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In the end hitting the books was better use of time

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    In the end hitting the books was better use of time

    My oldest will be going off to college next year. For those of you with younger kids who are holding out hope that soccer will pay for your kid's college, I wanted to share my own testimony.

    My oldest kid played soccer fairly well, but then dropped out at 10th grade. Meanwhile, my second child excelled more in soccer and is still at it, though its doubtful the second kid will get any kind of scholarship.

    My oldest kid hit the books and qualified for a bright futures scholarship:
    https://www.floridastudentfinanciala...okChapter1.pdf

    There are two tiers for Bright futures, with the lower tier requiring a 3.0 GPA and the higher tier requiring a 3.5 GPA. With so much grade inflation these days, the GPA isn't the tricky part to qualifying. The tricky part is the SAT/ACT score. There are other requirements like the types of coursework and volunteer work, but the SAT test seems to be the stumbling block. It's worth noting that the SAT test was curved by about 100 points about 20 years ago. So some of you older folks who took the SAT test should know it's a little easier than it was.

    In the end, my oldest qualified for the highest tier, and will have 100% of her tuition paid, plus a $300 stipend for books per semester (which is about half of what they cost). So if she goes to school locally, college is practically free, except for living expenses.

    Room and board (food) will run close to about $11,000 a year at most of the Florida Schools. But some of the smaller Florida colleges have incentive scholarships that have similar qualifications and similar payouts to bright futures, so we figure we really need to worry about half of the dorm/food bills. We plan to try to close the rest of the gap with private scholarships, and if that doesn't work, and we don't qualify for financial aid, then our plan is for our kid to take out low interest student loans and I'll pay down the loans while she's in school.

    Knowing what I know now, my kids will focus more on academics with an eye toward making sure they smoke the SAT test.

    In my experience, I've seen a lot of anxiety as parents push their kids to soccer greatness to get a scholarship. In reality, I think it makes more sense to just pursue soccer as a fun activity where they can blow off steam and push them toward scholastics.

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    My oldest will be going off to college next year. For those of you with younger kids who are holding out hope that soccer will pay for your kid's college, I wanted to share my own testimony.

    My oldest kid played soccer fairly well, but then dropped out at 10th grade. Meanwhile, my second child excelled more in soccer and is still at it, though its doubtful the second kid will get any kind of scholarship.

    My oldest kid hit the books and qualified for a bright futures scholarship:
    https://www.floridastudentfinanciala...okChapter1.pdf

    There are two tiers for Bright futures, with the lower tier requiring a 3.0 GPA and the higher tier requiring a 3.5 GPA. With so much grade inflation these days, the GPA isn't the tricky part to qualifying. The tricky part is the SAT/ACT score. There are other requirements like the types of coursework and volunteer work, but the SAT test seems to be the stumbling block. It's worth noting that the SAT test was curved by about 100 points about 20 years ago. So some of you older folks who took the SAT test should know it's a little easier than it was.

    In the end, my oldest qualified for the highest tier, and will have 100% of her tuition paid, plus a $300 stipend for books per semester (which is about half of what they cost). So if she goes to school locally, college is practically free, except for living expenses.

    Room and board (food) will run close to about $11,000 a year at most of the Florida Schools. But some of the smaller Florida colleges have incentive scholarships that have similar qualifications and similar payouts to bright futures, so we figure we really need to worry about half of the dorm/food bills. We plan to try to close the rest of the gap with private scholarships, and if that doesn't work, and we don't qualify for financial aid, then our plan is for our kid to take out low interest student loans and I'll pay down the loans while she's in school.

    Knowing what I know now, my kids will focus more on academics with an eye toward making sure they smoke the SAT test.

    In my experience, I've seen a lot of anxiety as parents push their kids to soccer greatness to get a scholarship. In reality, I think it makes more sense to just pursue soccer as a fun activity where they can blow off steam and push them toward scholastics.
    congrats on FSU.

    seminoles suck.

    Comment


      #3
      Sorry

      Sorry your kids aren't any good at soccer. Maybe not every Florida kid wants to go to a Florida school.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        congrats on FSU.

        seminoles suck.
        That’s right, go Gay-turds!

        https://youtu.be/KgbBP9Em00A

        Comment


          #5
          The OP makes a really solid point.

