Getting the Student Athlete to the Right College Black Hills Athletic Department Presenter; Cross Country Coach George Zelenak

Getting the Student Athlete to the Right College

Black Hills Athletic Department

Presenter;Cross Country Coach George Zelenak

Why Participate in College

Personal Financial (for some) Academic

Why Participate in College : Personal

Enjoyment Challenge Friendships / belonging Directed activity

Why Participate in College: Financial

A few will get scholarships (don’t kid your self on this one – 10 academic scholarships are awarded for every athletic scholarship – Focus on grades and the SAT.)

Employers like these graduates! Especially when combined with a good GPA!

Why Participate in College: Academic

Higher Graduation Rates– NCAA D1 Graduation Success Rate at 77%

compared to 61% for non athletes. (the GSR uses a 6 year cut off and includes transfer students)

– Personal attention and concern by the coach and staff

What we will cover

Opportunities that exist for student athletes What a student athlete can expect How to narrow down the college search How to identify and contact coaches How to track school admissions Sugessions on evaluating offers

Opportunities – about 1,300 schools

NAIA – 282 NCAA D1 – 326* NCAA D2 – 283* NCAA D3 – 423* Divisions based on schools financial

commitment, not on size of school.

*NCAA numbers are estimates based on information fromhttp://www1.ncaa.org/membership/membership_svcs/sponssummary

Opportunities – for money

NAIA – wide open – school elects what to do NCAA D1 – full rides possible NCAA D2 – limited athletic money NCAA D3 – no athletic money allowed

What to expect once there*

D1 Large scholarship – you just got a job. D1 Walk on – a job with no benefits… except

All D1 should expect great physical/medical care and dedicated academic help/guidance

D3 Club like atmosphere D2 and NAIA – could be like either D1 or D3

varies by school and by sport.*Disclaimer – not all programs at all levels are run the same. For example D1

Gonzaga – Hard Core Basketball – club like cross country.

Narrow down the college search

Understand what college will cost without athletic, or academic, scholarships

Evaluate athletic and academic abilities Determine what schools can be afforded and

how. Search on www.collegeboard.org

Understand what college costs

Sticker cost is not the total cost– Tuition– Fees– Room / board– Books– Travel– Pizza Money

Understand what college costs

Expected total cost using sticker prices– In State Public $18,000– Out of State Public $31,000– Private Low $34,000– Private High $48,000

source: www.collegemoney.com/images/News/News_8_4.pdf

Almost no one pays full Sticker

Financial Aid Formula– Five big inputs

Parents Income Parents Assets Students Income Students Assets Number in college

– One minor input Age of oldest parent

– One output Expected Family

Contribution (EFC)

Financial Aid Theory

Full Sticker (+ misc)

- EFC

= Financial Aid Award

In an ideal world all you have to pay is the EFC!

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C

PARENT STUDENT

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C

PARENT’S STUDENT’SAssets12% over API

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C


Income 22 to 47% of includible

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C



Assets 35% of all assets

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C




Income 50% over $2,440

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C

Federal Methodology Institutional Methodology





EFC Calculation Critical Step

YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN TRIAL FINANCIAL AID “TEST” TO ESTIMATE YOUR EFC – to not do so would be like buying a car on payments with out asking the price of the car, the length of the loan, or the amount of the monthly payment.

You may use one of these calculators– http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp– http://finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml

Can you change your EFC – Yes!

Monitor students income– Earn at least $2,440 a year– Put away at least half of all earnings past $2,440

for college


Adjust Students Assets– Spend down students accounts prior to FAFSA

filing Be aware of legal aspects on UTMA and UGMA Consider 529 plans - they are generally parental assets

– Spend down students accounts early in college – do not retain these assets to help “Jr. get a start on life after college”


Reduce Parent income– Sell losing investments – good time for a tax loss– Delay bonus– Self Employed / Business owner

Buy section 125 assets in December “hire” child to $2440 if they have no other income in

2006

– Examine effect of adding to retirement plans


Reduce Parent Assets – Know your asset protection allowance*

– Know what assets are not reported Retirement plans, Cash Value Life Insurance, Residence, Autos …

– Shift reportable assets in excess of protection allowance - See *http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/0607EFCFormulaGuideDecFinal.pdf

or seek assistance

Age of older parent 2 parent 1 parent

40 $39,200 $18,000

50 $50,100 $22,600

60 $66,100 $28,800


Family Members in college– It may be time for mom or dad or sibling to go

back to school The parent’s “contribution” to the EFC is

divided by the number of immediate family members in college at the same time. (Coach is glad he has twins in college (a two for one deal), and in two years he will have three in college at the same time (a three for one deal).


