Athletic scholarship or need based financial aid, or both?

wilberry228
Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:13:10 +0000

I agree with varska - get the early read - take it from there. I suspect it all falls into place; also she should go to school where she wants to go. And if she doesn’t know that now she will probably get a feel for it when she visits the schools and meets the girls on the team.

Congrats on the Olympic trial cuts! What an achievement. I am sure the schools will clamor to have her.

Also keep in mind that the need-based aid will change every year but the swimming won’t. If you and your wife have a great year one year, you could have to pay up.

My daughter is also a swimmer but she stopped with times just shy of junior nationals, so she was looking at different schools. She wants to swim in college but her eyes are not on Olympic trials - she ended up with a nice blend of athletic and merit aid, and we were pretty happy with that. Although we do end up having to pay the rest!

Good luck to your daughter and enjoy the search. Does she want to sign early or wait until spring?