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All of them gave the same net price?
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How could you be anything other than full pay? (Not being snarky, but a genuine question.)
My opinion is you won’t be seeing need based aid at the schools you have listed here…so merit is the only aid your daughter might get. You need to check each college website. Some net price calculators ask for stats, and then also include merit aid. But many do not.
$230k parental income could give a net price significantly lower than full pay on Amherst’s net price calculator, although it would depend on such things investment assets and owned home value that has not been mentioned.
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We’re currently going through this with S24, but not at NESCAC school. Hopkins instead. The financial pre-read was very close to the final numbers he received today (with ED1 acceptance offer). Very high, and quite honestly out of budget. But at the same time, very much in-line with the EFC calculators. Although those calculators have several variables which can significantly impact the EFC number. $75k per year with 5YR average joint/family AGI of about $240k. Of course they consider home equity, savings, stocks, 529s, etc as part of EFC calculation. We were pretty much “pay as you go” for his older sisters, and have realized that “pay as you go” with our current income and modest savings/home equity makes the elite/expensive colleges very expensive. Hope this helps.
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One other item, is that S24 is a moderately good wrestler and we believe that was the “hook” for the Hopkins admission - although had the academics to qualify (4.0 UW, 1520 SAT, 14 AP’s, competitive public PA high school).
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This may not be particularly helpful to the OP, but I thought I’d offer it for other parents who might have kids younger in the process.
My kid was a promising lax goalie and, by 10th grade, had to choose between that and a non-sports EC that also was taking up huge amounts of time.
We also crunched numbers and looked at actual $$ amounts for lacrosse scholarships; it’s abysmal when compared with institutional academic scholarships. My kid was not going to get anything remotely financially useful - nothing that would be a game changer and make an unaffordable school suddenly affordable - from continuing with lax. Granted, she was not a nationally ranked superstar, but still, it was a calculation that was worth doing. She loved the game, but she loved the other EC more.
There’s a lot of money laid out by parents from tiny tot leagues on, figuring their kid will be the next Michael Jordan or whatever, and it really does not end well, strictly financially speaking. (This is not to say school sports are not hugely valuable in a zillion other ways! They are awesome!)
As it turned out, giving up lacrosse was the right choice for my kid, as she got a full-tuition scholarship based not on sports but on the other EC.
Also, in college, even though she wanted to, there was zero time to even play club lax, because of the commitments of her major. I don’t think it’s a reach to say that there is usually time to concentrate fully on one thing in college - the major or the sport, not both.
I just wanted to offer a cautionary tale of the sort that sometimes doesn’t reach parents before a lot of dreaming and money has been laid out.
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Our athlete competed in a headcount sport and even knowing recruitment meant full ride (outside of the ivies) - we also did the math and realized that if anyone in the sport put the money they had spent towards the sport into a college fund instead - by senior year in high school they would have nearly the equivalent of full pay anywhere from training/travel/competing/sports rehab/etc.
Most of those getting real money for athletics in college have ‘paid’ for it (time, literal money, and effort). It isn’t ‘free’ money. Ever. Not to mention student athletes are basically signing up for two full time jobs at the same time (college and college sport).
Going in with eyes wide open is a must.
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Just my thoughts (I have a NESCAC athlete in college now)……
Follow the NPC from each specific school. The number you get will be what (for the most part) you will be expected to pay. I’m pretty sure the schools you listed do not offer merit money. They are needs-based only as far as I’m aware.
You have to keep in mind that you might also be expected to pay for part of her spring break trip if they travel to Florida or elsewhere. I would definitely talk to the coaches about this because it might be different at each school. Most equipment will still come out of her pocket, too (bat, glove, cleats) - again - depends on the school. Ask the specific coaches what sport-related costs are to be expected.
I would also say that if she is just choosing a NESCAC school just for softball, she might want to reconsider. Most choose a NESCAC for the academic experience first, athletics second. The athlete experience at a NESCAC will be different when compared to other D3 schools. The conference rules are different than other conferences when it comes to off-season practices and workouts (usually less hours).
Also consider the travel involved for in-conference play. Since they now play all the teams within the conference, they might have to travel 6-8 hours by bus (taking stops into consideration) to some schools. They will play a DH on Sat, travel to the next school, and play DH on Sunday. They also have a DH mid-week.
