Did the math on your scholarship workout in your favor?

I agree with what I think your general point is, i.e. that thinking of running as a "job" for college students seldom makes financial sense. If your goal is to maximize income or minimize debt, there are many superior options, including part-time work.

More generally, the lure of scholarships often lead people to make financially irrational decisions. I'm in Canada, where university is relatively inexpensive (ballpark $5,000-$8,000 Canadian at the best universities). Many runners take partial scholarships to mediocre schools in the U.S. with a value of, say, $20,000 a year, but still end paying another $20,000 a year out of pocket. Financially and educationally, they'd have been better off staying in Canada even with no scholarship.

Of course, people aren't really making a purely financial decision. There are other reasons for pursuing running, and other reasons that the adventure of going to a far-away school on a scholarship might be appealing. But for most (though certainly not all) kids, they shouldn't kid themselves that it's a great financial deal.

Also worth noting that the same analysis can be applied to lots of other life decisions. I could have pursued other careers that would have paid more than my current one, but I'm happy with my choice. For that matter, I could be working (and making more money) right now, but I'm happier not. :)

If a kid is going to run in college they need to really love running and competing. Probably one of the things that surprised me the most when I got to college was how few of the runners actually seemed to enjoy the sport, or really follow it or care about it.

Another thing was the turn over rate. We had a pretty high turnover rate on the team and often the reason the guys gave for quitting was that "it wasn't worth it." Nothing to do with training, or poor racing, it was the time vs money thing they cited (I realize they were probably looking for an excuse.)

Besides having the performances, if I were recruiting one of the top things on my lists would be love of the sport. If you don't love it you won't put up with the time commitment it requires.

As a canadian we didnt get athletic scholarships back home. I was fortunate enough to earn a D1 scholarship for tuition (out of state) and books. We would practice 8-12 hours a week. Add to that the many hours travelling and competing during the months of december through may. I think it would be close, depending on the job if you are talking dollars. Being a varsity athlete also added significantly to the college experience, like joining a frat might for some, you have to consider and offset that.

For me it was totally worth it, and had i not earned a scholarship i wouldve walked on and ran for free or stayed home and competed in canada for free. Not to be a jerk, but the questions you are asking did t even enter my mind as I loved the sport.