I don’t think the OP’s son should go to BC because it might give him a better chance at the NFL. I think he should make the choice based entirely what he will get out of the experience NOW, not years from now. He should also make the decision to go to Harvard on the same basis. I’ve always had my kids pick their sports and their levels for what they would get out of them NOW (or then), not for the future. Yes, you want to build on skills, but you shouldn’t suffer through something to get to the next level. BC is an entirely different experience than Harvard. It’s real football, against teams like Miami and Maryland and Notre Dame. Doug Fluttie. Big. OP’s son will need to decide if he will give that up to play at a much lower level at the Ivies. Much lower.
I fear many suggesting it’s a no brainer, pick Harvard over every other school, always, no matter what may have a different suggestion if the student was deciding between Juiliard and Harvard for music performance, or Notre Dame and Yale if the student’s goal was to be a priest. Football is being dismissed as unimportant, but it seems important to this student.
If your son is NFL material, he can get there from an ivy. Heck, there are guys in the NFL who played Div. III football. And if your son is smart, he can have a fine business career having gone to an ivy or BC.
But, will he fit in better socially among s tudents at BC or a particular Ivy?
Will he thrive in the classroom better at one or the other? You can be plenty smart and still not have the right tools to fit in a classroom at Harvard.
This is a personal decision. If it were my son, I would want to try to talk through all of the issues and alternatives with him, but I would want him to make the decision.
As far as his odds of making the NFL, a quick google search turned up these NFL draft odds estimates from the last NFL draft according to sbnation.com:
2010 high school rating Percent drafted in 2014 NFL draft
five-star prospect 60% (3 out of every 5)
four-star prospect 20% (1 out of every 5)
three-star prospect 6% (1 out of every 18)
two-star prospect 3% (1 out of every 34)
I would also point out that this is all 7 rounds of the draft. Many lower round draft picks will be cut before their first regular season game.
Moooop’s point above is an important one - The Ivy football culture is quite different from BC’s - if he is skilled enough to play in a great football program like BC’s (wow - that’s hard for me, an ND alum, to write) he should go for it, and focus on the NFL dream. BC has a solid business program so the academics are fine. They also have a strong alumni network which is a plus for the future. He can always hit the Ivies for grad school.
Since your son is clearly a very strong student, does he even want to play pro after college? I would think that the answer to that question may help you make your decision.
That’s an understatement. It’s VASTLY different.
I have been to a few Ivy football games and the attendance was pathetic, the atmosphere totally different from Stanford where I’ve attended many games.
The thing is, BC guarantees to meet full need, just as the IVies do. You might want to run the NPC to find out what their likely aid package would be if the athletic award is rescinded or discontinued for any reasons. Also run the numbers at all of the other schools in consideration to see what your aid would be there when your oldest son is no longer a student That can mean a drastic drop in financial aid when you go from 2 in college to 1.
Again, this is a personal decision. All things equal, if my kid did not care in the least, I’d probably go for HPY over BC, but not any of the other Ivies. A free year at BC at very least with financial aid if the athletic award disappeared, is still a nice piece of change.
I am writing this as I am watching my cousin’s son struggle with the loss of his ROTC scholarship his senior year Yes, it can happen. Thank goodness he picked an affordable school over his first choice private university that does not guarantee to meet need. Though it’s a financial hit, it’s doable to pay that instate public tuition for the year.
IMO, and other will disagree with me, the Ivies other than HPY are not worth the premium price over BC. Again, that is my personal feeling, and if my child picking the school disagreed, I’d go with whatever his feeling are. And all my kids disagreed with some aspects of my opinions.
So run the NPCs for all of the colleges without the 2 in college, including BC and figure that you get a free ride first year at BC, and can bank that $20K you’d otherwise be spending in the event something happens with the athletic award. As for what is best for his sport and future, that is something you and son need to discuss with those who are in the know about those things.
Wow, you all gave me a ton of varying things to think about…thanks!!!
Consolation – thanks so much for highlighting the concern over injuries and concussion potential. My wife and I are very cognoscente of the issues as is my son. It is a large concern, not to diminish the seriousness, but we experienced many more injuries with two active sons in baseball, Tae Kwon Do (World Championship level) and oddly enough experienced most major injuries in our backyard just playing around.
Much2learn – thanks for reminding me about NFL draft statistics. That really helped put things into perspective.
I believe my son will be helped greatly by reading all of your comments.
PurpleTitan – Great insights and advice…much appreciated!!!
Coaches are calling (unfortunately not Stanford or ND) every few hours placing heavy pressure on him to decide one way or another. We’re down to crunch time… I’ll let you all know what he decides over the next day or so…
@Novaranger Good luck to your, we look forward to hearing about whatever you decide. Honestly, I am of two minds on this if it were my son. I love football, but I also see the value in an Ivy League education for a business major.
My brain would be telling me that Harvard, Yale, or Penn give him a higher percentage chance of having a life of opportunities, but my gut would be telling me that if playing football in the NFL is really his dream, then he should go for it and BC probably gives him the best chance.
