That’s true, but HYS and the other Ivies are much more generous than BC (and pretty much every other meets-full-need college). HYS et al, for example, caps home equity whereas not many other colleges do.
I’ll join your lonely group. 
@EllieMom, yes more academic support for athletes at BC but higher expectations and pressure as well. At an Ivy, there’s not really negative ramifications for dropping a sport. At BC, a full-ride scholarship goes away (and yes, they have fin aid, but it likely won’t match HYP’s).
Drop a pass that costs your team the conference title at an Ivy? Yeah, that would stink. Drop a pass that would cost BC a conference title? Many more people will remember.
Plus, the football players on an Ivy team will likely be intellectual peers. At BC, not so many (if that matters; it may to some extent when it comes to a network later in life).
I would choose having more opportunities in life, myself. Just my viewpoint.
So one should choose the lower level program because the possibility of failure is greater at the higher level? Catching that pass at BC will also result in greater glory than it will for Yale against Columbia. In fact, it’s unlikely anyone would see the Yale player and it might not be considered a great play because it’s against an inferior team.
The full ride scholarship doesn’t have to go away anymore. NCAA now allows 4 year scholarships (although I’m not sure the ACC has approved them). Does the BC coach have a reputation of pulling scholarships? Most coaches are pretty honest and won’t pull the scholarships if the student does his part - maintains grades, remains eligible - even if injured. That was the promise my daughter got from her coach and I believe the coach is an honest person. In the new 4 year scholarships, if the athlete plays two years, the final two are guaranteed.
Yep, but if you play two years, you still stuck studying at BC for more years and have no football glory.
As I said, HYP have their own calculators as does Stanford. BC, Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, Cornell are members of the 568 group that uses consist methodology for aid.
Running NPCs is a good way to check the consistency, which I recommend the OP to do.
@twoinanddone, does BC even have the 4 year scholarship yet?
I said I don’t know if ACC has the four year scholarships yet (allowed by the NCAA) , that PAC 12 and B1G do. This is changing every day as the conferences have winter meeting and decide these issues. However, the important thing to know is how many freshmen to sophomores lose their scholarships at BC every year. I think not many or everyone would know and be talking about it. Of those who do lose it, was it because of grades, behavior, or football skills? I bet none for football skills. Schools have 85 scholarships, and only 25 can be offered to freshmen so it isn’t like the coaches are always pulling them after one year to give to the next class. The schools have been doing this for years, they know how to balance the scholarships.
If this student was thinking about Stanford and not BC, I don’t think anyone on CC would be worried about him losing his football scholarship or getting hurt because everyone on CC thinks Stanford is just as prestigious as Yale, but that BC isn’t. For THIS student, BC may be offering more than Y/H/Penn because it is offering a wonderful education and top football, which is what THIS student wants. He can only play top level college football once in his life, but can go to HYP later, for grad school.
I’m on Team BC. (But I’m really on Team Wait because I think this is too important of a decision to make just to sign on signing day).
It appears that your son has given much thought to this problem. It is a difficult choice because each college has something different to offer but I don’t think you can make a mistake by choosing any particular school. It’s kind of like being a fancy restaurant and choosing between prime rib and lobster. That being said there are a few factors to consider:
- Financial Aid- Much better at BC, however there is a risk of loss of scholarship. Given your situation I would ask about a multiyear football scholarship. In any case I would make sure you knew how the coaches handled scholarships and injuries. If your son thinks he may not want to play for four years then the Ivies may be a better option.
- Athletics- Also much better at BC. The coaching staff , teammates skill, weight training, competition and nutritional support would all be much better at BC compared to the Ivies. BC also offers the opportunity to play in a bowl which the Ivies do not offer. The competition for playing time would also be much more intense at BC and this may be a consideration. BC should give an edge for playing in the NFL but I would not place a heavy weight on this.
- Academics- The Ivies are better overall but there are some considerations. The professors and resources would be better at the Ivies however as you have mentioned the academic support for athletes at BC is much more structured than at the Ivies. Note that BC Carroll School of Management is one of the top undergraduate business schools in the US.
- Networking and job offers- The Ivies would have an edge here as well, however if he plays well and makes great grades he will probably find many rich BC alumni that will be willing to help him start his career.
“you’re still stuck studying at BC for more years” – ouch.
That’s a perspective. Can be stuck at Cornell or Dartmouth or any number of schools as well, paying more money than comfortable or affordable if the older student is out of the fin aid picture and the estimates are based on two in college.
This is a personal decision,and we all draw our personal lines on this.
@doubtful Your response ^^ is a perfect example of why they really need an lol button.
Regarding the ouch and stuck, this is related to making a choice based on football. If the career is indeed shortened, you have to live with the choice.
The OP stated “To simplify the situation, he believes he would enjoy attending any of the schools. He would prefer to play football at BC as it has a better football program. But, if football was not part of the picture, he would prefer attending Ivy league schools.”