Small opportunity for a select few – – Generally you should file your FAFSA as close to

January 1 as possible, there may be two general reason to wait a bit.

Oldest Parent has a birthday in January – file after birthday – Asset Protection Allowance goes up a bit

You anticipate a major cash purchase in January

(really big purchase of several thousand or more)


Rerun your financial aid projection with proposed changes prior to actually making the changes. Confirm you will get the results you desire.

Help exists for completing the FAFSA– Determine what help you need and ask

EFC Calculation

BLACK BOX

EF

C

Federal Methodology Institutional Methodology



Assets 35% of all


Evaluate Athletic Ability

Check with your coach Check the stats on your sport Are you

– Elite -- top 300* in the country (or top 15* in state)– Very good --- top 50 to 100* in the state– Average– Below average

*numbers are estimates – not all sports have clear cut lines on this

Evaluate Academic Ability

Your grades and SAT scores can get you money. This varies a lot by institution. In general if your GPA is not in the top 25% of your class and/or your SAT scores are not in the 75th or better percentile you can skip this.

We will get back to this.

Best Schools to Target

Now that you are armed with your EFC and your athletic and academic ratings use this table to start your search

Elite Very Good Average Below Average

High SAT & or GPA

Low EFC Any Any, but avoid strong D1

D3, D2, NAIA

NAIA, D3 Any, Dream Big

High EFC D1 D2, NAIA,

Soft D1s

D2, NAIA

In State

In State Public

In State,

& Private

High and Low EFC is relative to you – but $16k to $18k is the range of in state public school.

Start College Search

www.collegeboard.com has a college match maker. Look under the find a college tab, or

– http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp Follow the NEXT option at the bottom of each page until all pages are

done On the Sports section be sure to follow the

more detail: show sport levels link to pick D1, D2, etc.

Submit the results after all pages are done. You will end up with a list of schools that meet your initial screening.

Start College Search

Examine the results you got from your search– Redo search if needed– Identify schools you will chose to contact

Somewhere between 10 and 40 might be managable– You will want the colleges web address for the next step

It can be found on the “At a Glance” page you just searched for

You can save the search if you wish

Contacting the coach

The theory;– Go to schools main web page– Find the athletics link– Now you have to find the coach’s name and

contact informatin. (email address is a good start)– Try going to the sport first and look for coach info

Once you have coach’s name you may need to find the athletic directory, or faculty directory, to get the address


Contact the coach any way you want,– Email– Letter– Phone

Let them know you are interested in their program and you want to know if you might be a good fit. Send them information about your self as an athlete, and as a student (if good). Include stats and movies if appropriate.


Best if it comes from the Student. “We” emailed text similar to this with an attached Resume.Dear Coach,

I will be graduating from high school spring of 200X and am looking for a college with a team I can compete on. Your program has come to my attention. Please look at my attached resume, and contact me if I might be a good fit for your team. I am also wondering what type of financial help, if any, might be available.

Thank you,NAME…


Include a resume– Academic information– Athletic information– Stats - won/loss - height/weight – awards/records

Include video clips if appropriate – attach or mail a CD or DVD (mpeg or quicktime)

Sample resume at home.comcast.net/~gznak (note no www.)

Contacting the Coach

When a coach contacts you– If possible research schools web site before

responding. Let coach think you knew something about the school or program before you contacted them.

Follow up– If you don’t apply to the school you can’t go there– Keep a separate file for each school – Note

conversations with the coach. Schools and coaches will blur together.

Gotta Get In – Follow the rules

You must get admitted to the school to be able to play

Follow standard admission policies – work with the counseling center on this.

Be aware of each schools deadlines for admissions and financial aid

Always fill in the FAFSA on time NCAA – Clearing house

Found an interesting school

Can You Get Academic Money?– Phone Admissions or Financial Aid and ask for

academic scholarship cut offs. Be prepared to give them your SAT scores, your GPA, and possibly your Class Rank. Most schools will tell you what you would be offered based on this information.

Congrats you got an offer

Arrange tours Academic early decission – may reduce aid

award National Letter of Intent

– Early offer – once you sign you are committed– Late offer

THEY CAN’T OFFER IF YOU CAN’T GET IN THE SCHOOL!

APPLY TO ALL COLLEGES YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT.

What we covered

Opportunities that exist for student athletes What a student athlete can expect How to narrow down the college search How to identify and contact coaches How to track school admissions Sugessions on evaluating offers

Documents

Getting the Student Athlete to the Right College Black Hills Athletic Department Presenter; Cross Country Coach George Zelenak