Sorry if this has been answered in this thread, but do walkons get the same benefits (non-financial) as players with athletic scholly money? Things like access to trainer, rehab injuries, equipment?
JUCO: The player may not be happy there, either athletically or academically.
The coaches tend to be retired people with little experience in playing softball or coaching because no one else will take the pay. They also have issues attracting pitchers (someone posted in another thread that a D1 player quit her team due to poor pitching so you can imagine being JUCO.) If there is an automatic transfer into the D1, I hear some baseball players take the route, but the quality in JUCO baseball is way above softball.
At our JUCO, a loud mouth parent of a pitcher is now the coach--just from being the former (never coached a day in his life). Yikes, he is so annoying with his NY accent (I can say that now, with family there), the games are comedic.
One D2 School said they have very little money for softball but are extremely aggressive on academic. This school was so inexpensive I could put it on my credit card LOL. Another D1 school said it was mostly used on pitchers.Was there any indication they were talking about specific HS grad years or was it in general? Were these schools D-I or D-II? D-II's only have 7.2 scholarships to work with - at most. Not all programs are fully funded, so they may be working with less than the NCAA max.
Out-of-state tuition waivers count against the athletic scholarship limit if it is awarded based in any degree on athletics ability. Waivers that are available to athletes and non-athletes alike would be exempt. If they really are giving waivers preferentially to athletes, they may not be fully funded and the school doesn't count those waivers against their scholarship budget.
Being patient is the hard part for sure. DD's former teammate got a D1 Scholarship the spring of her senior year and she really could only hit.Keep looking and take your time. I know it is hard to see when you are deep into it, but there really is time. Rising Stars was just in my backyard last weekend and I was told there was a lot of interest and active recruiting of uncommitted upper class players.
Some teams are going to explore seeing if they can get your DD for nothing (which is great for them) but may come back with something better when it is clear there is a lot of interest elsewhere or even next year as their rosters turn over. And there is nothing wrong with you saying that is the case (i.e. "You say you can offer nothing, but we already have colleges that are showing they can cover a substantial amount. If you are really interested in having me play here, what can you really do to help me out.").
Consider the whole scholarship offer and what your DD is willing to do. Academic money is as good as athletic money. There are also many, many other programs/endowments/etc you can seek out and find. There are some weird ones out there (one girl I know is getting $5,000 per year for the sole reason she owns a foreign passport and there is some private endowment for that at the college she attends)
Different to OLIF's view, we have found good, non-committed Seniors who are willing to wait it out, are able to get better offers as college teams realize they need a XXX for next season. It can be stressful, but if she can play she will find a home. We had several players end up in colleges where they were recent coaching changes as well as many who ended up on teams on teams that had some major injury issues. Open up the divisions and what colleges to consider as well - the top half of NAIA colleges can be excellent places to land to play and offer some great educational programs. JUCO's are great options as well - it might not be as prestigious but you get a chance to play, improve and then transfer with 2 years eligibility left to a 4-year school.
Don't know where you are located, but we have had success with girls who attended this individual showcase with mid-level college recruiting for universities most Florida girls would never have considered (or heard of in some cases): USA Elite November Showcase If you have interest PM me and I can help as I know the people who run this event pretty well now.
According to Harvard's Fact Sheet (click here):... It is true that tuition is 100% need based. There are no merit based or athletic scholarships. I am suspicious of the "need based" scale, as the Ivys seem to be becoming more competitive in basketball and hockey (and sometimes football, but they're not quite there yet). ...
No problem Indiana, I like to post how affordable the Ivies are because many/most people aren't aware and write them off when they hear there are no athletic scholarships.
I subscribe to the philosophy of using softball to get a better education than you'd get without it. Softball can do it by providing the financial means (i.e. athletic scholarship) and/or getting accepted into the school (e.g. Ivy).
There's a great website: Home | Tier One Athletics which goes into the nuts and bolts of playing your sport at an Ivy League school. Minimum requirements are a 3.5 unweighted GPA and a 30 on the ACT (2000 SAT? I'm not sure, but the website will say). The Ivy's won't make decisions until the end of Junior year. They need the GPA and the test scores before they can send out a "likely letter" confirming your "very likely" spot at the school and with the team. It is true that tuition is 100% need based. There are no merit based or athletic scholarships. I am suspicious of the "need based" scale, as the Ivys seem to be becoming more competitive in basketball and hockey (and sometimes football, but they're not quite there yet). There is wiggle room, the coach just needs to be able to sell you to the admissions department. This will depend on your grades, the sport's pull at the school, and how high you are on the coach's wishlist of players.