Financial Aid for Student Athletes   We've all heard the stories of the athlete who got a "full ride" athletic scholarship while the reality is that few athletes receive that level of funding.  This is but one of many misperceptions of athletic scholarships.    Financial Aid for college students is comprised of a number of elements:    The average cost of a four-year college experience has increased dramatically during the past 10 years, and financial aid is becoming a hot topic in the college search for athletes. The starting point for financial aid is the cost of one year of college and what each source of funding can provide. Most colleges use the FAFSA (www.studentaid.ed.gov) to determine how much you and your family can be expected to provide. The difference between the cost and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is covered in a variety of ways both need based and merit based. In addition to need based funding, there are merit based sources of funding.  University grants are  offered to draw more students to that college.  Athletic scholarships are in this group. After consideration of need, and merit, each college compiles a Student Aid Report, in effect an offer of funding package that pulls together grants, loans, employment, and for some, athletic scholarships.  The process varies widely from college to college, and it is not unlikely that an "expensive" college might wind up costing less than a public institution. Your goal is to get the best education you can for the least amount of money possible.  The process is complex, and it requires self-discipline to stay calm and examine each financial aid offer carefully. More Information There is a great deal of information on the internet.  There are also many sites that offer to help you find scholarships, or to get recruited.  Read those with some care.  While some may be very good, the reality is that there is no substitute for putting your skills in front of coaches from the colleges you wish to attend.     Listed below are several links to links, books, and articles which offer helpful  information.        D1 NCAA Scholarship Toolkit     D2 NCAA Scholarship Toolkit    D3 NCAA    US Lacrosse Player's Recruiting Guide    Join the Inside Lacrosse Recruiting Forum    What is an Athletic Scholarship?    Colleges and coaches must follow a very specific set of rules and regulations to be compliant with NCAA standards. Their goal is to get the best players possible with the funding they have available.  Four-year scholarship - a full ride, the most coveted athletic scholarship.  Full one-year renewable contract - your scholarship is automatically renewed at the end of the school year if you've met the conditions of the contract. Not only must you maintain a proper grade point, you may also be held to behavioral standards.  One-year trial grant - this is offered as a full or partial scholarship and involves a verbal agreement between the student and the school that the grant will be renewed at the end of the school year if the student's academic and athletic performance are considered satisfactory by the school.    Partial scholarship - this college money pays for any part of the student's college costs, such as tuition.   Waiver of out-of-state fees - this allows out-of-state applicants to complete their college program for the same cost as an in-state student. Each division of college sports (D1, D2, D3) has a maximum number of scholarships they may award measured as either head count or dollar equivalency.  The top Division (D1) schools are allowed to award a maximum of 12.6 scholarships, 11.8 to D2 and 0 to D3.  These are generally converted to dollar amounts to split among players so there may be a wide range of funding among players on a given team.    Who Decides Who Gets What? The "who" is the only easy part of this.  A coach is given a budget and must maximize this within the NCAA rules and the funding provided by his college or university.  The process for this might seem quite straightforward, but it is anything but.  Many factors complicate this situation.     First, not every program is given full scholarship support for each given sport.  So your chances of athletic based support at one school might be reduced if their program is accorded fewer than the maximum number of scholarships by its college or university. Recent figures indicate that only 35 programs have their full allotment of scholarships.      Secondly, in a process more complicated than the tax code, need based aid is often counted with athletic support against a program's total athletic support count which may limit available aid.  For example, if a D1 program which has a per student cost of $50,000 has its full allocation of 12.6 scholarships it has a total of $630,000 to spread across its players in four classes. This yields an average amount of $16,000 per player.     This might sound pretty good but for the fact that financial aid granted the student counts against the $630,000 ceiling.  Thus the total packages for players cannot exceed the maximum amount.  It is quite possible that a player could receive a half scholarship of $25,000 per year and still have to pay the remaining $25,000 to attend.       By contrast, a student with a high need might receive a financial aid package of significantly more than $25,000 and be advantaged by taking the financial aid package over the athletic scholarship.    Thirdly, the scholarship level is based on all athletes across the four year program, so a coach may have a greater or lesser amount of funding available for any given incoming class.     Additionally, some D3 schools have broad latitude in defining need and merit based college support, so while no athletic scholarships may be available, significant support may still make playing at this level an attractive financial situation.   It should be noted that there are 216 D3 programs compared to about 123 D1 and D2 programs combined.      Finally, financial aid availability may change as student athletes may leave a team, not have funding renewed or receive reduced or increased amounts over their time in college.      How Do Athletes and Families Figure It Out?    The good news is that the variety in funding at each school means that being informed advantages you.  Here are some tips to help you make the most of this situation.     1. The most common "athletic scholarship" is the boost that your athletic skills give you in being admitted ahead of students with similar academic records but who are not recruited athletes. This may allow you to consider schools which otherwise might be out of reach academically.     Some experts feel that recruited athletes enjoy as much as a 30% advantage in gaining admission, and that this advantage even increases at the more highly selective schools.   At the same time, no matter how good an athlete you are grades matter, SAT/ACT matter, and you must be admitted and succeed academically to continue to be scholarship eligible.    2.  Be informed!  After you've chosen the colleges that suit your personality and goals, contact the coach.  Provide him with sufficient information to consider recruiting you. Once he indicates he is interested in your attending his college you have a series of questions: Am I recruitable by your school? Am I a scholarship candidate? What is your program budget? Are you fully funded with scholarships? Will you consider me for Early Decision I? Then What? COMPARE OFFERS  Each school interested in you will create a financial aid package offering proposing a combination of funding sources to make up the cost of attending their college or university.  They may include athletic aid, loan, need based aid, work study, tuition waivers and government grants.  At the bottom line is the EFC, Expected Family Contribution, the amount your family is expected to contribute directly.       Every part of this package is significant as you consider your future athletic, academic, and financial goals.   Examine each offer carefully.  How secure is each amount?  Some grants may be contingent on achieving certain grades each term.  Most athletic support is year to year.  What happens if you are injured and unable to continue?  Some may be in the form of loans to be paid back.  Can you play a sport and carry work study scheduling?  What is the total amount to be carried as loans?  Does it carry interest or not?  And of course, what is the amount that you and your family must pay directly?    Be ready to be surprised.  You may find that the total financial aid package from a D3 school of need based aid guaranteed for four years may be a more attractive package than a year to year amount from a D1 school.     ASK QUESTIONS. Take nothing for granted.  Call the coach and ask detailed questions.  What if..?  and be sure that the final package is documented.     NEGOTIATE.   If you have multiple offers, coaches may be willing to sweeten the offer to you to get you to sign with their program.  Don't be afraid to respectfully ask if your choice college is a bit less than other offers.        All recruiting begins with a coach seeing a player performing at an outstanding level.  Join us at Blue Chip 225 for our 2015 Rising Senior, Rising Junior, Rising Sophomore or our NEW Rising Freshmen Recruiting Showcase at our new home at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  We hope that these tips are helpful to you as you plan your path to college.   Ted Spencer