Question about scholarships

I say if you can earn both, then darnit, you better get both.

I had both myself.

I would have flipped bricks if the coach told me, "Hey you already earned an academic scholarship, so can we not give you any money?"

However, I would not be surprised if D3 athletes (D3 schools cannot give athletic scholarships) got "academic scholarships".

Mover wrote:

However, I would not be surprised if D3 athletes (D3 schools cannot give athletic scholarships) got "academic scholarships".

Yeah, I had a D3 school I was looking at offer me a "Leadership Scholarship" which was completely bogus. I did a couple of other things in high school other than sports, but in no way did I deserve such a thing. I would have been their No. 1 runner from day one. I opted not to go there.

Well, here's why I'm asking this question. My kids are getting closer and closer to college, and so I see what other kids a couple years older than they are are getting.We have friends who have a boy who is a senior in high school. He was in the top 10% of his class, but BARELY so. I believe he was literally 40th in his class of 400. But, he got a 33 on the ACT. He got a full ride academic scholarship to Ohio State. Not the best school on the planet, but damn a full ride is a full ride.I am hopeful that my kids can go to the school of their choice (and Ohio State would not likely be it), but if they cannot, a deal like the son of our friends got would be something to seriously consider. Now, what if they are also good enough to run for Ohio State or some other D1 school? Good enough to earn scholarship money even. What happens then? I'm not saying they will be...I'm just wondering WHAT IF?

Backstretch wrote:

"Could a school offer a full-ride academic scholarship and then the runner just run on the team while not eating one of their scholarship slots? Is this a way for colleges to get around limits? Is this done? Is this curbed in some way?"

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and No.

It is done at every Division I and II institution in the country, but not with the obvious intent implied. There are fairly well stated criteria at every institution for what would qualify for an academic scholarship. If one qualifies, wonderful. If not, then one won't receive an academic scholarship.

What is most common is that, like the scholarships for track and field, academic scholarships are small, partial offers that will help, but certainly not pay for a majority of one's cost to attend.

Stanford and a few other schools do this all of the time. Its a great way of getting past the 12.5 scholarships for men's track and field.

each school has their own criteria and policies. However, no school that I know of lets you double dip and keep cash (other than federal pell grant)

teams look to maximize their athletic aid becuase it is so limited.

and the term "full ride" is thrown around too often and not clearly defined. is a full ride for academics full tuition, or does it include room and board, what about book?

The bottom line is the bottom line. What do you have to PAY?

But I can't think of a coach who is going to tell someone to turn down academic money and replace it with athletic money.

Let's say for instance you have a super star kid that runs 4:01 in the mile. Obviously he is a "full athletic scholarship talent." But if he has a 4.0 and a 32 ACT, then some school may pay for his full tuition with an academic award. The coach could then cover room board and books. SO HE PAYS ZERO. But he isn't on a full athletic scholarship. He may only count as .30, to .50 of a scholarship from an athletic standpoint.

There really is no SINGLE answer. Just speak with the coaches and the universities.

Successful coaches know how to "stack" money to create the best possible financial aid package for their recruits, while at the same time saving as much of thier own money for other recruits. However, every school has different policies regarding how scholarships, grants, loans,... can be "stacked". Depending on the school's policy, some packages can allow for students to make money while in college.

This happened to me in college.

I received a full academic/leadership scholarship to a SEC school, granted by a privately endowed foundation officially associated with the school and who gives yearly several full scholarships (but not with set-in-stone requirements).

I attempted to walk on to the football team. I was good enough to make official walk-on status but not to earn a football scholarship. After reviewing the case, the athletic department informed me I would not be allowed to be on the football team because in doing so they would lose a football scholarship/needed player.

While I was a D1 head coach, our NCAA Compliance dept stressed to me that an athlete who receives "academic" scholarships from within the school must count it towards the NCAA scholarship limit of that respective sport (M = 12.5/ W = 18).

I always thought it humorous that other coaches used to get mad that XC/Track had more scholarships than most of the other sports in our school...they claimed I had 10-13 for women...I actually only had 3.5 for them - the rest were because they were really smart and I put them in Honors College for free and also used Computer Science/Engineering/Math academic scholarships to recruit and ultimately sign them...one has to stretch the money as far as you can.

