VMI Prospective Female Cadet Merit Scholarship Question

[Phoepenpres]

My daughter who is a rising Jr. has wanted to attend VMI since she was 6 years old (my husband is a VMI grad which should explain that ;-)) She has a 4.0 unweighted and 5.1 weighted GPA and scored a 1390 on her first stab at the SAT in June. She attends a rigorous private school and has only taken honors and AP courses. Her Jr year schedule includes AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP US History, AP Lang and AP Environmental Science.
She is also a competitive swimmer and her current times put her in the top two in three events and top three in two additional events in comparison to the current roster.
We are not concerned about her ability to get in to VMI, but are very concerned about not being able to swing the out of state tuition.(ironically we live across the river from the Citadel, but she would never consider that as an alternative)
She had a surgery several years ago that may not qualify for a waiver, so an ROTC Scholarahip may be off the table.
She is currently taking an SAT prep course to raise her SAT score. Can anyone offer any advice on the score threshold she would need to reach to be in consideration for VMI's most competitive merit scholarships. Could she be competitive at 1400? At 1450? We are looking for a target range that would give her an off ramp from the test prep grind if she achieves it. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[USMC Crayons]

My daughter who is a rising Jr. has wanted to attend VMI since she was 6 years old (my husband is a VMI grad which should explain that ;-)) She has a 4.0 unweighted and 5.1 weighted GPA and scored a 1390 on her first stab at the SAT in June. She attends a rigorous private school and has only taken honors and AP courses. Her Jr year schedule includes AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP US History, AP Lang and AP Environmental Science.
She is also a competitive swimmer and her current times put her in the top two in three events and top three in two additional events in comparison to the current roster.
We are not concerned about her ability to get in to VMI, but are very concerned about not being able to swing the out of state tuition.(ironically we live across the river from the Citadel, but she would never consider that as an alternative)
She had a surgery several years ago that may not qualify for a waiver, so an ROTC Scholarahip may be off the table.
She is currently taking an SAT prep course to raise her SAT score. Can anyone offer any advice on the score threshold she would need to reach to be in consideration for VMI's most competitive merit scholarships. Could she be competitive at 1400? At 1450? We are looking for a target range that would give her an off ramp from the test prep grind if she achieves it. Thank you so much for your help!

I don't think you have anything to be super worried about at this time. If your daughter decides to swim, there's money there (if not a full ride). My son was on the swim team last season, and it's pretty well known that all of the females get money to help solidify the roster. Obviously, they are going through a coaching change at the moment, but don't see that changing anytime soon.

I know some of the merit scholars were tracking not too far off of where your daughter currently is. One I know was in the mid 1400's coming out of high school. Of note is that the board has been recently discussing doubling the budget for merit scholarships...and by the way it looks, that will pass.

Even without the merit scholarships, you are going to be impressed by the financial aid package...we certainly are. Bottom line, if you have the chops coming out of high school, and continue to perform, there will be plenty of money to go around in state or out of state.

 

[Phoepenpres]

Thank you for your response! She is sad that Coach Thacker will not be there, but fell in love with the school before he was the coach. Her club coaches have pounded into their brains that they should not pick a school based on a coach, but based on the school, so it was an easy pivot.

 

[Gabs14]

My kid is a recruited swimmer at VMI. Feel free to shoot me a message. courtneyvt@yahoo.com Not all females receive scholarship money, and the few that do, often get around $2500/year. You'd think it would be more, but its not. I don't know of any swimmer with a full ride or even 50% outside of an NROTC scholarship. Out of state tuition is very high at VMI. If you or your husband are active duty military, they do honor instate tuition, and accept the GI Bill. Swim morale is down with the loss of Thacker. They do have some stellar new recruits coming in this year, so we are all hoping they find a good coach ASAP. August will be here before we know it!

 

[USMC Crayons]

My kid is a recruited swimmer at VMI. Feel free to shoot me a message. courtneyvt@yahoo.com Not all females receive scholarship money, and the few that do, often get around $2500/year. You'd think it would be more, but it’s not. I don't know of any swimmer with a full ride or even 50% outside of an NROTC scholarship. Out of state tuition is very high at VMI. If you or your husband are active duty military, they do honor instate tuition, and accept the GI Bill. Swim morale is down with the loss of Thacker. They do have some stellar new recruits coming in this year, so we are all hoping they find a good coach ASAP. August will be here before we know it!

Just so you have some context, morale was down before Thacker left (at least with the men’s team). The men were overtrained this year, and it showed in most of the performances. Some men quit before the year was even over, and several quit once conference champs finished. Scott is an overall decent guy, but let’s just say the recruiting talk didn’t match to what occurred on deck. I do hope they bring in a strong candidate, and there certainly should be some heavy interest with the aquatic facility. DS would like to continue swimming, but not with 9 practices a week (not including dry land). It’s simply too much when you add all of the other demands of VMI.

