Women Ivy League Schools- gymnastics teams

[Natasha]

The recent college thread has me interested. I am seeking any information specifically on how the recruiting process works with the Ivy Schools (Yale, Brown, U of Penn and Cornell) and any personal information anyone has with the process (in gymnastics or other sports). I understand there are no scholarships for athletics or merit, but I have some questions.
1. How much pull with admissions do the coaches actually have? I have heard they can give a letter of support to admissions, but they have a limited # each year (just like scholarships- 4 per year?).
2. I get that with the letter of support you do not necessarily have to have phenomenal test scores (as in 34+ ACT) but I am guessing you still need strong academics/testing scores, does anyone know how strong? As in could a 30 ACT and top 5% of your class be solid enough?
3. Early decision- does a gymnast need to apply and commit to early decision acceptance if they are getting a letter of support for admissions? If so, how does this work with financial aid? Are you given your financial Aid determination before you need to commit so that you know if you can afford it?
4. There has been discussion on the other thread about some majors not working with athletics. Is this also true at the Ivy league schools or is it not an issue since it is an academic school and they are not actually getting scholarships?
5. What does the recruiting time-line look like for these schools? I imagine they aren't verbal offering girls in 8th or 9th grade as I would think they would want to see if they can cut it academically?
6. Any other inside information or experiences, especially with the specific schools would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gymgal93]

I talked with coaches at the Ivies while going through the recruiting process myself (though this was several years back), and have several friends on Ivy teams. Here's what I know...

1. How much pull with admissions do the coaches actually have? I have heard they can give a letter of support to admissions, but they have a limited # each year (just like scholarships- 4 per year?).

Coaches can have a significant amount of pull if they really want a kid. You are correct in that they have a limited # of applications they can support, but that number is not set in stone and can vary by school, sport, and year. This would be something to ask the coaches.

2. I get that with the letter of support you do not necessarily have to have phenomenal test scores (as in 34+ ACT) but I am guessing you still need strong academics/testing scores, does anyone know how strong? As in could a 30 ACT and top 5% of your class be solid enough?

I heard that 2000 on the SAT was what they were looking for, though they would accept a bit lower in some cases. I believe that would equate to about a 30 on the ACT. They also take into account honors/AP classes, GPA, and rigor of the high school.

3. Early decision- does a gymnast need to apply and commit to early decision acceptance if they are getting a letter of support for admissions? If so, how does this work with financial aid? Are you given your financial Aid determination before you need to commit so that you know if you can afford it?

I am not as sure on this, but all of the gymnasts I know who have gone to Ivies have applied early decision as you are more likely to be accepted that way. I am not positive on how the financial aid process works, but most Ivies claim to meet 100% of need for all students.

4. There has been discussion on the other thread about some majors not working with athletics. Is this also true at the Ivy league schools or is it not an issue since it is an academic school and they are not actually getting scholarships?

There are certainly some majors at some school, Ivies included, that make it very difficult to balance academics and gymnastics. As a result, some girls in these majors choose to leave the team after a year or two to concentrate on their studies (and they can do this because their financial aid is in no way tied to their athletic participation). I don't think you will ever find an Ivy coach telling their student-athletes what they can and can't major in; they really don't have that power. But if you have a particular major in mind, it would be beneficial to ask if any girls on the team have been able to balance it before.

5. What does the recruiting time-line look like for these schools? I imagine they aren't verbal offering girls in 8th or 9th grade as I would think they would want to see if they can cut it academically?

In the past, Ivies wouldn't let an athlete "commit" (I say that loosely as there is no scholarship or binding agreement involved) until the fall of their senior year when they can get a pre-read by admissions letting them know if they are likely to be admitted. And it is not until they are formally admitted, either during the early decision process of in April, that they truly commit to being on the team. Some athletes apply to multiple Ivies regular decision and then make their decision in the spring of their senior year. Recently, there have been a few cases of athletes committing during their junior year when they are a top recruit and the coaches are fairly confident that they will be admitted. I think that beginning communication with the coaches during the sophomore year, when you have some HS grades and hopefully PSAT scores, is probably a safe bet.

6. Any other inside information or experiences, especially with the specific schools would be greatly appreciated!

Ivy gymnastics is a fantastic opportunity and everyone I know who has done it has been very happy with their experience. The level of gymnastics is very high, but because there are no scholarships and a clear "academics first" mentality, the atmosphere on the teams tends to be a little less high-pressure/cutthroat than the top D1 schools. The same can be said for most low-ranked D1 and D2/D3 programs, which are also worth looking in to if you are looking at the Ivies (GW, UNC, Pitt, William & Mary, Ursinus, Ithaca, and Air Force all come to mind as being academically strong schools with lower-ranked but successful gymnastics programs).

Hope this is helpful!

 

[profmom]

Just remember that meeting 100% of need will mean paying a hefty amount if you're an upper middle class family, and that not all Ivies do needs-blind admissions. Admission standards will also vary from school to school. What's good enough for Penn and Cornell won't get you in at Yale.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Just remember that meeting 100% of need will mean paying a hefty amount if you're an upper middle class family, and that not all Ivies do needs-blind admissions. Admission standards will also vary from school to school. What's good enough for Penn and Cornell won't get you in at Yale.