See below from a quick Google search (Titleist performance Institute for Golf):

Do nonathletic scholarships count against a team’s NCAA limit?

I recommend that student-athletes apply for as many scholarships as possible. In some cases these scholarships will count against a team’s NCAA limit, and if the program is already at its maximum, the scholarship will have to be declined. In a case where the program has not yet reached its maximum, a student-athlete would be allowed and encouraged to keep an outside scholarship even if it is countable against NCAA limits. Many outside scholarships are noncountable and do not affect a team’s limit. These are generally scholarships that are available to all students and are not awarded by the institution. The NCAA and/or the school you are considering attending can tell you whether or not the scholarship is countable and whether or not you will be allowed to accept it. In no case may a player receive more scholarship money (from all sources) than his actual cost of education. Tuition, fees, books, and room and board define the cost of a full scholarship under NCAA rules.

more proof that there is no SINGLE best answer. rules change over time.

The ncaa has guidelines for "scholarships" that are given by outside entities, or from within universities. there are many ways for these to be exempted from a team total, but not an individual total.

so again, speak with each school, and choose the best deal for your family.

Ohio State must have some very vague criteria for Academic Scholarships - 33 on the ACT is nothing great, nor is to 10% of a class.

I'll have to doubt your friend's claim that this kid got a FULL RIDE. By the way, what are his times? There sure aren't a ton of FULL RIDE D1 track scholarships!

Scores more wrote:

Ohio State must have some very vague criteria for Academic Scholarships - 33 on the ACT is nothing great, nor is to 10% of a class.

I'll have to doubt your friend's claim that this kid got a FULL RIDE. By the way, what are his times? There sure aren't a ton of FULL RIDE D1 track scholarships!

Dude, 33 is the 99th percentile. Nothing great? That's laughable.

FL runner wrote:

While I was a D1 head coach, our NCAA Compliance dept stressed to me that an athlete who receives "academic" scholarships from within the school must count it towards the NCAA scholarship limit of that respective sport (M = 12.5/ W = 18).

Are you sure? It might have been different in my day, but when I was applying to college I got a ~3/4 academic (I don't remember the exact amount) scholarship to a school that I wanted me to come run there, and I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't have wasted a scholarship spot on me.

I think it was ESPN that had a feature article about how the Ivy League could become a bigger force in NCAA sports because they offer so much in academic scholarships. They don't offer athletic scholarships but it is such a huge net of students who qualify for academic scholarships that they get some great athletes who can afford to attend.

Also, one of Oregon's runners. Guyota? Apparently could have earned an athletic scholarship, but received financial aid for academics that could pay for his school twice over. So he didn't take the athletic scholarship and yes, Oregon was able to retain that schollie to offer someone else even as he was running on the team.

Of course one thing to keep in mind is that the athlete is then beholden to the requirements of the academic scholarship. If he has a big project or test for a class during the NCAA meet he is free to sit out and his coaches and teammates are obligated to accept it if not applaud it.

dontflushwhileyousit wrote:

Scores more wrote:

Ohio State must have some very vague criteria for Academic Scholarships - 33 on the ACT is nothing great, nor is to 10% of a class.

I'll have to doubt your friend's claim that this kid got a FULL RIDE. By the way, what are his times? There sure aren't a ton of FULL RIDE D1 track scholarships!

Dude, 33 is the 99th percentile. Nothing great? That's laughable.

Doh! Sorry...read that one wrong..33 is damn good...anyway, what times has this kid run Flagpole?

My vote would be to eliminate athletic scholarships entirely

Use the freed up money for academic scholarships.

Wouldn't that be better? Really? Sorry. Ole Miss tailgaters, you lose.

And no more big football coaches getting paid millions of taxpayer dollars. Which really ticks me off.

shane battier was on a full academic scholarship while playing bball at Duke.

You are wrong on that, maybe it used to be like that. Ivy league schools DO NOT offer merit based scholarships only needs based scholarships. If you are upper middle class with an extremely smart kid who wants to go ivy you will have to pay.

If the outside scholarship is academic and the student meets criteria set to make sure they actually deserve an academic scholarship, i. e. they have a 3.5gpa, then it does not count against the teams scholarships. If someone does not have a 3.5 or the scholarship is athletic based then it does count against the teams total scholarships.