          I've seen tons of kids accept going to a school just so they can play soccer. They typically have little care for what programs the school offers, simply looking at the fact that the Div 2 school in Tennessee wants her to go there. Have fun at that liberal arts college that offers very few useful majors, but hey, at least you can tell your buddies your child is playing college soccer.

          I understand it is a dream of the "kids" to play soccer in college, but sometimes, as parents, we need to have a frank discussion about what is the best option. This may mean, even if your child has a place to play soccer in college, it may be in their best interest to go someplace different.

          Comment


            #6
            CONGRATS!!! I can't believe how many parents fall for it. If you kid was any good he will not be playing ECNL, DA/GDA etc. He will would have been snatched up a long time ago by a real soccer club academy. My son came from Costa Rica and he was offered a full scholarship to UCLA. Meanwhile my neighbor's son was offered half a scholarship to some Division III school. His parents are upset because they thought for sure he will get a D1 scholarship playing ECNL. Reality is that most soccer schools prefer the overseas player to their own local breed. Enjoy soccer as most kids do but PLEASE concentrate on your academics!

            Concerned Parent.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              That’s right, go Gay-turds!

              https://youtu.be/KgbBP9Em00A
              More of an indictment of liberal affirmative action policies, criminal democrats, uninformed voters, and the educational system as a whole.

              Also, Corrine graduated from Florida A and M for both undergrad and her masters....but don't let facts get in the way.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by unregistered View Post
                congrats!!! I can't believe how many parents fall for it. If you kid was any good he will not be playing ecnl, da/gda etc. He will would have been snatched up a long time ago by a real soccer club academy. My son came from costa rica and he was offered a full scholarship to ucla. Meanwhile my neighbor's son was offered half a scholarship to some division iii school. His parents are upset because they thought for sure he will get a d1 scholarship playing ecnl. Reality is that most soccer schools prefer the overseas player to their own local breed. Enjoy soccer as most kids do but please concentrate on your academics!

                Concerned parent.
                build the wall.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Sorry your kids aren't any good at soccer. Maybe not every Florida kid wants to go to a Florida school.
                  I'm the OP. Here's a considerate answer to your inconsiderate response. You're right, that if your kid can get into an Ivy League School, then maybe their undergrad degree matters. But in most cases, it doesn't make a lick of difference where your kid gets their undergrad as long as it is a solid school and they do well academically. At least this is true for the kids who set their sights higher than an undergraduate degree, which is virtually a necessity today.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    The OP makes a really solid point.

                    I've seen tons of kids accept going to a school just so they can play soccer. They typically have little care for what programs the school offers, simply looking at the fact that the Div 2 school in Tennessee wants her to go there. Have fun at that liberal arts college that offers very few useful majors, but hey, at least you can tell your buddies your child is playing college soccer.

                    I understand it is a dream of the "kids" to play soccer in college, but sometimes, as parents, we need to have a frank discussion about what is the best option. This may mean, even if your child has a place to play soccer in college, it may be in their best interest to go someplace different.
                    OP again. Thanks for ratifying my point. We, as a family, decided it would be better if my kid spent all her time studying without distractions to get into a good Master's program.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      build the wall.
                      That belongs in the politics section. But just so you know the “wall” will not keep anyone out. The drug cartels build submarines in the jungle. You think a wall is going to stop them ? It’s just a symbol for racists like you.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        My oldest will be going off to college next year. For those of you with younger kids who are holding out hope that soccer will pay for your kid's college, I wanted to share my own testimony.

                        My oldest kid played soccer fairly well, but then dropped out at 10th grade. Meanwhile, my second child excelled more in soccer and is still at it, though its doubtful the second kid will get any kind of scholarship.

                        My oldest kid hit the books and qualified for a bright futures scholarship:
                        https://www.floridastudentfinanciala...okChapter1.pdf

                        There are two tiers for Bright futures, with the lower tier requiring a 3.0 GPA and the higher tier requiring a 3.5 GPA. With so much grade inflation these days, the GPA isn't the tricky part to qualifying. The tricky part is the SAT/ACT score. There are other requirements like the types of coursework and volunteer work, but the SAT test seems to be the stumbling block. It's worth noting that the SAT test was curved by about 100 points about 20 years ago. So some of you older folks who took the SAT test should know it's a little easier than it was.

