Did you make your college decision based mostly on running?

I did what your daughter did (went to the lower ranked school where I had a shot at walking on/ running as opposed to the better one where I didn't).

I was injury prone and ultimately competed for my first 3 seasons while I was in school, but I ended up discovering something I loved outside of running which led to a post graduation job and ultimately a career.

I guess my answer would be to tell your daughter to go where she thinks she'll be happy right now - it's best to do that and let the chips fall where they may. The most important thing she does is to make sure to decent good grades wherever she is.

i did and went to masters and doc grad school - i would do it again 'in a second' ... and it was entirely on 'running' program, if going on to grad school - then undergrad is less of a factor, unless limiting grad school selection. I realize this goes against most conventional thinking

i went to the better school...walked on for 2 years, lived it up as a college kid for 2 years

wouldn't have it any other way

if she really loves running she'll find a way to get involved: she can potentially learn alot as a walk on, or run for the school club team, or do local road races etc

yeah. I was looking for a school with good academics AND a good running program. didn't go to a certain school because the academics were not top notch, despite loving the running program. running program was my first priority because i knew that is where i would be spending most of my time and that is what would determine my happiness most. but i was also looking for at least decent academics because i had always been a scholar. So if possible, try to compromise and find a school that offers both. but if i was in your daughters position and had one school where i loved the track program but hated the academics and the other school where i loved the academics but hated the track program i would definitely go with the school with the good track program. not worth being miserable for 4 years.

I did... running didn't work out so I transferred to an in-state school that was both better academically and much cheaper, even without an athletic scholarship. If I had it to do over, I still would have chosen a school on running, it just would have been a different school. I think I would have gone to a smaller school with good academics where I'd be valued as an athlete, something that was lacking at the highly ranked D1 school I went to. People think choosing a school based on running is dumb, but for me, it really does make a huge difference. If I'm not happy with my running, it carries over to a lot of other things in my life, including my studies. However, since leaving my college team and battling long injury layoffs, I've adjusted to life without running and have found a new passion in science, which is what I'm studying. It is sure to help my grades and my career advancement.

Despite all this, I think people like Jordan Hasay are crazy. Oregon may be a good running school, but Stanford is too, and the environment and academics don't even compare. Running may be a big part of one's decision, but it shouldn't be the only thing one considers.

Choosing colleges isn't nearly as cut and dry as people make it out to be, especially for athletes. Running, academics, money, scholarships, distance from home, likeability of coach and team, college atmosphere, etc are all factors not to be taken lightly. It's impossible to find a perfect fit. If one is happy, everything else will work out. Try to pick a school in which you think you can be happy. By you I mean your daughter of course.

I went to George Mason which was the best track school in the east.

But that was just a coincidence. It was also in state and a 20 minute drive from my house. So I was able to stay home and save on room and board. I walked on and eventually earned a scholarship. I trained with great athletes, rabbited for Morceli in the Mobil Invitational and ran at the Olympic Trials.

But I based my college decision on cost and location.

Yes I did; but I must admit that I didn't forsake the Ivy League education or Stanford, etc., to do it. I did forsake the big State Universities in my region for a smaller State U that had a great distance program and coach.

I had zero athletic ability and was not recruited for sports by any college.

I actually deposited at Caltech, where I might have made the team, but eventually ended up going Ivy and never even attempted to walk on.

So I'd say that running did not influence my college choice at all.

jtrs wrote:

I had zero athletic ability and was not recruited for sports by any college.

I actually deposited at Caltech, where I might have made the team, but eventually ended up going Ivy and never even attempted to walk on.

So I'd say that running did not influence my college choice at all.

Obviously, it wouldn't apply to you if you 'had 0 ability' like you say. Cal Tech doesn't even have a team; so you might be trolling here. Nice try.

Honestly, I chose a good academic school that had one of the best running traditions in the region, because I had found immediate success with running as a senior and thought I was better than I was on a relative scale. That and a lack of any real direction at that point in my life led to running as my top priority, but I also wanted a school with solid academics, and, perhaps just as important, big-time college sports. And, oh yeah, warm weather and a plethora of good-looking women. Running didn't pan out, but I don't regret my decision.

You get out of school what you put into it, no matter where you go. And you only get ONE opportunity to have the experience. Academics SHOULD BE prioritized, but the entire package matters. Some of the pre-game tailgaters were the best experiences of my college life.

Schools are ranked by academics? Really?

My first two schools were decided by running. The third was picked by location after I was unable to run anymore.

One more piece of advice based on personal experience -- IF she really values running, she should go to a school where she was recruited or will otherwise be a big fish in a small pond. She's more likely to be on the coach's radar screen either way, and it's much tougher to fall through the cracks in that situation. Although I ultimately obtained a diploma from a much better university than where I was actually recruited, I'm not sure the coach ever fully knew my name, and my stint with the team was short-lived.

hello McFly anyone in there ? wrote:

Cal Tech doesn't even have a team; so you might be trolling here.

I'm sure this will come as a surprise to Julie Levesque, her staff, and about 50 students:

You mean practically 'intramural' level?

Hey man, they might not be very good, but they're certainly a team and they work very hard at track. Besides, they will occasionally get a good runner - I know off hand that the CalTech 800m record is about 1:50.

That would be Ruth Wysocki's brother.

Sagarin wrote:

One more piece of advice based on personal experience -- IF she really values running, she should go to a school where she was recruited or will otherwise be a big fish in a small pond. She's more likely to be on the coach's radar screen either way, and it's much tougher to fall through the cracks in that situation. Although I ultimately obtained a diploma from a much better university than where I was actually recruited, I'm not sure the coach ever fully knew my name, and my stint with the team was short-lived.

QFE

If she goes to a school with a great program, unless she's someone who will immediately be top 3 on the team, the coach probably isn't going to care too much about her. In HS, my dream was to be a contributing member of a successful team, and I based my decision on that. Man, was that ever a bad mistake. I didn't make top 7 coming in and my coach didn't give a shit about me. In actuality, he didn't give a shit about anyone but his number one runner, and to a much lesser extent his number two runner. Consequently, everyone else ran terrible and they had/have a very high turnover rate for athletes. Out of the 6 in my recruiting class, 4 left after 1.5 years, and that's pretty typical of the program (of course they didn't share that information when recruiting me). If I had it to do over again I would try to go to a good academic school with a lousy team but a caring coach.

....you come across as a dilweed. exagerating much?

I chose a California (CSU) state school over the Ivy League, because of running.

I sometimes wonder how my life would have been different, though I am not terribly dissatisfied with 'real' life.

Would be fun (or soul-crushing?) to view the parallel universe.