I think the article is great and apparently the parents thought more money was out there in swimming. The fact that the article was about swimming has nothing to do with why I think this family was not a good example. The "discuss swimming" remark was supposed to be humorous but also a sideways shot at the parents for not doing some research. Apparently I am not funny... What I was trying to say is that using a family that chose to spend the money on swimming (and apparently has it) might not be the best way to illustrate the point. If they are taking out $40K/year in loans to chase the dream at UCLA that is one thing. If they are able to pay it, good for them. I know quite a few kids whose parents pay to send them to whatever private school or out-of-state school they want to go to regardless of sports and can afford to just pay for it. The girl told the college coach that money was not the issue (may or may not be true but apparently was). If this family has mortgaged their home and mom/dad took a second job etc... just to pay for swimming and now they are sending her to UCLA on student loans, I think it would be a much better illustration of the cost and the insanity. That's all. It also appears as if this girl is a really good swimmer and UCLA wants her. Maybe there are Olympic dreams on her mind.
If she truly has a shot at being an elite swimmer, there is a better school out there (I don't know about UCLA vs VT for swimming), and mom and dad can afford it, why not? Why should anyone judge what they do and talk about getting "sucked into" the dream? The point of the article was to illustrate that when it comes to non-revenue sports there is a lot less money out there than people think. Like I said, I personally think that the story would have been illustrated better by a family that doesn't have as much to spend. Of course, the story will be entirely different if she goes to UCLA and ends up making the Olympic team.
I don't understand the potshots at D1. Why is a family somehow screwed up if they are supporting their DD who wants to play D1 softball or swim at a higher level? In this case, this girl is truly good enough to swim at the highest levels. Why should she stay close to home and swim D3?
No worries. I'm not taking potshots at D1 but in my opinion there is more to school than the sport. Why saddle the kid with a huge student loan or mortgage the house when there are cheaper options closer to home at another D1, D2 or D3 school. I used D3 as an option because with her grades and ACT score she can get a hell of an education at a very reasonable cost going to a private D3.