Division III - How to Play the Merit Aid Game
If you think NCAA Division III schools might be a good athletic, academic, and social fit for your student-athlete but you fear not being able to earn an athletic scholarship will make a Division III school unaffordable, make sure you understand how to play the merit aid game.
According to the NCAA website, “while Division III doesn’t permit athletics scholarships, roughly 80% of Division III student-athletes receive some form of academic grants or need-based scholarships.” This statistic definitely requires a deeper look.
Many (but not all) schools in Division III attract student-athletes by awarding merit aid to those with competitive applications including factors like grades, test scores, and extracurricular achievements. The key word here is “competitive” and that varies from school to school. Need-based financial aid is also available at these schools but is determined when families complete the FAFSA, CSS Profile, or other institutional financial aid forms.
Finding meaningful statistics that will help you evaluate whether your student-athlete could qualify for merit aid at a Division III school can be challenging. Let me introduce you to two great (and FREE) resources that will help you identify which of these schools are the most generous with their merit aid and which ones are not.
First, identify which schools in Division III offer your sport. Use the NCAA Directory to start your search and then reference those schools on the lists below. Another great website that can help you target Division III schools for your sport is www.ScholarshipStats.com.
The first time I saw this merit aid spreadsheet from Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy, I was inspired to write about merit aid for student-athletes because many of the schools on this list are in Division III. Families are usually shocked to find out that colleges like Cal Tech, MIT, and Tufts offer 100% need-based aid and little to no merit aid.
Jeff Selingos’ Buyers and Sellers list is another way to look at the same information through a business lens. You have to fill out a form to get access to the list, but it’s worth it. This approach will change your perspective on merit-friendly schools and begin to help you shape a Division III recruiting list that has a chance of actually producing some merit aid!
I listed some Division III schools (public and private) below to provide a comparison and context. Admissions criteria for each school are available on CollegeData.com. Notice that in many cases if the student-athlete earns the average merit award, the net price for private schools often comes down into the $50,000 range. Families must keep the net price in mind. If $50,000 is still too expensive for your budget, you might consider Division III public schools.
Sources: Big J Consulting - Domestic Undergraduate Need-Based and Merit Aid, Jeff Selingo’s Buyers and Sellers chart, CollegeData.com
What does it take to earn a merit award at a Division III school?
The answer to this question varies widely from school to school. Student-athletes need to evaluate their personal academic statistics (GPA, ACT/SAT scores), course rigor, and extracurricular achievements against the admissions criteria published by each school to develop a realistic list. Research the merit scholarship criteria at each school. In order to have the best chance at earning a merit award, focus on the schools where the student-athlete is in the top 25% of the applicant pool (using GPA and test scores as a guide).
Division III schools are all about embracing well-rounded students. Often student-athletes put all of their time and energy into sports and don’t participate in other school or outside activities. Remember that Division III schools expect their student-athlete applicants to have a balanced list of activities beyond just playing sports.
What if my family can afford to pay $85,000 per year?
Student-athletes with this unique circumstance and highly competitive admissions statistics might consider a recruiting list built on “sellers” with low acceptance rates and little to no merit aid. Coaches at these schools are often limited to recruiting high-need or full-pay student-athletes.
From a financial perspective, student-athletes trying to get recruited at Division III schools need to be strategic in their choices of colleges to contact based on their own athletic, academic, and financial profile and how that matches to the merit-friendliness of each university.