Scholarship

I can't answer all of your questions, but 35% is pretty good depending on his ability, and the position.  Considering that he is a pitcher, it isn't bad, but it isn't outstanding either.  If he was a top of the line pitcher, he would probably get 50%+, but it isn't bad.  There may be other factors, like they love him, but they only have so much money left.

Anything over the 25% minimum is good. If in state that sounds common, out of state....i would ask for 40%+ and site tuition difference. If they want you son, they will be amiable to a counter unless they've told you this is it.

You can likely get the Merit portion of any offer from the school website....or if you can't find it, call admissions.  Make sure you have your son's current GPA and test scores.  Not sure how you'd go about getting financial aid info...but they may be able to give you a guideline....though everythiing obviously depends on your income info

First, congratulations to your son on receiving this offer.

 

To answer your questions:

 

Is 35% a good offer?  If the school awards the maximum-allowed 11.7 scholarships evenly among the maximum number of 27 players, each player would receive about 42%.  A 35% offer is more than the 25% minimum some players probably receive, but less than the 50+% given to the highest rated pitching recruits.  Baseball scholarships are usually distributed in such a way that the median is considerably below the average, so it is possible that 35% is at or above the median at your son's school.

 

How do you know how much will awarded from merit and financial aid? The school should have a process for giving a reasonably accurate estimate of merit money before the NLI signing date.  Schools are not allowed to combine need-based aid with athletic scholarship money, so this won't be a factor unless your son is likely to get more than 35% in need-based money.

 

What happens if the financial package arrives after your son signs his NLI and is not adequate?  If the difference prevents him from attending this school, then your son would not be allowed play sports at any another NCAA school his freshman year.  If the merit money is needed to seal the deal, your son should not sign the NLI until you are confident that the rest of the money will be forthcoming.

 

What should you do?  If the 35% by itself does not bring costs down to a level you can afford, you should have a frank discussion with the recruiting coach.  He needs to know if your son is not presently ready to sign during the early signing period.  Tell him how much your son wants to attend the school, tell him how big of a gap you still need covered, explain what you have done to apply for merit money, and ask if there is anything he can do to expedite the school's merit decision or increase the athletic offer.  If the deal isn't going to come together, it is best for all parties to figure that out as early as possible. 

 

Best wishes,

 

For anyone who would know: Is it true you can't be awarded athletic scholarship and financial aid (not to be confused with loans)? But you can be awarded athletic scholarship and merit scholarship.

Not sure if you consider the Pell grant finanacial aid. My son got athletic and school merit scholarship and the Pell.

Intreresting info. I was not aware of the situation of Financial aid and Athletic scholarship..

I went on the school admission page and submitted my numbers to a tuition estimator. That tool told me that I will be expecting to pay 7K (no athletic scholarship money added-just parents finance situation)…hmmm. Now I'm really confused

RJM, it's possible to receive any combination of athletic scholarship, merit scholarships, and financial aid, but isn't always easy to understand or explain.  Determining what is countable and non-countable/exempt from counting toward the team limit of 11.7 adds another layer of complexity.

sure it does…Oh boy! I thought we were all set..another obstacle on my horizon..lol

 

Everybody's situation is different, but $7K?  I'd be doing backflips.

Forget about athletic 35%?? Or is there a way that it would still count..

Sorry, I don't know. Sounds like a question for the coach and/or admissions office. But those calculators estimate need.  I think that as the cost goes down, so would your need, so that your contribution would not decrease as much as the offer. But that's just a guess.  Ask them.

That's ok. A huge help from you and others.. It generates a list of questions to ask the school and/or coach..Thanks a lot. 

First off....Congratulations! Thirty five percent is a nice offer. In my experience, there is very little wiggle room. Most RC's know what they have to work with and they have established a level/slot for a player. 

Also, keep in mind that if the player gets academic money and for it not to count aganst the 11.7 team allotment, he will need to meet the NCAA requirements. 

All can/should be worked out before signing NLI.

Keep in mind too that the offer can change from year to year as I have seen a guy get a large scholarship taken away after a non productive year with a poor attitude and have seen a player increased twice as a Junior and Senior even though he had a nice scholarship to begin with. Of course that first year's offer is the one that counts most of the time.

Why are grades so important? There's 22 times as much academic money as athletic money. Both my kids got twice as much academic money as athletic money.

RJM....funny you should mention that now.  My son just got his ACT results back today.  He got a 31.  He had a 29 the last time.  Couple that with his GPA and he's getting more merit money than he is baseball money.  He's always wanted to play baseball in college...and at some point over the past couple years, we started to think that it would probably end up happening. He committed in July...so that part of it was great.  The fact that between baseball and his grades we're now paying less than half of his college costs out of our pocket is just makes it that much better.

Agree. My son was awarded/earned academic money equal to his athletic money. Coaches love good students. At my sons school, GPA's are listed in the clubhouse. 

Congrats on the 31! Someone on here recently said "nice to know that son will graduate debt free". 

I had never thought of that myself until reading it. Here's to starting left after baseball debt free!

sending you a PM, check folder

umm who are you sending a pm too? If it was me, didn't get it

PM to the original poster of this thread - She91434 

"Forget about athletic 35%?? Or is there a way that it would still count.."

 

The school keewartson attends required the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.  I also have two in college at the same time. 

 

When the financial award(s) arrived via email this past spring, it included a subsidized loan, unsubsidized loan, and a very nice grant.  I immediately called the financial aid office since the athletic award (scholarship) wasn't included.

 

After the athletic scholarship was applied during the summer, the "package" was adjusted so that the subsidized loan was eliminated, the unsubidized loan was reduced and the generous grant was also reduced.  Sigh.

 

So, keep the scholarship.  It will be taken into account as part of a "whole package" when calculating aid.  

 

Plus, what you think you can afford for college is vastly different than what the college thinks you can afford! 

 

(As a side note, you can elect to keep or decline the loans or take only part of the loan amount.)

 

 

So we are very fortunate and have about $10k left to pay annually....heard about an academic scholarship that my son qualifies for pretty easily that could add $5k annually. Does that fall into this "whole package" aspect and if we took that academic money would baseball get it back to spend elsewhere or save OR would we be down to a $5k delta?

If he qualifies for the additional academic money for reasons unrelated to his baseball playing and non-athletes have the same opportunity to compete for that money, it would all go to reducing your out-of-pocket.

It all can add up to 100% including expected living expenses. So scholarships of any kind grants loans work study. They give you options to be up to that. Or at least they did with all 3 of my kids so far in college   I think I am in 11th of colleges.

Thanks guys....now on to how to get that last $5k gone.

Probably loans unless he can qualifies other grants or scholarships.  By all means apply for all his HS offers and same with college

Look locally for grants and scholarships as well. My son received money from our church from a scholarship set up by member who has passed and wanted to give back to the youth in our church($1,000 last year & $2,000 this year). Blessed!

FWIW - Check with your employer for scholarships.  My son applied/received a $3K academic scholarship per year (for 2 years)  through my former employer. 

 

Good luck.   .

Another source of scholarships is www.fastweb.com.  Register on the web site and you'll get e-mails regarding scholarships to apply for.

 

Worth a shot.