Just starting on this road. Learning about the financial aid stuff...not clear on what you mean by meeting 100% of need means paying a hefty amount...if a school is meeting 100% of the need, how will you still pay a hefty amount? Do you mean if they determine your need is 10K and the school is 50K, you're still paying 40? as I said, just learning! Also, I thought all Ivies were need blind?

 

[bookworm]

Just starting on this road. Learning about the financial aid stuff...not clear on what you mean by meeting 100% of need means paying a hefty amount...if a school is meeting 100% of the need, how will you still pay a hefty amount? Do you mean if they determine your need is 10K and the school is 50K, you're still paying 40? as I said, just learning! Also, I thought all Ivies were need blind?

What she means by you still paying a hefty amount is that the SCHOOL determines how much financial aid you need ,not you...so if the school is 60,000 and you think you "need" 30,000 in aid , the school can look at your Financials and say " we've determined that your need is 1,300 and that is your financial aid award" and you need to come up with $58, 700 ( the aforementioned hefty amount)...and Ivies don't give merit money so the bill is on you. The rough cut off for need based money is family income below 60,000.....otherwise, the colleges have decided you don't "need" it.

 

[wallinbl]

Just starting on this road. Learning about the financial aid stuff...not clear on what you mean by meeting 100% of need means paying a hefty amount...if a school is meeting 100% of the need, how will you still pay a hefty amount? Do you mean if they determine your need is 10K and the school is 50K, you're still paying 40? as I said, just learning! Also, I thought all Ivies were need blind?

Harvard has a sliding scale. Below $65k household income, you pay nothing. Between $65k and $180k, you pay 0-10% of your income towards tuition. Above $180k, you pay between 10% and 16.5%.

 

[bookworm]

Harvard has a sliding scale. Below $65k household income, you pay nothing. Between $65k and $180k, you pay 0-10% of your income towards tuition. Above $180k, you pay between 10% and 16.5%.

Are you sure? I just did the net price calculator on Harvard's financial aid page just for grins and we would be paying way more than the percentages quoted....

 

[wallinbl]

Are you sure? I just did the net price calculator on Harvard's financial aid page just for grins and we would be paying way more than the percentages quoted....

They've published that information in the past. I just used a calculator on their site, and got numbers that fit within that framework.

https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/net-price-calculator

There's "your cost" and "cost to parents". "your cost" appears to expect the student to do some on campus work to cover the gap between "your cost" and "cost to parents". Other than that, it appears consistent with the percentage ranges.

 

[Tigtimes]

When it comes to financial aid you need to be aware these are private institutions that will NEVER disclose how they calculate "need". two people with identical info could receive two totally different "need" awards or one with nothing at all while the other deemed needy....there is no constant formula from school to school, each one operates on its own formula that is not disclosed.

 

[profmom]

Most schools will count assets as well as income.

 

[MeetDirector]

First-hand, very recent experience.

All schools require the FAFSA which includes all income and liquid assets. The Ivy League schools require the CSS Profile which includes all FAFSA-required information as well as property values and mortgage information. And the comment above is correct, the expected family contribution is not based on simple calculations. If you fall into the category of owning house and paying your bills while managing your debt, you will be expected to pay near full sticker price.

Good luck.

 

[bookworm]

First-hand, very recent experience.

All schools require the FAFSA which includes all income and liquid assets. The Ivy League schools require the CSS Profile which includes all FAFSA-required information as well as property values and mortgage information. And the comment above is correct, the expected family contribution is not based on simple calculations. If you fall into the category of owning house and paying your bills while managing your debt, you will be expected to pay near full sticker price.

Good luck.

That's been our experience as well..."full sticker price"....

 

[Gymdaddio]

First-hand, very recent experience.

All schools require the FAFSA which includes all income and liquid assets. The Ivy League schools require the CSS Profile which includes all FAFSA-required information as well as property values and mortgage information. And the comment above is correct, the expected family contribution is not based on simple calculations. If you fall into the category of owning house and paying your bills while managing your debt, you will be expected to pay near full sticker price.

Good luck.

So, if they want the gymnast but the parent isn't willing to pay $65k / year versus going to a non-ivy school, would they offer substantial academic scholarships if qualified?

 

[bookworm]

Ivies don't have merit scholarships so nope...

 

[profmom]

I have a friend whose son is going to Yale to play football, and for that privilege the family will be paying a mighty pretty penny. They don't need to offer scholarship beyond their estimate of need to attract qualified students.

 

[MeetDirector]

So, if they want the gymnast but the parent isn't willing to pay $65k / year versus going to a non-ivy school, would they offer substantial academic scholarships if qualified?

Let me put a very fine point on this question - NO.

As bookworm said, the Ivys do not, repeat, do not offer academic (aka merit) scholarships of any kind. They only offer need-based aid as determined by their need calculations.

It will be up to each family to decide if a bachelor's degree is worth that kind of money.