What if a Recruited, Admitted Player CANNOT afford the tuition?

[girliesmom]

My daughter and I have had numerous discussions about this lately and it's weighing heavily on both of us. We're not overly concerned about her getting admitted into a top college, she will get in (even some of the top ones - yes, without sounding braggy, she is that good academically. That girl is crazy driven! I'm convinced that she's adopted. lol) Anyway, I digress. She's also a very good Pitcher. Has won 2 State Championships and her team came in 6th at Nationals. Has good "pointed" ECs which show her passion in the areas she's interested in. Has won several Leadership awards, etc. If I sound braggy, I'm sorry. It's not my intent. All I'm trying to say is, she'll be admitted into one of the top schools and chances are, she'll get recruited.

Her dream school is Pomona. But she's also looking at the usual elite schools - Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, etc. Yes... all top 25 ranked schools - all the schools that do not give out Merit Scholarships. (yes, we fully understand that D3 don't give out Athletic Scholarships as well).

The problem is, her dad and I, just can't afford $63K a year to send her to school. We don't qualify for Financial Aid. Although we make a good living ($185K annually - and the reason we make this much is because we live in the priciest city in North America) we don't have much savings. Cost of living in our city is insane! All of our savings is in our house. We have some money in a tax-sheltered retirement fund. We do have a $65K investment but that's about it. We are both close to retirement and even if we cashed in our investment, we'll only be able to afford 1 year of school.

Assuming that she's admitted and recruited for one of these "need-based financial aid" only schools and we can't afford to pay the tuition, what then? Do we just walk away or will any of these "need based" schools find a way to help narrow the financial gap? We're not saying we can't pay. We'll find a way to make it work ... we just can't come up with $63K annually. It's just not possible.

Outside of looking at schools that offer Merit Aid, what other options do we have? Has anyone else been down this road? We do have some time before she goes to College. The sooner we know what to do, the better we can plan accordingly.

Thanks for your help!

 

[teammom2]

Congrats to your daughter. She sounds like a great kid. If she were mine, I think I'd have to encourage her to apply to schools that better fit the budget/ones that better reward academics. She could take out loans but that would be a burden she would carry forever. There are a lot of schools to chose from that won't bury you financially.

 

[Cannonball]

My dd will graduate this fall with a degree in Elementary Education. While some of you might lament that that isn't the toughest degree to earn, she will graduate with zero money owed to anyone. There is a lot to be said about not having education bills after she graduates. JMHO!

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Is grad school in the plans too? If so, that is more important and the undergrad school just has to be good enough to get her into it.

Have you actually run the financial aid calculators on the schools' websites? They are typically more generous than the FAFSA calculator. For example, an Ivy League school may only cost you $28k (i.e. 15% of your $185k). Research which schools are the most generous.

Have you looked at which schools have the best program for your DD's major? Being a top school doesn't mean it's strong for that major and there may be a better option at a 'lesser' school.

Bottom line is parents have to decide how much they're willing to spend and/or go into debt to pay for college. IMO, they should also factor in what the degree is worth.

 

[YOCOACH]

Along with these other outstanding suggestions, there are government funded programs for certain majors that will pay 100% of the tuition if they choose to go that route. The only caveat is that they have to work at that position for government position/pay which is commensurate or above the national average for that position for the same number of years they paid for the schooling. I don't know what the program is, however, I do know my friend's DD went to school to become and RN and walked into a very well paid job for the next 4 years at a local hospital. She's still there and is making more than the average RN at the same hospital. This could possibly be an option. According to him, it's not based on financial need.

 

[RetiredCoach]

I know that you have a brilliant DD and want to send her to a top school but I think that you have to put this in perspective. Regardless of what school your DD attends, you will still have a brilliant DD with a wonderful future! The most important considerations may be starting your DD out in her adult life without without a ton of debt and not stressing the parents' finances who are approaching retirement.

 

[djcarter1966]

Depending on location, sounds like Northeast given school choices...don't fear public schools maybe while visiting Amherst visit UMass@Amherst also SUNY schools have good academic standing maybe visit UConn, if you are in California they have a respected state system as well...all that to say don't limit your options.

 

[JAD]

When going through the recruiting process the parents and player need to make sure they understand what their estimated out-of-pocket costs will be. It is easy to get confused and very rarely will you walk out of a meeting with the coaches with anything in hand. Therefore, it is imperative, that everyone has a clear understanding of what is, and what is not covered by any athletic, academic or merit scholarship offer.

 

[riseball]

You need to look at this as a business decision and separate yourself from the emotion. While your DD is enamored with Pomona and some of the other elite schools you need to look hard at where she will be after she graduates. While going to a premier liberal arts school may be a great experience and give her a warm fuzzy for 4 years, you need to have a realistic look at her future earning potential. It looks like this education is going to cost upward of $280K which may make sense if she will have a high future earning potential but it is a steep price to pay to become the lead Barista at Starbucks.

 

[chinamigarden]

Not to sound harsh but there are tons of great athletes who don't go to State college at all because their parents can't afford to pay $5,000 a year. Your problem is not that big of a problem, send your dd to a school you can afford.

Andrew McCutchen wrote an essay on this and he claims this is the reason that there are so few African Americans playing in MLB, the top athletes have to make a choice, go to school on a full ride basketball or football scholarship, or play baseball on a half ride. The inner city kids can't afford the half ride so they switch to a sport in 9th or 10th that will give them a full scholarship. If it wasn't for a knee injury he was about to quit baseball and would have played college football.