Is it better financially to play Div III?
D has friends and aquaintances in her sport (track) who are not nearly as talented athletically or academically as others yet are receiving a much better financial deal going Div. III than she is, or than the top athletes she knows are who are going Div. I. (Obviously, we have to assume everyone is telling the truth here.) Even though the Div. III schools technically can’t offer athletic scholarships, it seems that they actually do anyway. They just come up with some nebulous merit scholarship they can make fit the kid, or a supposed academic scholarship (which is shocking when you know the student’s GPA), and voila–kid gets a great deal. I just spoke with a mom who I know to be a very truthful person. Her son is getting a full ride and by her own admission is mediocre athletically. He isn’t even placing in the top 8 of his state sectional group for track. The coach called some alumni and they put together a terrrific package for the kid. Same story for several girls on D’s team who a
