month PER KID!!!....but utilities are includes    They pay rent year round, but she was able to rent out her room over the summer.  Her costs including food are probably a little less than when she was in the dorms due to the ridiculously expensive meal plan she had and never used it all.

My son will probably save a little money next year when he moves off campus.  Smaller town, more options, his rent is going to be somewhere in the $250-300 month range.  He'll spend as much on food living off campus as he did on campus, but overall should save a couple thousand a year over dorm living.  More if he doesn't have to pay rent all summer.

Buckeye, I have had players/parents tell me of offers that were flat $ amounts that came out to less than 25% so I don't know if these offers were somehow non-athletic $$ or in some instances, maybe a different set of guidelines for NAIA???   

My son is at a D3.

Tuition & Fees - $30,905; Room & Board - $10,350; Books - $555. Total: $41,810. Plus we have so far paid roughly $400 for fundraising and clothing.

Academic Scholarship - $17,000; Other school aid $9,400; State Grants $3,200; Pell Grant $1,365; Outside Scholarships - $6,020; STudent Loan $3500; Out of pocket (529 Fund) - $1,325.

The key for any athlete is grades, grades, grades! The better your grades; the more money a school will give you.

The one thing I would like to see is for D3 schools to provide clothing, shoes,  and equipment to athletes. Maybe some do but most I hear about don't.

My son has two close high school friends playing D1 athletics, and what they are being given is absolutely ridiculous. Clothing (more than they can possibly wear), shoes, personalized equipment, special tutors, extra food, tickets to all athletic events, strength and conditioning coaches, plus their stipend.  My son sometimes doesn't even make it to dinner because they are working out or at practice, so its more out of pocket from him or us to buy additional food.