Choosing activities for the sake of scholarships?

[maize]

I was talking with another mom today about my dd's Irish dance studio, and she told me she has a friend who invests a lot of time and money in her daughter's Irish dance lessons etc. but she doesn't understand why her friend does that since there are not many scholarships for Irish dancers. 

 

I started wondering how common it is for parents to view their children's sports, music or other activities primarily as a source of college scholarships. I invest in these activities because they enrich my children's lives, I think the skills and experiences are valuable in and of themselves. Some may eventually result in scholarships or other practical opportunities, but I have never chosen to enroll my child in an activity for that reason. What do you think--is it common to encourage children in certain activities or to discourage others because of the potential or lack of potential for college scholarships?

[Sarah CB]

I think you're always going to put more into an activity than a scholarship will provide, but if I had another daughter and that girl was even slightly interested in hockey, I'd have her in hockey.  I had no idea there were so many hockey scholarships for girls.

[plumshadow]

I know a couple of people who push their kids into bagpipes because apparently there is a market for it in the college circuit.  Listening to the spiel I almost signed my kids up too! Their interest would have to coincide with marketability. Any scholarship would be nice but not at the expense of extra grey hairs. Dragging them to it kicking and screaming wouldn't be worth it  

[MinivanMom]

If it's an activity my child is passionate about, then I am happy to devote my time and money to supporting their passion.

 

If it's an activity that they are only ho-hum about, but it might earn them a scholarship, then I'm not going to waste my time and money. I'm probably better off putting that money in a bank account and letting it accrue interest.

[shanvan]

Money aside, time is a big issue here.  We don't even have time for all the things my Dc are interested in.  I can't possibly see how I could justify adding an activity in hopes of a scholarship.  My Dc are so passionate about what they do that they would really lobby hard for not adding anything else into the mix.  They'd do it if I insisted, and I did try that once.  It didn't work out b/c the activity just didn't spark Ds and I just am not willing to invest time into an activity we are all ho-hum about--not even for a scholarship possibility.  Life is too short.

[Arcadia]

 

I started wondering how common it is for parents to view their children's sports, music or other activities primarily as a source of college scholarships.

 

It is common enough here for gymnastics and swimming for parents to try to get their kids into the competition teams at the clubs from 1st grade. I know a few parents who's kids get college scholarships for gymnastics because the gym class my kids used to go to is the same time slot as the competition training. I also have a former neighbor who was willing to pay for her daughter's sport activity only if she make the team.

Even for chess, parents want their kids in competitions and winning so that it looks good on college applications.

So there are parents who do select their kids activities based on how it would look on college applications and also on chance of scholarship. How common I wouldn't know.

 

ETA:

I am assuming that money is already budgeted for activities anyway so it is picking which ones give the best ROI in terms of college admission. So if a child does swim and gym, but only get into the gym team and not the swim team, swimming gets drop while the budgeted money continues to be spent on gym.

[lmrich]

My dd was a competitive diver for a year. Many got scholarships, but it is hard and time consuming. My neighbors dds got soccer scholarships. They played soccer since they were 4. Their family life revolved around soccer.

[Crimson Wife]

My family was invited to watch a First Robotics Challenge meet (might've been the state finals but I forget) a few years back and I have to say, looking at all the scholarships offered by really good college engineering programs listed in the program did get me thinking that I should try to get at the very least my DS (the STEM-lover) involved when he gets old enough. MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd, Olin, Georgia Tech, UT-Austin, etc. That's a pretty sweet incentive to keep the participants motivated.

[debi21]

I would not think about scholarships -- I don't think you are going to recoup money invested -- but I admit I would think about admittance to highly competitive and selective colleges. You have to have several extracurriculars that you have invested substantial time in. Yet not enough time that they hurt your studies. On the plus side they don't have to be oddities. My perspective is not to force the child into anything in particular, but (hopefully not forcibly) introduce a variety of activities at a younger age so they can pick out their preferences themselves and pursue these. I also have thought about introducing my son to sports I like to watch (soccer, basketball, volleyball) as opposed to those I don't (baseball) or those I am opposed to (football - brain injury) while he is young enough that I still have influence on his decisions.

