I can tell you not at Harvard. I know first hand because I know a coach personally and he explained in detail how the system worked (my son was a potential athlete too).
Yes I think Amherst would match regarding soccer level since it is a D3 school.
For what itâs worth, I think OP should target NESCAC rather than the Ivy league and I donât see a âHarvardâ profile at all - although I have no idea how 1.8 Gymnaisum translates on the AI but Iâm pretty sure itâs borderline for an athlete.
OP could come back and explain in what ways theyâre the most amazing applicant from Germany this year as far as they know. 
@Julszy04: donât look at divisions, they donât mean the same thing in the US collegiate system as they do in Europe. Actually go look at the soccer teamâs page and look at games, videos, etc.
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I was actually in contact with somebody that was an athlete (not soccer) at Harvard and only had a gpa of 3.7 and 1300 sat, he told me some teammates also got in only with a 3.5 but higher SAT
As a D3 school, you wonât get any funding for your athletic prowess. That said, they might give you more for academics and/or financial need to get you there as an athlete. One of the young men I coached ended up at a D3 and essentially paid nothing. He had a D1 offer but couldnât afford it.
They could have been legacy students. That makes a big difference at Harvard.
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Could be but relatively unlikely
@Julszy04 : Consider Claremont McKenna College in California since you like business, political science, and economics.
Although Claremont McKenna College (CMC) has only 1,350 students, CMC is part of a 5 school consortium (Pomona, CMC, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, & Scripps) in southern California.
CMC will appreciate your athletic talent in soccer. It may be the perfect school for you as itâs academic focus is on economics, government, international relations, and EEP (environment, economics, and politics).
OP doesnât need a partial D1 scholarship so âfunding for athletic prowessâ doesnât matter. Need-based D3 is actually better for lower income students - like the young man you coached who couldnât afford the D1 offer but played D3 for the need-based full ride.
@Julszy04 : a 1.8 is borderline for a recruited athlete in the Ivy League however no harm in contacting coaches at a few schools once you have athletic stats and a video.
I would however focus on NESCAC (âlittle Iviesâ). The main downside is that the weather isnât good (historically, elite schools were in New England, where thereâs cold and snow) and theyâre small. Theyâre likely the best combination of high-level academics/prestige/financial aid.
The Claremonts would be interesting too, since put together theyâre rather large (5,000 to 7,000 together), have nice weather (minus wildfires in the Fall) and California has excellent soccer. However, for that reason, depending on your level, they may not be that interested since they have lots of talent. The Claremonts include: HarveyMudd (College of Engineering), Scripps (Womenâs college), CMC (Economics&Government), Pitzer (Politics, Social Science, Social Justice), and Pomona (highly intellectual, traditional majors from Math to English).
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The highly selective schools with big endowments give very generous financial aid, if your family income qualifies you. Your grades are good enough, and your SAT is great, so if a highly selective private school with a good endowment wants you, youâll probably get your best fin aid package from them - and once youâre in, if you have to stop playing soccer, youâre still there, with great fin aid. Honestly, as a recruited soccer player, you would have a pretty good chance of getting into a highly selective private college or LAC.
Is there any way that you could get to a summer âexhibitionâ type program for soccer in the US? That way, school coaches could see you. Otherwise, could you get help in making a video that shows off your skills?
Assuming itâs neads based FA. Remember NCAA limits soccer scholarships to 9.9 per year for the whole team and all athletic scholarships have to be renewed every year. If the OP quits playing and they have a full or more likely partial athletic scholarship, that money goes away.
Itâs VERY hard to get significant aid from soccer in the US. I say that as someone who coached the best player in the state who left to join a residential MLS development program. He ended up with a great, free education, but none of the money was from soccer.
Heâs a US citizen from what sounds like a family of very modest means. Most highly selective schools would meet full need. He wouldnât get into most of them with that 3.5, top 15% of his class GPA - but as a recruited athlete, he WOULD get in, because his grades are good enough, and his SAT is very good. High school soccer players from countries where soccer is very popular often are better players than US players, but theyâre not usually also US citizens. So if heâs that good, and can just come to the attention of the coaches for highly academically selective schools, he has a really good chance of getting in as a recruited athlete . And once heâs in, and qualifies for decent financial aid, heâs set, no matter whether he gets injured or quits playing, or not.
He shouldnât be looking for a full soccer scholarship to a soccer powerhouse school. He needs admission to a highly academically selective school, which meets admitted studentsâ financial need, and the soccer could very well be the âspikeâ for him, that gets him in.
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Thatâs the approach Iâd take, a very good D3 program where the education is great and the athletics arenât as time demanding. Thatâs all presuming the number quoted is the amount the OPâs family can pay, and not just what theyâre willing to pay. Without a real FAFSA number, weâre only speculating.
Thatâs why I asked Op to run the NPC on Amherst and Yale - since those only offer FA and are generous, it shows whether his best FA offer is sufficient and he said it was very good.
OP has mentioned being lower income, which means Pell level (because salaries are different in the Us and the EU, Pell grants match solidly middle class European familiesâ income). That established OP will find affordable opportunities at the NESCAC or non D1 level.
