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Recruiting Tips -- Financial Aid
Did you know the best source for financial aid lies at your finger tips? That’s right, the textbooks you have in front of you hold the key to money in your pocket after graduation.
Many public and virtually all private institutions offering water polo tie financial aid to academic ability. Taking the time to improve your grades can mean tremendous differences in the amount of financial aid you will receive from the college of your choice.
For example...
Option 1
Student “A” decides to work a part-time job to raise money for college. Working 10 hours per week at minimum wage for eight months, the student earns approximately $7/hour after taxes. This means total earnings are about $2300. Because the student works this many hours and still plays water polo there is very little time to study. The athlete’s GPA hovers at around 2.75. This grade point average does not qualify for any academic aid at the schools where the student is applying.
Option 2
Student “A” decides to spend 10 hours per week training and working out in addition to the normal practice schedule. Because of the time spent there is very little available for studying and a part-time job and the student’s GPA hovers at around 2.75. This grade point average does not qualify for any academic aid at the schools where the athlete is applying. Likewise, with 4000 graduating seniors and only a portion of the 40 men’s and 62 women’s colleges offering athletic scholarships, the likelihood of gaining significant athletic aid is small, limited mostly to kids already in the national pipeline.
Option 3
Student “A” decides to study and go for extra help 10 hours per week for eight months. Because the athlete is learning more and testing higher in class, the GPA improves. Likewise, teachers see a real difference in commitment to the academics and give the benefit of the doubt in most cases, awarding the higher grade when the student is on the fence. This raises the GPA to 3.45, qualifying for approximately $5000 in academic aid/year at the schools where the student is applying.
While this example is certainly a generalization, the reality is that students can earn far more money by raising their GPA than they can by working or training. If the issue is financial, raising the GPA is the answer.