[pitterpatter]

Not exactly, but I do look for/think about ways to make DD stand out on a college/scholarship application. Right now, we are attempting to earn every front-of-the-vest badge there is for Girl Scouts. I'm not sure it will be possible for the upper levels, but that's our current goal. As DD ages, I will look for opportunities to make her unique.

[duckens]

--If you want admittance to a selective college or program, the best thing you can do is academics.  Most scholarships are for academics, and they are scholarships that encourage your student to STUDY in college, rather than invest hours of their daily college time on a playing field (for example, a sports scholarship) or practicing and traveling for a musical scholarship.  Unless your child is genuinely interested in Robotics, I've found that "skill-selective" scholarships to be quite competitive.

 

--Loverboy's father was RELIEVED when Loverboy's brother (ranked 2nd in the state for soccer) DID NOT get a Soccer scholarship to the college of his choice.  This is a family where nearly everyone has a graduate degree.

 

--However, if my child had a special talent in a specific skill (gymnastics, chess, robotics, whatever), I would move heaven and earth to give her the opportunity to take her skill as far as it can go.  A scholarship would be a nice side-effect, but not the primary

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

--If you want admittance to a selective college or program, the best thing you can do is academics.  Most scholarships are for academics, and they are scholarships that encourage your student to STUDY in college, rather than invest hours of their daily college time on a playing field (for example, a sports scholarship) or practicing and traveling for a musical scholarship.  Unless your child is genuinely interested in Robotics, I've found that "skill-selective" scholarships to be quite competitive.

True, but the kid probably isn't even going to get accepted in the first place at a good school if all he/she does in high school is study. My youngest brother's BFF was valedictorian of their class, got 800 on the math portion of the SAT and came close to it on the verbal, had excellent letters of recommendation, etc. etc. but was very weak on extracurriculars because he came from a Chinese immigrant family where the parents were opposed to him doing anything that would take away from study time. He ended up getting rejected from a bunch of top schools while classmates with slightly weaker academic credentials but stronger extracurriculars got accepted to those same schools (and the admitted kids were not legacies).

Yes, students aiming for top colleges need strong academic credentials, but not at the expense of building a "well-rounded" application.

[SeaConquest]

If I had to choose between competing activities that my son enjoyed, I'd probably take it into consideration. For example, my son plays on a club soccer team -- one that becomes selective and competitive once he gets a bit older. He also swims and we live on a sailboat. If I had to choose between them, I'd probably steer him towards water polo or sailing over soccer (especially in light of the recent data on head injuries). But, generally, I'd follow his interests and let things sort themselves out without my involvement.

[maize]

True, but the kid probably isn't even going to get accepted in the first place at a good school if all he/she does in high school is study. My youngest brother's BFF was valedictorian of their class, got 800 on the math portion of the SAT and came close to it on the verbal, had excellent letters of recommendation, etc. etc. but was very weak on extracurriculars because he came from a Chinese immigrant family where the parents were opposed to him doing anything that would take away from study time. He ended up getting rejected from a bunch of top schools while classmates with slightly weaker academic credentials but stronger extracurriculars got accepted to those same schools (and the admitted kids were not legacies).

Yes, students aiming for top colleges need strong academic credentials, but not at the expense of building a "well-rounded" application.

I think the issue of developing extra-curricular interests is separate from pursuing an activity specifically for scholarship potential. The student who chooses something like Irish dance and pursues it at a high level should have plenty of interest factor to an admissions committee even though they may not be in the running for any special scholarships.

[Crimson Wife]

I think the issue of developing extra-curricular interests is separate from pursuing an activity specifically for scholarship potential. The student who chooses something like Irish dance and pursues it at a high level should have plenty of interest factor to an admissions committee even though they may not be in the running for any special scholarships.

