Scholarship negotiations

[thebes20]

This is from the Georgia forum and I thought it might be interesting:

Scholarship Negotiations
August 7 2006 at 3:54 PM Anonymous

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My daughter received two offers from similar schools, but the amounts were drastically different. The lesser offer is from the school she rather attend. Are offers typically take it or leave or is there some negotiations that are done?



Author Reply
Anonymous
yes and maybe?? August 7 2006, 9:31 PM

I thought no offers until September 1 this year???

Depends on what the coach wants and needs. This is not unusual for offers to be vastly different. Maybe the second coach realizes that he is in second for your daughter but really wants her as a player so he is willing to commit more. Remember more financial commitment on the coaches part generally, not alway to the naysayers, means he or she has more of a commitment to helping your child be succesful.

You can go back to the coach of the school that she really wants to attend and make your case. On another thought she will have to plead her case in reality. It will be difficult but you will get a feel for how much he or she really wants your daughter.

I personally think you should take a hard second look at the school that offerred more money. If they have the academic program that your daughter desires, think about the reasons that this school came in second. Are they really important in the long scheme of things? Remember you get one free transfer during your career and soccer players trigger this quite often. It is not necessarily the last college your daughter will attend and play soccer at.

We went through the same dilemma. Ended up taking the one that offerred more money after a second look and my son could not be happier. Just our experience. Not the same for everyone.


Anonymous
Re: Scholarship Negotiations August 8 2006, 5:05 AM

I've had two boys play in college and I will say the private school my son attended did more negotiating and had the ability to come up with significantly more academic $$ (combination ended up covering about about 85% of all costs).


Anonymous
A question that I have is... August 8 2006, 6:54 AM

How can you negotiate?

Can you go to school 1 with the offer details of school 2? Is that allowed or is it in bad taste. It's easy to say that another school is offering more money.


Anonymous
well August 8 2006, 2:28 PM

Your daughter in this case will have to go (can be a phone call if distance is an issue) to the coach. YOU CANNOT GO. Remember this is a fine line coaches want kids who want to go to their schools. If the case is made too hard it could come across as just bargaining. Do not bring the other offer. Have her talk to the coach of the school she sees as number 1. She just needs to lay out the facts and my guess is this:

1. I really like the college here. It has x y and z that attract me academically. It has x y and z from a soccer standpoint that make me want to play for you.

2. I have offer from another college does not have to be names that is significantly better. they offer some things I like but it comes in a distant second to your school.

3. Financially the second offer is a big deal to both me and my parents to keep debt away as I go through school so I can leave school on secure financial footing.

4. Can you help me get more academic or athletic money to come here?

Like I said above take time to verify the reason behind putting the second school second. If it is D1 vs NAIA, D2 or D3 take a real hard look and make sure that egos are put aside. The coach really wants her there and that is a huge advantage for a succesful soccer career. Girls with athletic money graduate over 80% of the time from their original college within a 4 year period. That is a big deal. Average graduation rate across the nation in under 60%.



Anonymous
The coaches talk amongst themselves and generally know August 8 2006, 7:29 AM

what college is offering what. If your player wants the first offer 'They' need to speak with the coach and say so. Coaches frown on parents acting as managers for player's careers. (You always need to oversee the details but not as the primary.) Mke the demands too high and you won't hear from them again.



Anonymous
really August 10 2006, 10:08 PM

Where did you hear that from? I just don't believe that coach's talk among themselves about specific offers. Sound a little unethical to me.



Anonymous
they sure do if the schools are located within the same conference or near by they know August 11 2006, 7:42 AM

who is being recruited and what the offer is. We had one who we were talking with say they would not play bidding wars against the other school. Just letting us know they were not going to play poker. If our player wanted to play at their school so be it if not then they were to go elsewhere. These coaches do not like peddling of the players by obnoxious parents. If the kid wants an education and to play some soccer for them great if not do not waste their time or money.

Some interesting discussion there.

Anyone who doesn't think college coaches don't talk amongst themselves about kids and offers is fooling themselves. They not only discuss those things, they call each other to alert friends at other schools about certain kids who might be a better fit elsewhere.

In terms of of negotiating a better scholarship, the upper hand in the negotiations falls to several things:

1. How much will the player help the program in question. If the player is of sufficient quality to raise the level of the college program significantly, the player is in the driver's seat.

2. What do the player's acedemics and test scores look like. If a player is coming in with an unweighted 3.9 and a 1550 SAT, the players is going to be in the driver seat in the negotiations. Essentially that player is going to have a free ride at most schools.

3. How much does the coach need the player? If the player is a strong striker, and the coach has 4 other all-conference strikers, the coach is going to have the upper hand.

4. Does the coach have a unique school? If the player is looking at a narrow major (say underwater archeology) and the coach has the only in-state option, the coach has a big bargaining chip. Especially in states where scholastic achievement is rewarded with state money, like HOPE in Georgia or Bright Futures in Florida.


There are many things that go into the art of negotiating a college scholarship. The idea that parents involvement is frowned upon is silly. Coaches want to see that the player is taking an integral part in the process, but college coaches know who is writing the checks every year. These are 17 and 18 year old kids we are talking about, and some very real, and very large financial obligations.

- Former coach

college scholarships

great info.

Negotiating with coach

I had spoke to a friend who works at a top D I football program, he gave me this advise and it worked for us. We weren't playing games, and i think our honesty came across and helped.

After we had received the first offers (for soccer) from all of the schools ( 5 schools) here is what i did.

Sat down with my son and said "you have visited all of the schools, if all the offers, made the cost of each of the schools equal, where do you feel you fit in the best as as a student first, and then playing soccer?" He told me the school. Their offer was ok (35%), but still not where we were looking to be from a financial stand point. I called the coach and told him what my son had said. I then stated we were not looking for a free ride, but we had a daughter also in College, and to make it work, i gave him a number ( just under 50%) that we would need. I then told him we had not contacted any of the other schools (he knew what other schools my son had visited).

He thanked me for being honest, and said because my son had good grades and did well on the SAT, he felt he could make that work by getting additional money for academics (he was already given some for academics). The admissions and financial aid depts from the college made it work. He told us he was happy i called him first. Good reason to tell your kids to keep the grades up.

Had it not, we would have made the call to the # 2 school.

Anyone have advice on the recruiting process?

Player's top school choices haven't made offers yet but others on the list are hinting of offers to come very soon.

2009 class... how long can you wait?

Would anyone be willing to share the frameworks of a letter they've used to send to college coaches? Just an introduction, like a cover letter that a kid can use to express their interest in a school?

There are a couple of good websites that give some sample letters. I think they are listed somewhere on this TalkingSoccer website, maybe under one of the college categories. Good info!