She also will now not have her academic pre-read until August 1st this upcoming summer. That is a long time to wait if other offers are already on the table at schools she knows she can definitely get into academically and are offering her money.
Other conferences where a majority of the schools offer merit money (Centennial Conference, for example) are very good academic schools and have much less travel involved for in-conference play. I also have a current athlete in this conference.
I’m not saying all of this to discourage you - just want you to be well-aware of the process and potential outcome.
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AFAIK that was a one off situation this year because of the pending SCOTUS decisions on using race in admissions.
I expect this year to be back to normal at July 1 for pre-reads. NESCAC coaches would prefer to not experience the recruiting disadvantage they had this past summer.
OP’s student can confirm the timing with the coaches as appropriate.
I do agree on the fairly onerous travel for softball in the NESCAC.
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That will be great if that is the case; however, even 7/1 is a long time to wait if you have offers with money already sitting on the table much earlier. I remember with my own it was very tough as many of her teammates had already committed over the winter/early spring of their junior year. Her D1 friends had committed that fall/early winter. Dd had offers/money which she had to turn down in early spring because her heart was set on her school and waiting on the pre-read. NESCAC is something you really need to wholeheartedly want as an athlete.
My daughter’s story, also a lax player, is different from @Gatormama’s daughter’s. She actually received a lot of recruiting interest from D3 schools including some academically recognized schools like Smith, Center, Kenyon, but those weren’t her ‘fit’ schools. A few D1 schools but also not academic fits. So she went D2. She got a large lax scholarship (it was a unique situation and I agree there often isn’t a lot of money), large merit money, state grants and scholarships so basically a full ride. Stacking grants and scholarships worked for us. Even though there usually isn’t a lot of athletic money in D2 sports, there can be, and there is merit money. If you need the money, keep looking because it is there but she most likely won’t get a Little Ivy or NESCAC. There are LAC type schools in D2, like Rollins, Flagler, Florida Southern.
As a sophomore, D roomed with 3 women from the softball team (also engineers). I don’t know what kind of athletic money they were getting, but the merit money was there. Also, women’s sports were pretty well funded at Florida Tech because at the time they had a football team so had to make up for those scholarships to men. Another benefit was the conference is in Florida so they were fortunate that they didn’t have to travel far; traveling is a big deal and takes up a lot of time for athletes so if it can be limited, that helps.
I give Florida Tech only as an example (although it does have biophysical engineering and physics) There are a lot of schools that might work really well for your daughter, offering her a good athletic experience and a good academic experience at a price your family can afford.
But if she wants Little Ivy, you are going to be full pay and she will travel farther in spring NE weather. D3 schools do not award more FA to athletes, even if they do pre-reads. They cannot give merit scholarships disproportionately to athletes (that’s against NCAA rules). It is what it is. The recruited athlete benefit is in admissions, not financial aid.
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In our experience, a 32 (and it sounds like she will raise it) is likely ok for many of the NESCACs (“little ivies”), providing your daughter is viewed as an impact player, has a high GPA, and rigor. The NESCAC coaches will tell you if they think she has the academic stats; if they don’t, ask! Are they aware of her GPA, courses, etc.? As others have said, the NPC on each school’s financial aide page is usually pretty accurate. My daughter needed financial aid and is getting it. She is an athlete at a NESCAC and is having a fantastic experience- it’s a win/win between the athletics and academics and for that reason, she focused on those schools. Once she had an offer from the coach (right after her pre-read, 7/1), she asked the coach if the NPC was generally accurate and she said yes, but to feel free to call financial aid and confirm. We did just that and were told it was.
The NESCAC has now expanded off-season practices too, which is great; they used to only be able to have captain’s practices in their off-season, but they are now allowed a set number of coach-led practices. They have so much to offer- truly an amazing group of schools in an incredibly competitive conference! If you have any specific questions about recruiting in the NESCACs, there are several threads specifically regarding those schools/that conference.
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Old thread but in case it informs another family, I agree: a 32 will work even at Williams if the rest of the app is in order and the coach wants her. Absolutely it will work at Midd.
Also agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts about the NESCAC experience, both athletically and academically.
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