I agree. I was responding to the post about extracurriculars being a waste of time that should be used for studying instead. Studying is definitely important, but there's a point of diminishing return to it.

[Dmmetler]

I choose extracurriculars based on their benefit for DD. For DD, tumbling class really seems to help her on the sensory side. The fact is, she's not going to get a college scholarship in it, but it's something she enjoys. She enjoys playing piano and it's a stress relief for her, but I can't see her being a music major (she has a lot of talent, but it's only been this year that she's gotten up to regularly practicing an hour at a time, which is far less than most kids her age who ARE highly talented do, and it's hard to find a worse instrument for getting scholarships than piano). She has no desire to play a 2nd instrument.

 

What she does like is science and field work, so a lot of her extracurriculars are working with programs like Project FrogWatch, the Center for Snake Conservation, Save the Frogs! and PARC. It's not glamorous to sit outside for hours manning a booth to try to collect signatures on a petition about water contamination to get it on the agenda, only to see the topic tabled before it even gets discussed, but after you've spent months going out, collecting water samples, and counting the number of live and dead frogs, and have done the chemical studies to realize that as the PPM of pesticide contamination goes up, the % of live frogs goes down, it has new meaning. She's learning a lot, not only about herpetology, but about environmental science, legislation, communicating a message to the public, and the nitty-gritty of non-profit agencies. I guess we'll find out if it is helpful for college admissions in a decade or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beth S]

Heartily agree that the primary emphasis for scholarships is succeeding academically.

The extra-curriculars fill out the resume, but are less important, from my perspective.

 

For us, the primary goal of extra-curriculars is to help the child get a sense of what she's talented at, but also desires to pursue as an adult.

Our kids were not super active, but the activities definitely helped them find their future career interests, and network with other like-minded adults.

 

(Our kids' college expenses have all been funded by academic scholarships--many of them "automatic", based on GPA/test score combo.)

[shawthorne44]

I think often that it isn't the true motivation, but it is the justification.  I've heard it often as the excuse for Beauty Pageants.  I use the word excuse because the expense involved is outrageous compared to the potential prizes.  

 

I've seen the same things with parents justifying the expense to themselves of a Select Soccer Team.  If they thought about it, they would realize that spending 4K per year for 10 years for the maybe of a soccer scholarship is silly.  My husband did have a soccer scholarship without ever being in a select team, and it lasted him precisely 1 year because a player on the other team deliberately injured him in order to take him out of the game.  He would have have been better off taking the academic scholarship to the same school that hadn't included room and board, or the Yale academic scholarship that also included everything but room and board.  Or taken the job offer from Chelsea, which was a lower level then.  

 

Although, I will admit that we would be willing to put a little more money and effort into something that might get a scholarship.  We will probably encourage her into some volunteering things that will get an impressive recommendation letter.  Mostly, the concern for the recommendation letter is because she won't have public school teachers to write her a letter.  

[dewdropfairy]

For some extremely expensive activities it's a foolish investment. The ROI just isn't there. I agree with the person that said in such cases it may just be a better investment to put your money in an interest bearing account. I think extracurriculars are important from an admissions standpoint, though, and if there is something your child is really interested in the biggest returns aren't always tangible.

[daijobu]

To be clear, the time invested in honing extracurricular skills does not stop when the scholarship is awarded.  Particularly in sports, you are expected to work your patootie while in college to maintain your scholarship.  A discounted education is great, but at what cost, when your college grades and learning suffer?  I cheered when I learned that football players at Northwestern may be able to organize and get paid for their work.  

 

 

[lewelma]

--If you want admittance to a selective college or program, the best thing you can do is academics.  Most scholarships are for academics,

 

But if only 10,000 kids study Irish Dance or Bagpipes, but 3,000,000 students are taking math, I would think that there would definitely be an incentive to study the more obscure subjects.