At first I want to say getting a full ride via. a combination of academic and athletic scholarship was easily worth it. But then I thought about my engineering classmates who did not play sports and I think my real answer is "maybe, maybe not".
My academic scholarship paid for half of my college expenses and my athletic paid for the other half. By expenses I mean tuition, books, rent, food etc. So had a not been an athlete, my tuition would still be paid for but I'd be on the hook for everything else.
Most of my classmates worked internships while taking classes. Some folks making $20-$30 an hour which was great money for a college kid at the time. I would think I would be in that category. On top of that, my first job out of college could have been higher salaried by having a lot of relevant internship experience under my belt. I don't think being a D1 athlete helped me at all through the lens of hiring managers at tech companies.
I still don't regret it and am doing absolutely fine in life. But who knows, could be working FAANG or something now instead of my less prestigious current job.
Most of my classmates worked internships while taking classes. Some folks making $20-$30 an hour which was great money for a college kid at the time. I would think I would be in that category. On top of that, my first job out of college could have been higher salaried by having a lot of relevant internship experience under my belt. I don't think being a D1 athlete helped me at all through the lens of hiring managers at tech companies.
I still don't regret it and am doing absolutely fine in life. But who knows, could be working FAANG or something now instead of my less prestigious current job.
This is the part I really wonder about. Many of my classmates were out working real, practical internships or part-time jobs related to our field while I was literally running around in circles (well, ovals). They definitely graduated with more applicable experience than I did.
And my experience with hiring managers right out of school was that they were wholly unimpressed with my college track background. They simply did not care about it at all. To them, it was no different than the chess club or any other student activity.
I know almost nobody doing internships during the school year and many runners do internships during the summer like everyone else.
That's interesting. Maybe it was just the program I was in. As an example, many folks would land a summer internship, and by the end of the summer would get asked to stay on during the school year as time permitted. I was the only person in my senior project of 5 not working an internship during the school year.
If you took all the hours you spend dealing with being a college athlete would it work out to where you could have made more money just working a part time job?
Very few track athletes get a full ride, so if you were getting partial scholarship, did it really pay for itself?
Yes. Took one of the biggest offers I had from a NAIA school, turning down smaller offers from D2 and (really small offers from) D1 schools.
For someone with a non specialized major, it made perfect since. I could get a business degree from anywhere. Almost a decade in the workforce and no one cares about where I went to school.
Me too. I have gone from being in the bottom 1% to the top 1% in terms of income. best time of my life was running in college
That is not the question. You are saying your DEGREE paid off. I assume you would have gone to college whether you ran or not. If you received a few thousand dollars per semester that's great but..
If you worked minimum wage at a part time job at 30 hours you'd bring in about 10k in a year.
No I wouldn't have come to the USA or gone to college here without a scholarship. So yes it paid off. Minimum wage was 3,35 an hour. So 30 hours would have been less than 6k a year. My scholarship was worth more than that.
Could you tell my accountant that. My tax bill indicates otherwise. And I'm not sure how you would have any idea what my income is.
Ok, I just looked up the top 1% and it's only $569K. Top 5% is $255K. I thought the threshold would be double that, if not a lot more. I stand corrected. for me, I did not realize how high I am actually. Much higher than I expected.
Better question for the ball sports, particularly soccer and baseball, and other highly coached sports like gymnastics, and the money spent on youth leagues, private coaches, travel, etc. Does that pre-collegiate "investment" yield a positive return in scholarship money, or would that return be better if the money was invested in a 529 account?
If you're trying to do a financial analysis of working versus practicing/playing a sport there's almost no way it works out in your favor unless you end up with a professional contract valued at over $1m (or if you can get a scholarship with little or no practice). Even competing as a professional in most sports (except for MLB, NFL, NBA) is likely a money lover.
There's a lot more to life than money though. I wouldn't let that be your sole guide in situations like this.
If you took all the hours you spend dealing with being a college athlete would it work out to where you could have made more money just working a part time job?
Very few track athletes get a full ride, so if you were getting partial scholarship, did it really pay for itself?
Got a partial of a partial; basically next to nothing when all was said and done. I would have made much more $ working and not running if you're talking strictly dollars and cents. But I would not be where I am today without the discipline being a college athlete instilled in me. The hours I spent training and traveling to compete pale in comparison to the rewards I've subsequently reaped from the experience.
Yes, the math worked out. No scholarship, didn’t run. $0 for $0 hours - and more free time. Frankly, count me as someone who was happy not to feel the pressure of toeing the start line as a “paid” competitor.
If you took all the hours you spend dealing with being a college athlete would it work out to where you could have made more money just working a part time job?
Very few track athletes get a full ride, so if you were getting partial scholarship, did it really pay for itself?
Yes. Took one of the biggest offers I had from a NAIA school, turning down smaller offers from D2 and (really small offers from) D1 schools.
For someone with a non specialized major, it made perfect since. I could get a business degree from anywhere. Almost a decade in the workforce and no one cares about where I went to school.
Exactly my story. Could've gone midlevel D1. Would've never raced at nationals. Maybe ran a few regional races, but would've been just another drop in the bucket.
Instead went to a successful NAIA school. Ran multiple times at nationals. Helped my team bring home some hardware. Ran faster than I ever dreamed I could. And graduated 5 years later with zero debt and an awesome job. Absolutely zero regrets.
Yes. The financial paradigm in higher education is that if your parents are financially well-off, they are expected to contribute. My Dad was very wealthy, but his remarriage to a woman a mere two years older than me threw a wrench in our relationship (it was already full of alcoholism and violence). The academic scholarships I was offered were not the same level of school I attended. I could have never gone to my school and I think I would have had to go the junior college route near home. Not the end of the world, but far different that the opportunities I had at my major university. I wish I could have gone to the schools I which I got in, but it was not to be. It would have been nice to run my way through college, as I think I was better at school.
That is not the question. You are saying your DEGREE paid off. I assume you would have gone to college whether you ran or not. If you received a few thousand dollars per semester that's great but..
If you worked minimum wage at a part time job at 30 hours you'd bring in about 10k in a year.
Okay, maybe here is the false assumption: I may not have gone to college if I didn't run. I am first-generation and would have probably gone straight to working if I wasn't offered a couple of full rides. And further point, my degree was useless, but my success and connections from running got me to where I am today.
Best wishes.
You received a full ride? Wow- I didn't know any men received those beyond the real superstars.