If he does decides to attend one of the Ivies, I would suggest that he consider choosing the one where he felt the most comfortable, that he thought offered the best fit and opportunities for him and his interests, and where he liked the people he met. In the end it will be what he does there that will make his time a success, and students that are happy, and love their school environment are usually more involved and successful.
@novaranger. I’m sorry to hear Stanford did not show much interest in your son…he sounds like the perfect type of student who would benefit most at a school like Stanford (highest level academics with highest level athletics)…if it makes you feel any better Jeremy Lin had the grades/test scores to be competitive for Stanford…and he really wanted to go to Stanford…but Stanford did not/would not recruit him for his basketball talents (part of it may have been their bias against taking a chance with Asian basketball players)…
…nevertheless, he proved to the world he could make it to NBA with his Harvard degree…
I found the OP question very interesting, and especially since it was not pure rhetoric. I do not think any of us can offer much insight, beyond pointing out the importance of weighing the finances and the potential of injuries.
One element worthy of consideration is that the student himself can shoulder a substantial part of the projected 80,000 budget through some reasonable borrowing. At the end of 4 or 5 years, the debt would not represent much in light of an athletic or career. There is a value of being a big fish in a small pond, and the chance to accumulate great stats at an Ivy League school might be higher than at a football powerhouse, and especially if measured in sacks and tackles.
All in all, I would overweigh the academics and underweigh football and finances in this case. If one of the favorite Ivy confirms the admission and a generous review of the finances, I would decommit to BC.
I definitely wouldn’t rush into this decision, despite the pressure from the coaches, until the final financial aid packages are received. Also, although someone mentioned that BC may offer to meet full need, that may mean different things at different institutions and he may end up with a larger financial aid package at one of the ivy league schools, which generally have higher endowments which translates to more money to use for FA
BC is in the 568 group of schools along with Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, Columbia. Those schools use very similar formulas for need based aid. Not to say, that there aren’t variances, but they tend to be less than schools that do not try to use the same methodology. So, BC without the athletic award would likely cost about the same as those schools HPY would use different need formulas. But with BC, there is a near certain likelihood that at very least, freshman year would be free.
I might be lone supporter of BC, unless this young man would be in top 50% at HYP. If injured, I would still want him to Be an academic fit at his chosen school. It is hard enough to fit training and games into any of these elite colleges.
That said, would his hours of training be longer at BC? What support would he get at each of these schools? Does he prefer one coach to the others?
Playing a major sport like football in college is like having a full-time job during the season and a part-time job off-season. Based on my son’s experience, those kids who get through college on an athletic scholarship earn every penny of the money the school “gives” them.
The amount of effort (not talent but effort in terms of training and preparation hours) required to play football would likely be the same at an Ivy school as it is at BC. But the support at BC is likely to be greater because the school puts more value on the sport.
It is my understanding that the NCAA restricts all teams to a maximum of 20 hours of required practice, team meetings, training, etc… So, except for travel and game time, each of these schools fall under the same limitations. However, if an athlete is driven to excel, they would undoubtedly spend additional time on their own training, watching game film, etc…
One of the components that we considered and assigned HUGE value was academic support. This is critical to understand if anyone reading this thread finds themselves in a similar situation. Scholarship schools, specifically football programs, require athletes to attend mandatory team breakfasts followed by “study halls” (typically 3 to 5 days each week for 1 to 1 1/2 hour sessions) where they meet with academic advisers/coaches/tutors to review academic progress, upcoming assignments/projects/tests and receive assistance as needed. This is how they make sure that players are keeping up with minimum academic requirements/standards (set by both NCAA and individual academic institution). At best, the Ivies have a coach review academic progress on a weekly basis and make players aware of where support is available on campus.
As a parent, I appreciate and value maintaining these mandatory support structures. I see this as a safety net for my son. After all, student athletes spend considerable time and have specific coaches helping to maximize their athletic potential. Why not have an academic coach and similar support structure to help maximize their academic performance. But, many athletes at scholarship schools have a feeling of being “owned” by the coaches and programs for placing such requirements on the players. Ivies explain their stance on academic support as teaching student athletes to become more self reliant and forces them to be more independently responsible for their success. I see value in both concepts, but again as a parent I prefer knowing there is a safety net for my son.
Can we not safely assume the OP has a pretty good handle on the demands of being a competitive student and athlete? Actually, there might be more time off in college than in the life of a HS football player who works hard in school as well.
Teams can set their own rules for study tables. My daughter’s coach wanted 10 study table hours per week, but the school only requires 8. The athletes can do them any time they want that the library ‘study room’ is open, and they just swipe their ID cards. And the coaches do check. One girl fell behind in ‘points’ in the freshman orientation class where they gather points by going to different events, and the team paid the price with suicides. Coach checks the grades weekly. Coach checks up on sessions with the trainer and nutritionist.
I did consider it a huge safety net. My daughter was 17 last semester and college was overwhelming for her. The structure the team provided was very helpful. My daughter no longer has study table required because she got the gpa needed to be excused, but she still goes because it is a good environment for her.