Recruitable European players enrolled in âprep schoolâ (Gymnasium, liceo, lycĂ©e, athĂ©nĂ©e, etc) where they have high grades are rare as most are enrolled in technical or vocational programs or for the minority enrolled in academic programs (think IB) have marginal grades. On top of it, OP is a US citizen which means he has access to federal aid and the college gets to report one more Pell student.
So, OPs best bet is NOT D1 since D1 univwouls nor be affordable on a partial scholarship. Football (soccer) would be his spike for a generous meet need school.
That makes his strategy two-fold: merit at some schools based on his weighted gpa+score (UAlabama, Arizona State, Miami OhioâŠ); using soccer to be a recruited athlete at colleges where his 1.8 will be sufficient and where they offer generous need based FA.
However applying to UNC CH, Vanderbilt, etc. only would likely result in his being shut out since his 1.8 isnât really competitive for them and soccer cannot be used as an âinâ (barring further proof that OP is a national ranked elite athlete near national youth team level).
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I can add a bit of color with regards to soccer recruiting. One, Amherstâs puts an emphasis on underrepresented minorities in their recruiting, so if OP is one that will help. Two, besides NESCAC schools, the OP might consider Washington and Lee. They rank about #10 nationally for soccer, with a decent chance at the national title, they have elite academics and very generous financial aid. Their incoming class of recruits has a player from Croatia.
I know Amherst has a pipeline to British players. I believe there are agents (for lack of a better word) in Europe that help soccer players find college places. I know thereâs a man (former coach) in the US that places international players, but I donât know what he would charge. (On the one hand OP might not need someone like him, but on the other hand this guy is very well connected and could make the process much easier). His company is called Futbol Goals. (https://futbolgoals.us/)
OP, google some highlight videos of high school players on YouTube. Also, have a full game to send them, against a strong team. If the highlight video interests them, they will want to see you for a full game.
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Just weighing in here because I want to make sure we all have a good sense of OPâs EFC and NPC results. NPC results are only as good as the information entered, and it can be tricky for internationals/US citizens living abroad. It concerned me when OP said the U Wisconsin NPC looked affordableâŠbecause it shouldnât be affordable.
OP, have your parents helped you when entering all of the info on the NPCs, including currency conversions, salaries, savings, investments, retirement contributions (as appropriate)?
NPCs may not be accurate in cases where the parents are divorced, own a business, or own real estate beyond a primary home. Are any of these factors a part of your situation OP?
If you can afford only $10,000 a year for college, I would strongly suggest you look at University of Alabama, University of New Mexico, ArizonaâŠ.where you might hit that price point with their merit aid plus the federally funded direct loan.
Are your parents U.S. citizens?
You say they can afford about $10,000 a yearâŠBUT if you are looking for need based aid, this will be based on their income and assets, not on what they think they can pay.
You really really need to build your list from the bottom up. Find schools where you have a very realistic chance of acceptance, that will be affordable, and that you would be happy to attend. Find two of these. Do this first.
You have some good strengths in your application information posted hereâŠ.but picking schools with under 20% acceptance rates only can be a recipe for disappointment.
@MYOS1634 @Mwfan1921 should this kid look into questbridgeâŠif they are really low income?
Well then apply to these two schools but understand that their acceptance rate is in the single digits.
Please donât take the results of the net price calculators for Yale and Amherst and think that net cost will be what you pay at all U.S. colleges. These two schools have very deep pockets, very generous need based aid. That is not the case at other colleges.
Remember tooâŠthe NPCs are currently set up for students entering college in fall 2021. That is not you. You need to run these again later summer if your last year of high school.
Iâm also concerned that the numbers you get wonât be accurate. The net price calculators are set up for U.S. income earned in the U.S. They are not set up for internationally earned income.
Are your parents U.S. citizens?
Questbridge could be an option if low income (say EFC $10K or less)âŠbut GPA is on the low side. It would be helpful if OP answers my questions in my previous postâŠU Wisconsin NPC shouldnât be close to affordable for this poster.
^Thatâs a good question.
@Julszy04 : do your parents make 65K or under (I would think so since thatâd be pretty high in Europe, not âlow incomeâ)?
Did you calculate your EFC (I provided a link above, please use it) and if so what is it?
Because thereâs a program in the US that helps lower income, gifted students get full rides at elite colleges but there are strict income eligibility/EFC requirements. This is information we need to guide you.
Are your parents divorced? Do they own a farm or a business?
^Those 2 elements mess up the NPCs.
NPCs do give a good idea of what the costs would be, generally speaking.
The UWisconsin result gives me pause but itâs quite possible OP didnât check ânon residentâ/âOOSâ. Itâs an easy mistake to make and doesnât invalidate the Amherst/Yale results (ie., that the most generous colleges would be very affordable, so thereâs a range of need-based aid OP can go for.)
Also, please indicate what your LeistungkĂŒrsen are and what youâd like to study (I think I saw something from a poster, along the lines of political science/government/economics, but not sure you indicated this anywhere for sure). Some majors are more competitive than others.