Academic v athletic scholarship

Mic Nificent

SILVER ELITE
If there is more money and scholarships available on the academic side than the athletic side (only talking college soccer) wouldn’t it be better to have your kid focus on the academic scholarship while still training, playing for a good club coach and building a rapport with the college coaches letting them know you intend to make the team as a walk on rather than on an athletic scholarship?
 
Most players are doing this already; however it seems like a bad move to tell a coach you intend on being a walk on with academic money when many times a student doesn't know until their senior year what, if any, scholarships they will get. Further, many times academic scholarships don't cover everything. Many packages are combinations of both athletic and other types of scholarships.
 
If there is more money and scholarships available on the academic side than the athletic side (only talking college soccer) wouldn’t it be better to have your kid focus on the academic scholarship while still training, playing for a good club coach and building a rapport with the college coaches letting them know you intend to make the team as a walk on rather than on an athletic scholarship?

I think players need to assess this calculation constantly through the recruiting process but unless a coach is ready to commit athletic $$$ and the player stops her/him and says, "don't bother. We have it covered through academics or family", a player's intent to make the team as a walk-on is not so much a player declaration but a coach's invitation. Also, if the player is telling that to the coach, the coach may wonder whether that player can make the sport a significant enough priority. That probably varies coach-by-coach and some vets on this board may have specific anecdotes on this topic.
 
State Schools and Universities in California have academic money based on need as well. Oldest(non-athlete) was offered up to 19K at some private schools, but not a single dollar at any of the State or UC schools. Everyone's mileage will vary, but go for both.
 
COVID has clearly given schools a reason to walk away from atheltic scholarships and to drop some sports altogether. This is a new era for these colleges as they have lost a lot of funds to support scholarships and sports programs.
 
If there is more money and scholarships available on the academic side than the athletic side (only talking college soccer) wouldn’t it be better to have your kid focus on the academic scholarship while still training, playing for a good club coach and building a rapport with the college coaches letting them know you intend to make the team as a walk on rather than on an athletic scholarship?

Ask the coach to work out the best plan for you, and then have an academic dean or neutral third party check it. There are limits to how much total a school can give to anyone receiving athletic aid, and their total of all athletic grants for the whole program is limited year by year by the NCAA rules (It keeps rich schools from just buying the sport) and school budget (which sometimes allows the rich school to just buy the sport). Kids who receive no athletic money have more freedom, but I don't know if the rules are as liberal as the most generous academic scholarships, where a student is effectively paid to go to school there.
 
Athletic $$$$ offered typically translates to how bad a coach wants u and is usually proportional to the amount of play time your dd will receive.

academic $$$ is best as the coach can’t take that away.

50% athletic is pretty good IMO. That plus an additional 20K in academic is great!
 
Athletic $$$$ offered typically translates to how bad a coach wants u and is usually proportional to the amount of play time your dd will receive.

academic $$$ is best as the coach can’t take that away.

50% athletic is pretty good IMO. That plus an additional 20K in academic is great!

Definitely don’t share that you don’t need athletic money. Maximize what you can get on all available money. Most soccer players get a fractional athletic scholarship (1/4, 1/2, etc.) when they receive athletic money (many recruited players at D1 schools receive no athletic money). As someone else said, athletic money is tied to how much impact they expect a player to have. Get what you can from need-based, merit-based and athletic scholarships at a school she likes, has the major she wants and can help her get the right career after college (or get into the right graduate school). But at the end, academics is what will be most important to her life— college soccer is a means to an end.
 
From our experience these were two separate awards. The scholarship offer came from the coach. During the application process all applicants were considered for financial and academic scholarships. We did not qualify for a financial scholarship. But my dd's grades, test scores and other activities did result in the university deciding to offer her a very generous academic scholarship. I am not sure if either groups know that she is getting money from both sides. This only comes together in her financial account at the school and we have not discussed the full picture of what she is getting with anyone at the school. In her last two years there is a good chance the sum of the two will exceed her total cost. My understanding is that any excess award will be returned to the school I just don't know if it will be to the academic or athletic side.
 
