More Than a Scholarship: How One Student-Athlete and His Family Scored a Financial Game Plan

For Ezekiel “Zeke,” a gifted football player and a walk-on at UCLA, the path to college was a powerful lesson in financial reality. Like many promising high school athletes, Zeke initially expected a full-ride scholarship, but he and his family quickly learned that paying for college is a complex “team effort.” His journey, from a promising high school athlete to a college student, highlights the importance of keeping your options open and having frank conversations about money.

Zeke’s mother, Cara, a college graduate herself, was always confident in his ability to thrive. She and her husband exposed their five children to higher education early on, and they had started a college savings fund for them. But as Cara notes, “life happens,” and unexpected setbacks like job loss and illness depleted those savings. Zeke’s experience is not uncommon; a College Ave survey found that 51% of parents of college freshmen said the financial aid they received varied greatly by school, underscoring the need to apply to multiple institutions and to explore all available funding options.

This financial awakening became a turning point for Zeke. He realized that unlike his Little League or basketball fees, his college education was a shared responsibility. He took the initiative to learn the “game” of financing college alongside his parents, recognizing that his decisions would impact his future. His advice to other student-athletes is clear: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, because as good as sports in college may sound, things can happen.”

Now, as he prepares to head to UCLA, a school with in-state tuition and a solid sports program, he and his family are still finalizing their financial plan. They are exploring student loans and are using this process as a way to prepare him for financial independence. Cara is guiding him with lessons she learned from her own grad school loans, emphasizing that he needs to go in with his “eyes wide open” because he will be ultimately responsible for his loan debt. Both Zeke and his parents agree that paying for college is a joint effort, and the real victory will be his graduation and growth into a financially responsible adult.