 

[ddiamond]

My daughter who is a rising Jr. has wanted to attend VMI since she was 6 years old.(ironically we live across the river from the Citadel, but she would never consider that as an alternative))

I understand completely, and as Charleston is my home, have the exact same viewpoint! I wanted a 100% military school experience. Both my children also had the same view! It’s funny to hear it from someone else, but when you know… you know.
I will tell you (and this is from personal experience) your daughter will be given assistance her first year, but her subsequent years will incrementally get better and better. Because attrition is so high at VMI (let’s be honest, it’s not like anything else out there) the Institute and its alumni tend to focus the financial rewards highly on those who will graduate.
Good luck to your daughter and to the VMI swimming and diving team!

 

[Phoepenpres]

My kid is a recruited swimmer at VMI. Feel free to shoot me a message. courtneyvt@yahoo.com Not all females receive scholarship money, and the few that do, often get around $2500/year. You'd think it would be more, but its not. I don't know of any swimmer with a full ride or even 50% outside of an NROTC scholarship. Out of state tuition is very high at VMI. If you or your husband are active duty military, they do honor instate tuition, and accept the GI Bill. Swim morale is down with the loss of Thacker. They do have some stellar new recruits coming in this year, so we are all hoping they find a good coach ASAP. August will be here before we know it!

Thanks for the info! We will not plan on any swim money. She will focus on the SAT and ACT for the next two school years. I think with a couple of prep courses that she should be able to get to 1500 or close enough. Her first ACT was a 33 this past year as a Sophmore, so hopefully with some improvement on either test she will qualify for some merit scholarships. Our oldest daughter is heading to Clemson in the fall. It would be far easier if this one would be willing to do the same

 

[Phoepenpres]

Just so you have some context, morale was down before Thacker left (at least with the men’s team). The men were overtrained this year, and it showed in most of the performances. Some men quit before the year was even over, and several quit once conference champs finished. Scott is an overall decent guy, but let’s just say the recruiting talk didn’t match to what occurred on deck. I do hope they bring in a strong candidate, and there certainly should be some heavy interest with the aquatic facility. DS would like to continue swimming, but not with 9 practices a week (not including dry land). It’s simply too much when you add all of the other demands of VMI.

That is good to know! Coach Thacker leaving may have been a gift if. Hoping that they will find a coach who can navigate the delicate balance between the rigors of D1 athletics and the unusual rigors of life at the I.

 

[Porro]

Just so you have some context, morale was down before Thacker left (at least with the men’s team). The men were overtrained this year, and it showed in most of the performances. Some men quit before the year was even over, and several quit once conference champs finished. Scott is an overall decent guy, but let’s just say the recruiting talk didn’t match to what occurred on deck. I do hope they bring in a strong candidate, and there certainly should be some heavy interest with the aquatic facility. DS would like to continue swimming, but not with 9 practices a week (not including dry land). It’s simply too much when you add all of the other demands of VMI.

Omg…He went to the West Point swimming team. I hope he doesn't ruin some good prospects. West Point has First Team All-American member…

 

[USMC Crayons]

Omg…He went to the West Point swimming team. I hope he doesn't ruin some good prospects. West Point has First Team All-American member…

You will notice that I didn't say he was a bad coach, it's somewhat the contrary. I think he has the makings of being a great coach, I just believe there was some disconnect when it comes to meeting the cadets where they are being that they are already in a "training" environment with ROTC and the demands of the Rat Line and ultimately the Corps of Cadets. I am not sure that so much pool and weight time is necessary for the entire period that they are in season. Maybe this is just because he never was in the military or attended VMI or a similar school, so it's hard to relate. I mean, what is the point to get to championship season and the bulk of your team just looks beaten down (one to the point where he needed medical treatment). I would have expected a much greater emphasis on taper, which ultimately never came.

I wish him the best, but I hope that VMI brings in somebody that maybe has a little more "balance".

 

[Porro]

You will notice that I didn't say he was a bad coach, it's somewhat the contrary. I think he has the makings of being a great coach, I just believe there was some disconnect when it comes to meeting the cadets where they are being that they are already in a "training" environment with ROTC and the demands of the Rat Line and ultimately the Corps of Cadets. I am not sure that so much pool and weight time is necessary for the entire period that they are in season. Maybe this is just because he never was in the military or attended VMI or a similar school, so it's hard to relate. I mean, what is the point to get to championship season and the bulk of your team just looks beaten down (one to the point where he needed medical treatment). I would have expected a much greater emphasis on taper, which ultimately never came.

I wish him the best, but I hope that VMI brings in somebody that maybe has a little more "balance".

If he doesn’t know how to taper, that's really bad. I think a swimming coach who can't get his athletes to leave their best form for the most important championships needs to take a long hard look at himself... not to mention pushing his athletes into medical treatment.