What is a good scholarship?

[Greenmonsters]

It's a good question, and hard to answer. When I talk with students on why they chose MSU, the variety of answers is stunning and amusing:

1) my boyfriend/girlfriend goes here
2) I wanted to get away from my parents
3) I wanted to be close to home
4) I've always liked MSU
5) the football/basketball team is good
6) my sibling liked it here
7) they gave me the most money
8) academics
9) I like being in an urban environment
10) I like bringing a rural environment
11) I wanted a big school
12) I wanted a small school
13) I liked the campus
14) I liked the dorms
15) I hear its a party school
16)I hear its not a party school


Academics should be the driving force, but understand that unless your DD or son is going either to an elite Ivy League school, or some prestigious public school like Michigan, most schools are academically adequate and fairly similar. Caveat: some schools have a speciality program that may be unique.

But to pretend that most 18 year olds know what they want to study is a bit silly, and that they will stick with the program of study is a hope and a prayer. My DD has already gone from sports management to journalism in one academic year.

Choosing a school is really a crap shoot, and there is no one way, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. Good luck.

Seems you don't put much value in doing homework. Just flip a coin and hope you get lucky. Nice advice, prof.

 

[AimHigh]

What are you babbling about?

 

[AimHigh]

Seems you don't put much value in doing homework. Just flip a coin and hope you get lucky. Nice advice, prof.

Choosing a school is a crapshoot whether you like it or not. Let me know about your experience as a professor and working with thousands of students and how confused and uncertain they are about why they did what they did. You can either be real or Pollyanna, your choice.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Choosing a school is a crapshoot whether you like it or not. Let me know about your experience as a professor and working with thousands of students and how confused and uncertain they are about why they did what they did. You can either be real or Pollyanna, your choice.

I agree that many will change their minds and end up studying something other than their original intended major. While its never guaranteed, I still believe that taking the time to evaluate their interests and read about and visit schools improves the odds to better than a craphshoot that the school they choose offers them those options.

 

[AimHigh]

I agree that many will change their minds and end up studying something other than their original intended major. While its never guaranteed, I still believe that taking the time to evaluate their interests and read about and visit schools improves the odds to better than a craphshoot that the school they choose offers them those options.

Of course you should do your due diligence, make visits and ask questions, we did that and I understand the college landscape very well. But, in spite of that, your chances of finding a good fit are still a bit dependent upon luck. Not only do students change majors several times, but 33% of all students will transfer at least once, and only 60% will graduate with their cohort. So while homework is good and necessary, it still remains a crapshoot, like it or not.

 

[chinamigarden]

I am a professor at a big 10 university. Very few 18 year olds know what they want to study. The average student changes majors 3 or 4 times. While it sounds good in theory to find the college you want based upon your perceived course of study, it rarely works out in reality. It amuses me when many give the advice to each other, and to potential student athletes, to make a decision based upon academics. Come work with a bunch of college freshman and see how that plays out.

If people didn't use academics as a reason for going to a school, regardless of how its being paid for, then Big Ten schools would have no one but athletes and 3rd/4th year students.. After all if UofM or MSU are not worth going to as a freshman only on the merits of academics (after all a freshman is going to change majors) why go to anything other then a community college for the first 2 years. After all the academics don't really matter.

 

[chinamigarden]

It's a good question, and hard to answer. When I talk with students on why they chose MSU, the variety of answers is stunning and amusing:

1) my boyfriend/girlfriend goes here
2) I wanted to get away from my parents
3) I wanted to be close to home
4) I've always liked MSU
5) the football/basketball team is good
6) my sibling liked it here
7) they gave me the most money
8) academics
9) I like being in an urban environment
10) I like bringing a rural environment
11) I wanted a big school
12) I wanted a small school
13) I liked the campus
14) I liked the dorms
15) I hear its a party school
16)I hear its not a party school


Academics should be the driving force, but understand that unless your DD or son is going either to an elite Ivy League school, or some prestigious public school like Michigan, most schools are academically adequate and fairly similar. Caveat: some schools have a speciality program that may be unique.

But to pretend that most 18 year olds know what they want to study is a bit silly, and that they will stick with the program of study is a hope and a prayer. My DD has already gone from sports management to journalism in one academic year.

Choosing a school is really a crap shoot, and there is no one way, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. Good luck.

