<p>Here is my situation:
Today I received a likely letter from Penn. I am so excited, I never taught of getting accepted.
I am also being offered a full scholarship at Northwestern. I am an athlete.
If I go to Penn then I would probably pay 10000-20000.</p>
<p>I loved the Penn coach. He put a lot of effort trying to get me admitted into Penn. I couldn’t be more grateful for everything he have done for me.
The NU coach is very nice too. At first he didn’t show a lot of interest, but now that I told him I am considering Penn, he is practically begging for my commitment. I heard that rejecting an ivy league letter is really bad(like the coach won’t even speak to me afterwards).
I like Penn a lot, but I am afraid of getting a not sufficient aid. I don’t want my family wasting so much money in an equal education.
So the question is:
How should I approach the ivy league coach if I decided to go to NU?
The worst thing is that I have to make a decision this week. Hell, I am scared!!</p>
<p>I only know enough about sports recruiting to be dangerous, however, I do know that verbal commitments are worth the paper they’re (not) written on.</p>
<p>What have you signed?</p>
<p>How are you certain of the financial commitment of NU to you? How much of it is Athletic (1 year commitment, non-renewable at coach’s choice) how much is Academic/Merit (non-revokable for poor sports performance if academic work stays above the minimum level), and how much of it is Need-Based?</p>
<p>In a perfect world, you get a 4 year Academic scholarship. Anything less than that is based on your continuing acceptable performance in your sport. You cannot quit or be dropped from the team and and still keep the sport money.</p>
<p>Why do you have to make a decision this week?</p>
<p>A likely letter doesn’t guarantee admission.</p>
<p>Tell everyone that you are honored and delighted to receive this information, but that you in all honesty must wait until all of your admissions and financial aid packages are on the table. You need to know just exactly what is covered by each package (Tuition only? Tuition and fees? Tuition, fees, housing and meal plan? Tuition, fees, housing, meal plan and books? Tuition, fees, housing, meal plan, books and personal expenses?) before you go about making this kind of commitment.</p>
<p>You really need to look out for your own best interests, and don’t worry about how other people think about it (“oh, the coach won’t like me” is not a consideration.") Always be honest, don’t play games. Ask lots of questions. Get things in writing. Get a parent, or some other person whose judgment your respect, involved in the process as a sounding board for you. As other people have noted, a LL is not an admission.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that if he were to take an athletic scholarship from Northwestern, he’d have to do it this week since Wednesday is the national signing day.</p>
<p>DunniLa: Yes, it is a full scholarship of 4 years unless I screw up big time (bad behavior while performing, jail, disrespect towards the team). NU sent me a paper stating that my stats are good enough to get this so called full scholarship. I also talked with the coach a thousand times, and yes he did told me that it is a 4 year full scholarship. It covers everything(food, tuition, books, etc) I understand exactly what you are saying, but any university will revoke my scholarship if I don’t behave as I am suppose to be. It doesn’t matter if I don’t perform well, it matters if I don’t behave. Also, if I get injured I will still keep my athletic scholarship.</p>
<p>Happymomf1: Thank you very much for helping!!
the Penn coach promised me that a likely letter is basically a 100% admittance unless I go to jail. I assume I will get that money because admission did a financial pre read.</p>
<p>Wait national signing day is feb. 2nd, i think, so wednesday. So you have two days?? wow man, thats tough. I mean NU is a big ten school…If it was me I would go NU because a) you pay $0, b) theres really no way for you to lose the scholarship unless its your own fault c) for me chicago (evanston is close enough) is cooler than pennslyvania
Are you planning on going pro? if yes, go NU. If not, then go to the place where you’ll be happy. Also, which school is offering more playing time? From what is sounds like, you want to go to NU, you just want to know how to tell the Penn coach “No.” Heck who cares what he thinks. Its your life and your doing what you think is best for YOU, not him. But please make sure to thank the coach for helping you get a “likely letter” from Penn.</p>
<p>I would go to UPenn. You only have one chance to get an Ivy League education, and you should go for it. NU is an AMAZING school, but it can’t compete with UPenn. Penn is still one of the best colleges in the country, and in terms of future careers, looks better on a resume. </p>
<p>Also, making a decision based on getting a full scholarship is not the best. I have friends who got to college, and HATED playing their sport. What if you don’t like the team or the coach at NU? Then you’ll be stuck paying everything.</p>
<p>hannah: been there done that. I went to an HYP and I still vote for OP going to full ride to NWU. If he/she were my kid, I’d be happy either way but full ride is full ride. Obviously, you’re not chucking away $ to college funds! LOL</p>
<p>Why do you care what either coach thinks about you. Tell the rejected one that you appreciate the offer and whatnot but have chosen another school. Feel free to blame finances or something like that if it makes you feel less guilty, but it really doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Go to Northwestern. It’s hardly any worse than Penn.</p>
<p>hannabanana94 sounds like an ignorant 17 year old… oh, that’s mean of me. I’m sure based on the certitude of her comments that she has studied at both NU and Penn and knows whereof she speaks.</p>
<p>Yes, because obviously mere world-wide rank #30 Northwestern simply cant compete with the godly #15 UPenn.</p>
<p>DunninLA, don’t underestimate hannabanana. She is also a recruiter. I mean she looks at job applicants all the time, and knows that the word “UPenn” on a resume blows those Northwestern resumes out of the water, for OBVIOUS reasons. I mean, c’mon, UPenn is in the Ivy League!</p>
<p>Which team would you have a better chance playing on? Depending on the sport, NU’s competition might be a lot harder than Penn’s, and you might get less playing time. NU and Penn aren’t that different in terms of reputation, (Penn is not HPY), so I would pick the school that you like the best, and that consideration includes how you would feel about not having any debt when you graduate.</p>
<p>There is more to consider here, I don’t think we have all the information that we need. Is the scholarship to NU an athletic scholarship? If so, that is for 1 year, by NCAA regulation. It may be renewed, but it is only guaranteed for 1 year. Is the OP sure that he / she will continue with the sport for all four years? If not, or if you lose your athletic scholarship, will NU be affordable or will you have to transfer to an affordable option?</p>
<p>Regarding the Ivy Likely Letter, did you commit to the coach in order to receive the Likely Letter? In most cases, Likely Letters are sought for athletes who have committed to attend and compete for an athletic team. A Likely Letter for an athlete is as solid as an acceptance letter is, carrying the same conditions for being rescinded. And yes, it is very bad form to renege on a Likely Letter. Each coach is only allotted a certain number of Likely Letters for recruits and using one on an athlete who commits then changes his mind hurts the coach and the team, as that athlete is taking a spot from another athlete. It also hurts the credibility of the athlete’s school and high school or club coach.</p>
<p>All that said, you must do what you feel is best for you.</p>
<p>Congratulations to you! Being sought out by such prestigious schools is something to be very proud of. You should do what is best for you. Don’t worry about hurting any coaches’ feelings. They are looking out for their schools (their jobs). I am not familiar with athletic scholarships, but is it possible to negotiate with Penn? You already have the Northwestern offer, so you may be able to use that with Penn. They may offer you more money and even match it.
Ivy league education is sure to open doors for you…on the other hand having no debt is definitely something to consider.
Depending on what your career plans are…I would go for Northwestern.</p>