Preferential packaging does exist but athletes wouldn’t get academic merit that doesn’t match published info so it’d be within a gray area if they don’t qualify for need based aid and academic merit is not sufficient, resulting in a net price over the price the family can afford (as communicated beforehand with the relevant services/person and within reason.)
2 Likes
I think the thing about this student is that he has a 4.0 and is National Merit. So he is already a plausible candidate for the handful of full tuition or full ride scholarships that some D3 schools have. So even if these schools are giving him the merit money with the end of getting him on a team, they will have no trouble explaining his merit should they be audited.
4 Likes
He isn’t going to get merit aid at a college that only offers need based aid which you say you are not eligible for. Is that what you are asking?
2 Likes
You are right. Well, maybe he would get some need-based aid if the school is $90K+.
You can run the net price calculator for those need based aid schools and get an estimate of your net costs.
3 Likes
A highly ranked LAC that has both baseball and big merit is Washington & Lee. Apparently something like 10% of students there get a full tuition merit scholarship. With his academic and EC strength and geographic diversity, maybe he would be a candidate? Outside of your preferred geography though…
3 Likes
UT-Dallas is a great suggestion. If he could play there (D2), and get the National Merit package and Honors College, it could check all of the boxes except geography, and as noted, Dallas is a travel hub so getting there should be straightforward. The business school has a Finance major with a FinTech concentration, and the university is very strong at all things computational. I understand that he’s not keen on going south, but UTD would be academically several cuts above most of the midwest schools being discussed, and I think the NMF package is a full ride or nearly so. And a really bright cohort of students in the Honors College. I would look into this one seriously.
Claremont McKenna (not in your desired region, but top-notch for his interests) is DIII and has a few full-tuition scholarships which would get you to budget… but those are highly competitive and I don’t know how recruiting would work if you were dependent on discretionary academic merit to be able to commit. CMC is a little under 1500 undergrads, but the consortium has around 7K undergrads overall, and the baseball team is joint with Harvey Mudd.
In the PNW, U of Puget Sound has D3 baseball, generous merit, and an honors Business Leadership Program that could be a fit. They’re pretty generous with merit so I don’t think getting to budget would require a long-odds scholarship. (But still way more expensive than UTD.)
Missouri S&T has potential too. He’d get this package at minimum, off an already-reasonable sticker price, and an even larger scholarship is possible. National Merit Semifinalist Scholarship – Student Financial Services | Missouri S&T
3 Likes
Actually it is a complete full ride – all expenses plus a $10,000 stipend. So completely free!
Of course, this means it is very competitive. It is not purely academic – the school doesn’t need to buy high stats kids. They are looking for leadership and diversity, in addition to great academics.
Would be worth looking into, though might also conflict with a recruited athlete’s need to ED.
3 Likes
I don’t know too much about them, but I see Beloit and Lawrence in Wisconsin on a lot of lists for big merit aid programs. Not too far and both have D3 baseball.
3 Likes
So NMF can get you free or free tuition. But is it going to get you baseball? This is the issue - otherwise, you need to find a school that will meet your cost. And many that will won’t have accounting or finance?
Augustana South Dakota? Coe in Iowa?
I think this is a tough one - with all you want and the price - you’re not going to get the student body you want.
2 Likes
I appreciate the reminder of “pay to play.”
1 Like
We know several Lawrence alumni and former/retired faculty/staff. They do now have a business/entrepreneurship major, but nothing as specific as our son wants. But yes, a school with very solid academics.
2 Likes
There is anecdotal evidence that suggests coaches have a thumb on the scale at some schools.
2 Likes
I would encourage you to run the net price calculator at the most generous D3 schools and Ivies if he is good enough. Is baseball a headcount sport?
Even if Baseball is non negotiable, maybe specially so, I would prioritize fit above all else. You want to be happy if you had to stop playing for whatever reason.
3 Likes
Baseball is out of my wheelhouse, specially if we are talking D2/NAIA, but I agree that the answer to those questions would help.
I remember at one son’s high school graduation the class president said “There’s good grades, and good social life, and sleep. You can have two, but not all three”.
I think that’s the situation here. There’s baseball, under budget, and academics in line with your son’s grades/score. You can have two, but three is almost impossible.
3 Likes
This is probably true, but it probably comes down to how good the player is (for the school) and how much the budget is a need vs a want. Few will make a career of their sport. I’d make sure academics is in the mix.
1 Like
I don’t agree with your son’s class president, and I don’t agree with you.
Sleep, good grades, and a good social life are all perfectly compatible —unless your definition of a good social life is staying up all night partying, I guess.
Likewise, baseball, under budget, and strong academics are also perfectly compatible– unless your definition of “academics in line with your son’s grades/score” includes only highly rejective LACs in the Northeast.
Maybe the difference in perspective is regional? As an example, I have 3 friends who graduated from Lawrence in WI. One is an award-winning physician leader, another is a successful attorney in Manhattan (who continues to win athletic events in the Masters division of their sport), and the 3rd is a successful academic geologist. Each had their pick of grad schools, and jobs afterwards.
The schools in the Midwest are quietly strong. Don’t let the lack of snobbery fool you.
2 Likes
My husband and I really appreciate your comments, fiftyfity1, and your careful read of and reflection on the original post. (I don’t want to self-identify myself or my kid, so I’ve had to be pretty careful in my responses.) Our son is pretty clear that he isn’t seeking a highly rejective LAC in the Northeast, and that’s fine with us. He also isn’t interested in going south, for a variety of valid reasons. We agree that there are plenty of very solid academic opportunities in the midwest and we know plenty of very successful folks who attended non-selective state institutions or “no name” privates. We aren’t jumping on the “our kid is National Merit and will go anywhere it’s free, heck he might even pocket some money” train but we do know he could attend our state research university for the cost of room and board and play club baseball. But that’s not what he wants or what he needs, in our opinion as his parents. We want to help him find the right fit – where he can play baseball, not go into debt, and find classmates who are intellectually engaged. I agree with others that it’s difficult to find all three. That’s why we asked for input. It’s been great to see some of the schools he is already considering mentioned, and we’ve also been given some new ideas/perspectives to consider. Thanks, everyone!
3 Likes
@fiftyfifty1 the high school in question was one of the GLADCHEMS prep schools, and, at the time (10+years ago – things have changed for the better) what the class president said was pretty true.
Of course “you can get there from here” and it’s totally not northeastern snobbery on my part (none of my kids went to college in the northeast, lol). There are elite schools in the Midwest, and I am pretty certain it will be easier for a kid to break into finance if they’ve attended U Chicago, Wash U, Grinnell etc etc etc than if they’ve attended Gustavus Adophus, John Carroll, etc etc etc. Note I said easier, not that it’s impossible from the latter schools, just much, much more difficult.
1 Like