I am in the camp of going to college is to get a good education, and academic would be my first consideration. If you could get an education at Harvard or Yale, why would you wan to go to BC? Not saying OP’s son would stop playing football, but I do know a lot of D1 athletes who stopped play. There is a thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1734789-america-s-new-aristocracy-and-an-hereditary-meritocracy.html#latest
By going to HYP, your son is also giving his future kids a better chance of going to one of those schools.
D1 was offered a full scholarship at a second tier LAC. We did turn it down for a school where we believed she would be getting a better education and would help her with her career later on. I know families that have turned down full scholarship at Duke for Yale or Harvard.
The guy who won the Superbowl for the Patriots last night was undrafted from West Alabama. Not Alabama, West Alabama where he matriculated after working at Popeye’s. If a player has the physical measurables to be an NFL prospect, he will get a chance. I would pick a football school for football and an elite academic school for academics. FWIW, Myron Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship while playing football at Florida State.
My nephew played basketball for an HYP school. Turned down a scholarship to Lafayette to do that. He talked with coaches at big time sports programs like Stanford, Butler, etc. but did not get an offer. I’m pretty sure he would have gone to even Butler (despite it not being as highly ranked a school academically) if they had made him an offer. The big time sports angle was a dream. We saw him play at a game at Penn, a respectable crowd but doesn’t compare to the atmosphere at a big time basketball school. Same with football . BC will be a much different atmosphere than playing for the Ivy League. BC is a perfectly fine school and I can see where it would be appealing for a kid that wanted to combine good academics with big time sports.
Well, D. did not apply Ivy’s and even to top publics (like U of Mich.) if she did not have a chance for Merit award. So, her situation was somewhat similar, but not exactly. We did research and she applied ONLY to schools that we knew would offer her some or great Merit award. She actually dropped her sport at college for time limitations (she was on club team for freshman year), but she was not seeking sport related scholarships despite of the fact that few coaches expressed their desire to have her, she predicted time limitations. So, the big question is if an athlete still be able to be a stellar student in addition to fullfilling the sport commitments.
Another side is that while the name of UG may play an important role for some majors, it is practically irrelevant for others. Specifially, as D. was planning to attend a Med. School, it did not matter for her.
As a result of the 2 above, D. ended up attending public in-state on full tuition Merit. As a 4th year Med. student, she would repeat it, her UG was a perfect place for her and fullfilled all of her goals and plus.
Based on our experience, I would say, grab the free UG option. However, your kid will actually have to work very hard not only academically but being part of a sport team, so it needs to be evaluated very carefully.
I used to work for the University of Miami’s Sports Information department, so while I’m not sporty (I’m nerdy), I did get to see the day to day workings of an elite college football team. One of my work studies was Ray Lewis’ girlfriend, I often said hi to Warren Sapp, I was on a first name basis with Jimmy Johnson-you get the idea. I believe the college to pro football transition rate is about 3% for all colleges nationwide-a really tiny figure.
Having said this, if the BC scholarship is for all four years regardless of ability to play, I would grab it in a heartbeat. Especially if he intends to do grad school. BC’s a good, good school.
If it’s only for one year and it’s dependent upon his being fit to play on the team, I’d probably go ivy and suck up the cost, since there’s a fair chance you’ll be paying tuition anyway at BC if he loses the scholarship due to injury (which I also saw a lot, and it was heartbreaking for the kids whose parents couldn’t afford tuition).
Absolutely, academics should be top consideration. Our D1 turned down partial scholarships at Stanford, BC and other very good schools for Harvard. She loves it and is doing very well. We are pro-Harvard here. The OP’s son will undoubtedly find more like-minded ( athletic and academically serious) young men on the the Ivy football teams than he will at BC. But in whose general student body will he find more like minded people? Seems most of the Ivy athletes who are there because of their athletic prowess ( and my kid with her NMF, 2300, AP scholar with distinction, A- avg with all the hard classes at a famous prep school knows there is only one reason the Ivies or Stanford wanted her) hang out mostly with the other athletes. A friend who has a son on Stanford football team says the same. D observes that the recruits who quit their sport still hang out with their teams socially. My D loves her sport, but she thought about quitting after first year but then changed her mind in part because she figures her sport is why she belongs at H. So, financial considerations aside, if OP kid gets injured and isn’t on the team, BC might still be a pretty great place to be stuck. Is it Harvard of Stanford? No. But it’s a very fine school and if your interest is business, you can definitely get pretty much wherever you want to go from there. I think it’s reasonable for a recruited kid to ask him or herself, “where would I get in without my sport and would I expect to do well and succeed there?” Maybe some opportunities are too good to pass up, but fit probably counts for something.
At BC, the kid will be hanging out mostly with other athletes as well. The lifestyles of athletes and non-athletes in colleges (except for maybe DivIII schools) are just so different these days.
And Ivy athletes form a pretty potent alumni networking group.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the op’s son want to study business? So why are any Ivies except Penn and Cornell being mentioned?
Also, google some video of Ivy league football games, and see if u get chills from watching guys play in front of a crowd of 4000 in a 20000-seat stadium.
This past year BC beat the U of Southern California and Penn State. If u don’t know how huge that is, then u need to do some research.