Run DII or Go To Good School (with No Running)?

Anonymous Runner wrote:

So, would you run DIII or go to a DI school & give up your running (because your times aren't good enough for that level of competition)? I'm trying to make that decision.

If there is a scholarship, I say go to school for the least possible amount of money.

...........Just remember this, people run D3 for one of two reasons. Lack of talent or Lack of commitment...........

I've read some idiotic things on Letsrun, but that takes the cake.

Just don't choose d2. No one chooses D2, they just go there as a last resort.

I go to a DIII school. I was a 16 flat xc runner in HS.

The midwest is great for athletes like me. Plus no one cares about where your undergrad is from.

I totally agree with the guy who said not to stress out about where you get your bachelor's. The academic rankings for undergrad hardly matter. If you're serious about academics, then you take your 4.0 from the random undergrad, do well on exams, and go into a good graduate program at a reputable school. I think you're much wiser picking the school with the lifestyle and experience you want for undergrad. Just don't be a slacker wherever you go.

obvs wrote:

Plus no one cares about where your undergrad is from.

Keep telling yourself this all you want, but it's just not true.

I'm not sure why the DIII school ISN'T good academically but the D1 is. I can think of a scant few D1s that DON'T have cross (at least), that would be good academically.

I'd get it even less if you didn't have a typo in the subject, stating DII.

Basically, I'm not sure why it has to be a compromise between either. In that I mean, name a top 25 or 50 school that doesn't have xc/tf? Most do, find one that has what you want to study, go, and enjoy running and school. You'll have a much better experience being part of the team.

If this were months ago, my advice to you would be that you need to keep looking at more school so you can find one that's a better compromise between both. But now it's February, you've applied everywhere that you intended, and now all you can do is make your decision from who accepted you. That's a bummer, but it's what you're having to deal with. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that looking for new schools is not an option at this point.

I should amend my statement earlier a bit. I said to pick the lifestyle and experience over the academics. I'm not saying to go to a party school. I should also add that I picked academics over running. I wasn't able to make the XC/track team at the school I chose because I wasn't good enough. I don't really regret it, because things have turned out okay, but I honestly don't see what my degree bought me that I wouldn't have gotten by going to any other decent undergrad program. If you're going to a college and then staying in the state and it's really well known and such, okay, that might help you land your first job with an employer who also went to the school. I'll give you that. It ends there, though. Nobody cares once you've had your first job. And if you plan to go to grad school next, people care way more about the 4.0 from anywhere and the good test scores than they do about what the undergrad school was.

Also, if you don't run for a team, you'll weigh at least 20 pounds more when you graduate college. Promise.

Academics and social fit should be the largest factor, but if you love running, it should rank fairly equally. I didn't think I wanted to run in college so I chose a college I thought I would fit in with best. Two year later I am back commuting to a local college (different than the one I originally chose) and I absolutely can not wait to transfer next year to a DIII school to run. Also, the DIII schools I am applying to have great academics, better than any DI school from my perspective. Smaller class sizes, professors are more accessible, and running competition is full of studs but also really slow people.

Anyways, from the college experience I've had so far, I've realized how much more I would enjoy college if I ran cross country and was able to hang out with other runners and to train with them and under a good coach.

I agree. Yes you should check out the academics of any school you are thinking of, DI II or III.

Grand Valley is a DII school. No, it's not U of Michigan, but supposedly the incoming SAT scors are higher than those of Michigan State. A Michigan State law school recruiter told me that it didn't matter where you went to undergrad, so did one of the heads of Marquette law school. They said keep your grades up and score well on LSAT or whatever it's called. And many DII schools, like Grand Valley, in spite of what some on LR will say, are as good as probably half the DI schools. Serious runners, serious coach, serious academics. I am sure there are other DII or DIII schools that are similar.

It is possible that if you are interested in something like engineering that the resources at a big DI school could benefit you. The top students usally get internships and instant job offers. But if going to grad school in a non-technical field I doubt th eschool name matters