What to look for in a school/coach?

Can't say I'm picking up what you're putting down

Most of the schools listed are not very good at distance. So if you would only be 3rd guy, you are not particularly fast. Ivy coaches get a few spots to get runners admitted so they won’t waste one of those on you. They will probably gladly take you on the team though. You didn’t list Princeton or Stanford which would be some of the faster smart schools. I hope your parents are ready to drop $400k for college because that is what it will ultimately cost for 5 years at most of the schools listed. We couldn’t rationalize that for our 2 sons who were admitted to several Ivies. They applied to ND also but they were not accepted. They ended up attending our state school and had a very good experience at almost no cost. We gave them each $200k for a house payment since we had that saved for their schooling.

I guess you have a high standard for particularly fast? No, I didn't run 1:49 or 4:07, but only a tiny handful of juniors do every year. To go off of your example of being the 3rd guy at an Ivy, the 3rd fastest 800m runners at Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Penn ran 1:52, 1:54, 1:51, 1:55, and 1:55 (I am faster than the slower three of those). Do you consider those times to be slow for a HS junior? I don't, considering that less than 100 juniors broke 1:55 nationally this year. And many are probably unqualified for or uninterested in top academic schools.

And yes, maybe Ivies aren't the best programs in the country, but most of the top distance running schools are not what I am looking for academically. I also would not say that Princeton is a huge step up from many of the schools I am considering. As far as 400K... I didn't ask about money in my post. But financial aid should mean I won't be paying out the ears. Did you/your sons run in college? Curious about their experiences avoiding ivy league.

What you need to know about college coaches:

1). They’re trying to sell their program. When they’re recruiting you, they’ll tell you what you want to hear.

2). They lie about the quality of their team.

I’m a new D1 runner. When I was being recruited last year, all the coaches (with the exception of two) sounded great over the phone and by email. The only way that you can really get a feel for a school’s team is by visiting. When I went on my official visits as a senior, I knew pretty much right away which teams were not a good match for me. It was hard for me to narrow down which schools I should go to for official visits (you’re limited to 5), so I tried to learn as much as I could about each school before scheduling anything.

Good luck.

There are a ton of reasons kids stop improving in college. Focus on the schools that you like, eliminate those where the running programs don’t fit you, and then take visits from those remaining on the list that invite you. Don’t expect it to be logical. Duke just recruited a batch of 800 guys and a grad student. Dolan at Penn has a son who is one of the fastest kids in your grade. There could be all sorts of other reasons why places aren’t inviting you but you’re probably never going to know.

Yes they ran for a power 5. They were 1:53-4:12-9:10 HS runners. They could have gone almost anywhere to college but decided that the financial trade-off made sense to attend a state school. The US News article has been pointed out several times in this site where Ivy proffersors found that equivalent smart kids earned the same amount regardless what college they attended. My kids had a great experience. You end up being exposed to real diversity at a state school that you won’t get at an Ivy. There are poor farm kids and wealthy foreigners. There are middle class local kids and kids from all 50 states. There are kids struggling to pass their classes and there are kids receiving straight As. The Ivies don’t let kids fail so you don’t experience kids really struggling. Power 5 schools have a real sense of community in that everyone seems proud of wearing their school colors and supporting the sports teams. You will probably have to work harder at a power 5 school as an athlete than at an Ivy because nobody is going to look out for you when you travel every Thursday through Saturday for track.

Every smart decision in life needs to consider the cost. We only make $150k but we saved every penny so we had amassed a great deal of wealth that the Ivies then looked at and decided to give us no discount.

Ivies can be a great choice for some kids. The OP needs to decide that along with his parents. One thing I’d say about them as a group though is that if improving at running is the priority it’s going to be harder at an Ivy. The academic workload is serious and you’re a student first. Much harder to train in that context than at programs where athletics is the priority.

For MID-D I’d take a look at Virginia Tech., especially if you live in Virginia. Thomas was one of the best in the country at turning 1:54 guys into 1:47 guys. Eric had enough time with him that I’d expect him to be able to continue doing the same. If you’re interested in stem and from the region it’s a great school. One Ivy program I’d be wary of is Harvard. They’ve had a bunch of problems in the last several years and for whatever reason Saretsky is still there. If you love the school, go for it. But not for the running piece.