If you were a 9:25 3200m guy, would you go D1 or D2/3?

twitched wrote:

Academics everywhere are the same. When I said "choose your school based on what you want to study", part of what that means is that not every school has every major. Between ones that DO have the same major, it makes no difference where you go as far as learning the stuff goes.

You are answering the wrong question - the facts you might learn are not the point of college.

Teachers make a difference, but they're not the same at every school. Having smart, motivated classmates makes a difference in how much you learn and retain and whether you're excited by it, but they're not at every school. Making connections and spending time with people that are going to be in positions of power is important - and some schools are much better for that than others.

There's also social education: I went to an elite school and I now know how to speak the language of privileged/powerful people and present myself acceptably. This is extraordinarily valuable in interviews and helps me present myself with authority when I'm speaking.

If you think the point of college is to memorize the facts in a textbook, you have no idea what you're talking about.

OP: I was a 9:19 guy in HS; I went D3 and never regretted it - I'm looking at the all-america certificates now! You can always go to Stanford for grad school...

Wait, did you run 9:25 as a junior? If so then D1 might be a better choice.

Charleston southern university

I would go with d2/d3. Too many guys like you either go to the big time d1 school, and get pounded into the ground daily. Or they go to a mediocre d1 and get pounded into the ground at races. At a d2/d3 you will probably be top seven on your team and will have workouts catered to you, instead of just running workouts as hard/long as you can then stopping 60% through it.

Training at the proper pace for workouts is what makes all the difference with improving. Doing 6xmile at 85-90% effort is much better than doing 4xmile at 100%.

With a 9:25 you should run D1.

I was 30 seconds slower than you at 3200 in highschool and went D1, made varsity and ended up getting all the awards possible. Yea, you are going to work really hard but it's rewarding being at the top and competing against the best runners in college.

D3 all-america certificates are a joke. I'm not

trying to be rude, but it is the truth, and you know it too.

What do you have to run to get the all-america award in cross for D3, 25:15? I remember running 24:40 for 5 miles at a big D1 invite and barely cracking the top 50.

My college decision was between a D3 school and a D1 school. I wanted to see how I stacked up against the best so I went D1, ran 100 miles a week and found out how I measured up against the best.

It's all relative buddy. You may think D3 All-Americans are a joke, but there are 1000 East Africans who would have found it a joke to make varsity on your D1 team. The top guys in the world run tempo runs faster than our p.r.'s. No reason to belittle someone else for excelling in their chosen division. That being said, there is no easy answer for the OP. Some people benefit from a faster training group with a more competitive environment. Some people can't handle the idea of not being number one on the team and quit after a year or two. The OP needs to think about which type he is and decide accordingly.

TLW wrote:

With a 9:25 you should run D1.

I was 30 seconds slower than you at 3200 in highschool and went D1, made varsity and ended up getting all the awards possible. Yea, you are going to work really hard but it's rewarding being at the top and competing against the best runners in college.

D3 all-america certificates are a joke. I'm not

trying to be rude, but it is the truth, and you know it too.

What do you have to run to get the all-america award in cross for D3, 25:15? I remember running 24:40 for 5 miles at a big D1 invite and barely cracking the top 50.

My college decision was between a D3 school and a D1 school. I wanted to see how I stacked up against the best so I went D1, ran 100 miles a week and found out how I measured up against the best.

The old "D3 is a joke" canard.

Guess what, you still didn't win anything and are in the same spectrum of non-elite than a D3 All-American.

Except you aren't an All-American. You are barely top 50 at some invite. And that matters, and you KNOW that matters.

TLW wrote:

With a 9:25 you should run D1.

I was 30 seconds slower than you at 3200 in highschool and went D1, made varsity and ended up getting all the awards possible. Yea, you are going to work really hard but it's rewarding being at the top and competing against the best runners in college.

D3 all-america certificates are a joke. I'm not

trying to be rude, but it is the truth, and you know it too.

What do you have to run to get the all-america award in cross for D3, 25:15? I remember running 24:40 for 5 miles at a big D1 invite and barely cracking the top 50.

My college decision was between a D3 school and a D1 school. I wanted to see how I stacked up against the best so I went D1, ran 100 miles a week and found out how I measured up against the best.

I ran 25:15 and never even ran at D3 nationals. What's all American, top 30? I forget. Anyway, 30th this year was 24:42. So I can't see you winning many awards in D1 with a 24:40.