Question- SoccerWire has a list of 2022 players who have made College Commitments . I didn’t count # of players per page but there are 6 pages...the very first one is a D1 school.
How does that work? I thought June 15 after sophomore year was the “start” date? Unless all those players committed several years ago before blackout period rule went into effect? Can someone explain? Thanks
 
Question- SoccerWire has a list of 2022 players who have made College Commitments . I didn’t count # of players per page but there are 6 pages...the very first one is a D1 school.
How does that work? I thought June 15 after sophomore year was the “start” date? Unless all those players committed several years ago before blackout period rule went into effect? Can someone explain? Thanks

Top Drawer is the same, you can filter out the search by grad year, State, position, etc....the girls on the 2022 list that are committed did so before last years rule change. The rest will have to wait until June 15th (or later).

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Got it. I thought that rule went into effect several years ago... thanks.
My daughter excited and cautiously optimistic about next week.
 
For anyone with a junior to be who will start talking to colleges next week, will you guys commit without visiting a campus/meeting a coach in person? Just curious.
 
No way. Too early, too many conversations to be had and wiggle room at their end. We’ve talked it over and plan to bide time, visit, meet coach(es), meet admissions team, etc.

Sure I’m just repeating what’s been said before...there’s a long list of emotional and practical things to consider- campus vibe, academics, direct flight from SNA, what’s the worst winter day look like, what’s the hottest summer day like (mosquitoes buzzing and dripping humidity or just plain broiling) how’s the immediate surrounding neighborhood, cultural center or out in the sticks, local politics, crazy gap between in state and out of state tuition, living on campus opportunities or spilling into surrounding communities?? Oh yeah, how’s the team? How’s the coach? Do they WANT her and need her or will she be lucky to get a few throw away minutes as a freshman...?

Pretty sure the school that checks all the boxes does not exist so we’ll ponder it some more and come to what hopefully is a good decision.

Who if anyone will call?? Not a clue but they have her contact info not mine! Guess she can do some vetting of her own!
 
For anyone with a junior to be who will start talking to colleges next week, will you guys commit without visiting a campus/meeting a coach in person? Just curious.
My dd will take her three "official visits" once she narrows it down to her top three. So many to choose from, where does one start? She might just jump to the pros after HS. I believe we will have a very nice pro league for the girls in the next two to three years. Maybe she will be a one and done? Go girls soccer wherever you play. Soccer for all and I love that. Soccer will bring unity to all of us and the world :)
 
No way. Too early, too many conversations to be had and wiggle room at their end. We’ve talked it over and plan to bide time, visit, meet coach(es), meet admissions team, etc.

Sure I’m just repeating what’s been said before...there’s a long list of emotional and practical things to consider- campus vibe, academics, direct flight from SNA, what’s the worst winter day look like, what’s the hottest summer day like (mosquitoes buzzing and dripping humidity or just plain broiling) how’s the immediate surrounding neighborhood, cultural center or out in the sticks, local politics, crazy gap between in state and out of state tuition, living on campus opportunities or spilling into surrounding communities?? Oh yeah, how’s the team? How’s the coach? Do they WANT her and need her or will she be lucky to get a few throw away minutes as a freshman...?

Pretty sure the school that checks all the boxes does not exist so we’ll ponder it some more and come to what hopefully is a good decision.

Who if anyone will call?? Not a clue but they have her contact info not mine! Guess she can do some vetting of her own!
Bro, this is your greatest take on here. Very well put and I mean that and I appreciate it very much. The one's who signed early for the most part had a school only in mind and or got a great package and really good for them. Some felt pressured and that is no one's fault. It was the old system and one I was too harsh with at times. I just had a lot of pain from my past and I took it out on some of you here. Please forgive me. One day at a time and no one size cleat fits all :)
 
Many colleges do not offer the official visit prior to committing. They seem to want to save the official paid trip for during the fall season of the commits Senior year in HS to bring in all of the committed girls on a weekend were home games are played. You only get one paid trip to any school. They also tend to do alot of PR stuff during that trip for the upcoming recruiting class. I don't know of any girls getting paid trips prior to committing. I know it happens but not often.
 
This was the one thing that surprised me in the recruiting process. The cost associated with getting out to the various colleges interested in my dd.
 
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