Come on everyone knows the #1 reason a student choses MSU is that the University of Michigan didn't accept them.

 

[splinterpicker]

I love softball and am kind of a fanantic. We are in the scholarship circus also and I am concerned if its the right thing to do. When did it change from coaching kids to coaching college prospects. High school in some circles is compared to rec ball and not even worthy of being apart of. I have witnessed parents moaning about stats being incorrect or not getting enough press in the paper. Rec ball coaches worried about how many games they win instead of how many kids got better. My dd will go to college either way for now she is playing the game because it is fun.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Of course you should do your due diligence, make visits and ask questions, we did that and I understand the college landscape very well. But, in spite of that, your chances of finding a good fit are still a bit dependent upon luck. Not only do students change majors several times, but 33% of all students will transfer at least once, and only 60% will graduate with their cohort. So while homework is good and necessary, it still remains a crapshoot, like it or not.

I like the odds you reference much better than a crapshoot - you must not be in the math dept - LOL! Apples and oranges, but the first year retention and 4 and 5 yr graduation rates are much higher at a number of smaller, private schools that have large endowments. A lot are D3s and academics pay a significant part of the bill for many students and student/athletes, mine included.

 

[Eric]

I've been away from here for awhile. Felt I may able to add something to this topic.
DD is a senior. I was hoping she would get 1 offer. She ended up with 8. Just got another one this past week. At first she wanted to go to a big D1 school, then learned that softball pretty much came first. Not with all D1's, but most. She also wanted to play down south, get away from the north. She did get a offer from the first school of choice, mid major D1. Wasn't a lot. First D2 that offered her something, is the school she ended up going with. She commited prior to last summer. 6 schools came knocking during and after the summer. No offer was close to the first D2 offer.
1 of the top D2 schools made her an offer, it was nothing close to what she is getting.
I let her make the choice, she just said this week, she is happy with the school she is going to, might not be the best softball team in D2, but it is one of the best in what she wants to major in, has everything she likes. She decided she didn't want the big school atmosphere. Of the numerous trips we made, she ended up likeing the smaller schools. Her freshman year, it's costing us about 10% of the tuition. Between athletic and academic money, you can't beat that.
Unless your DD is set on a certain school, my philosophy was and is, go to a school that you can get your education, and have as little amount owed in loans, after she graduates.
Most kids go to school their freshman year, wanting to major in something, yes they do change their minds. But they still need to pick a school based on their intended major. For very few girls, after they graduate, will they ever play again

The recruiting process is starting earlier and earlier every year. We went to one camp, girls that were 10-12 years old, were talking to the coach, and he knew them by name. I was surprised at the amount of younger girls were at the camp. Does that mean that if you are a junior or senior, your chances diminish?? To some degree, especially if you want to go to a big D1 school. But like I said, my DD just got a call from a D2 school, that wanted her. I'm sure some girl de-commited, and they were looking. But this school my daughter never had any contact with. Never sent them anything.
One thing I learned this past fall, I am also a coach, by their senior year, most schools are out of money for the seniors. We had 2 girls, that didn't do anything prior to this past fall. They had no offers. Both were going to stay in state and play D3. I ended up getting both of them offers. Both only were able to get academic money, the schools offered them preferred walk-ons, with the chance of getting athletic money after their freshman year. Both girls did get offers from D1 JUCOS, but they didn't want to go that far from home.
1 of our junior pitchers, commited this past January. It was a very attractive offer, and she took it. The school specializes in her intended major. 4 other schools wanted her. This school was the school she wanted to go to, so she took it.
One important thing to remember, especially for the younger girls that can still have control over this. The better the grades, the higher the ACT and PSAT scores they have, gets them more academic money, which lessons the amount of athletic money the school has to give or offer.
Grades cost my DD a full ride. Her grades are not terrible, just not over a 3.5 with a ACT over 27

I wish you all the best of luck. It was all very nerve racking, but I actually miss it. This summer will be a summer, where dad doesn't have to worry about every error or strikeout, making a bad impression on the coach. Even though both of those doesn't play that much in a coaches decision. We all still think that way. Actually the coach is looking at how the girls handle the errors, the strikeouts, to see what type of charactor they do have.
A big part of me can't wait until the summer is over, so I can watch her play in college.

Good luck!!