I ran 24:40 my sophomore year and it was a big eye opener as I remember the race and my place vividly.

My PR from my 5th year was 24:05 and I ran 30 low for 10k at nationals just making all american.

Just to provide more depth for those who have never run D1 and are calling me out.

If you ran D1, you had your 'moment' where you had an amazing race, possibly a big PR at the time, and were well back in the pack. It is a mix of pure astonishment, joy and frustration.

konami code wrote:

If you think the point of college is to memorize the facts in a textbook, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Well I guess it boils down to what kind of person you are.

If you want to learn how to kiss butt and suck up to people, then yes go your route.

If you can make things happen on your own, then it doesn't matter where you go.

"There's also social education: I went to an elite school and I now know how to speak the language of privileged/powerful people and present myself acceptably. This is extraordinarily valuable in interviews and helps me present myself with authority when I'm speaking."

I'm with you on the rest of what you wrote, but the above sentence is just sad. Did you come up with that yourself, or did your elite university brainwash that into you?

Twitched wrote:

Well I guess it boils down to what kind of person you are.

If you want to learn how to kiss butt and suck up to people, then yes go your route.

If you can make things happen on your own, then it doesn't matter where you go.

This is pretty much true of anything. You don't NEED to get a job. Just make your own business! Well, regardless of what you may or may not be able to do on your own, going to a well-regarded university is an advantage. Nobody's saying you can't make it in the world without going to an Ivy.

two words: Barton County Community College

If you can afford it and do not get any DI scholarship offers, go to Haverford DIII and contact Tom Donnelly as soon as you can if your grades are good, you will get more that you ever thought out of this sport , ask anyone, anyone knowledgeable on here.

With that sort of a time coming out of high school, athletic success is not a guarantee. Sure you may run sub 14 in the 5k, but there are also plenty of 9:20 guys that didn't. Choose your school based on academics and fit before athletics. If you are a top recruit getting a scholarship, obviously this does not apply, but in your case you can't really count on anything so don't put all your eggs in one basket. Try to visualize yourself 4-6 years from now, and ask yourself what school would put you in the best position in that future timeframe.

Go to D1 school with good academics that will offer you a full ride. Running is not that important unless you really think you have a shot at making the trials at minimum and likely be a professional runner after college. There are other (fun and meaningful) things to do in college besides running.

What top academic DI school would offer a 9:25 guy a full ride for athletics?

(answer: none)

All these jokers talking about how great stanford and other big research schools are are forgetting that none of them would pay a second's notice to a 9:25 two-miler. If you improved a lot, maybe you could be a walk-on.

9:20 is right on the border between whether you ought to go DI or DII/III. Obviously it depends a lot on academics and stuff, but you won't get much money anywhere as a 9:25 guy. That's just the way it is. If you are a 9:10 guy, go DI. If you are a 9:30 guy, go DII/III. In the middle, it depends on "fishes and ponds" as they say.

I think a large part comes down to grades-- For someone to say 'go to Stanford blah blah' is a bunch of crap. Stanford is a hard place to get in without considering times.

I was a good but not great high school runner (1:57 800) and I ran at a D3 school as a freshman and it was a step up from high school, but I was still won many (most?) of the races I was in. I qualified for indoor nats, but didn't go as it conflicted with finals (trimesters..). That would never happen in D1.

I transferred primarily for academic reasons, and walk-ed on a D1 program (a fringe top 15 program) and had no idea what I was walking into (IE i had never been to letsrun, didn't know who the good people were, I just ran because it was fun and didn't really care beyond that). It was total shock. I'm unsure why the coach didn't cut me, but he kept me around for a year. The second year was a total change. I was never a great XC runner (25:40ish was my best 8k), but it wasn't the worst guy there. I did become a respectable miler and scored some points for the team at conference.

A lot will depend on the school and the level of program. The DIII school i went to was more similar to HS-- you didn't plan your entire day around practice. At D1, my entire life was planned around running. It wasn't a normal social experience, there wasn't much partying/drinking/ect. It was worth it though-- you can always party later.

Also, major is pretty irrelevant. Do what you want to do. I was an engineer and made it through, and it doesn't get much tougher than that major wise.

Also someone on here belittling a 9:20 3200 i can pretty much assure you has never broken 10 minutes. That's a good time for a high schooler, particularly a junior. Ignore that shit.