                        In the end, my oldest qualified for the highest tier, and will have 100% of her tuition paid, plus a $300 stipend for books per semester (which is about half of what they cost). So if she goes to school locally, college is practically free, except for living expenses.

                        Room and board (food) will run close to about $11,000 a year at most of the Florida Schools. But some of the smaller Florida colleges have incentive scholarships that have similar qualifications and similar payouts to bright futures, so we figure we really need to worry about half of the dorm/food bills. We plan to try to close the rest of the gap with private scholarships, and if that doesn't work, and we don't qualify for financial aid, then our plan is for our kid to take out low interest student loans and I'll pay down the loans while she's in school.

                        Knowing what I know now, my kids will focus more on academics with an eye toward making sure they smoke the SAT test.

                        In my experience, I've seen a lot of anxiety as parents push their kids to soccer greatness to get a scholarship. In reality, I think it makes more sense to just pursue soccer as a fun activity where they can blow off steam and push them toward scholastics.

                        "Holding out hope that soccer will pay for your kid's college" is your first mistake. Any parent that believes this farce is on the wrong track.

                        1. They won't get a "full ride". Don't believe the "full ride" parents.
                        2. If the hope is the money, then they will start hating to play soccer and drop out of the team and lose the partial scholarship they got anyways.

                        Way too many parents put the pressure on the kid to have soccer pay for school. That's a pipe dream for many. Count any money you get as a bonus.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          I'm the OP. Here's a considerate answer to your inconsiderate response. You're right, that if your kid can get into an Ivy League School, then maybe their undergrad degree matters. But in most cases, it doesn't make a lick of difference where your kid gets their undergrad as long as it is a solid school and they do well academically. At least this is true for the kids who set their sights higher than an undergraduate degree, which is virtually a necessity today.
                          I agree 100%. Thanks for sharing this post OP.

                          I went to a Florida. I have son that graduates from UCF this summer and has had Bright Futures all 4 years. Between Bright Futures, Florida prepaid, and out of pocket (our pockets) he will have not debt. He could have went to small colleges for football (American) but valued his education. His degree from UCF is just as good as my degree from UF. Like you said unless it's an Ivy league school, Duke, Vandy, or Stanford type school your undergrad degree normally doesn't matter. Yes I know there are exceptions.

                          My daughter is going thru the whole college soccer recruiting process now. If she gets a scholarship to a school she likes...great. If she doesn't....great. Whether she stays in state or out of state doesn't matter. However our goal is to have her graduate with $0 debt or the least amount of dept possible. College soccer lasts only 4 o 5 years. However $50-$100k in student loans can last 15-25 years.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            The OP makes a really solid point.

                            I've seen tons of kids accept going to a school just so they can play soccer. They typically have little care for what programs the school offers, simply looking at the fact that the Div 2 school in Tennessee wants her to go there. Have fun at that liberal arts college that offers very few useful majors, but hey, at least you can tell your buddies your child is playing college soccer.

                            I understand it is a dream of the "kids" to play soccer in college, but sometimes, as parents, we need to have a frank discussion about what is the best option. This may mean, even if your child has a place to play soccer in college, it may be in their best interest to go someplace different.
                            Here's what I hear on the boy's side at a middle school aged team:

                            1) There's too much homework
                            2) Because of the homework and soccer demands, my kids grades are dropping
                            3) I don't want my kids grades to drop
                            4) therefore, I will take my kids out of school and homeschool them

                            4) should be a reconsideration of soccer, not school. it's got to be ignorance. i don't know. we are all guilty to some degree of overemphasizing soccer, but it's getting out of control with some parents.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              "Holding out hope that soccer will pay for your kid's college" is your first mistake. Any parent that believes this farce is on the wrong track.

                              1. They won't get a "full ride". Don't believe the "full ride" parents.
                              2. If the hope is the money, then they will start hating to play soccer and drop out of the team and lose the partial scholarship they got anyways.

                              Way too many parents put the pressure on the kid to have soccer pay for school. That's a pipe dream for many. Count any money you get as a bonus.
                              "Way too many parents put the pressure on the kid to have soccer pay for school. That's a pipe dream for many. Count any money you get as a bonus"

                              ***standing ovation***

                              Comment

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