I'm considering doing a 5th year at grad school because I still have eligibility for track and XC to finish out. What kind of times do you have to run to be considered by good programs (Gtown, Stanford, W&M, etc)? What times do you have to run to get some sort of scholarship? Are there academic scholarships that can supplement the running scholarship if I have good grades and such?
Thanks for any helpful responses, feel free to throw out any advice about the process, I'd really appreciate it.
Academic scholarships depends on your department, in addition to the school. Most grad schools offer financial aid in the form of a job as a TA or RA, which probably wouldn't be very practical if you're planning to run for the team.
Athletic scholarships are a little easier since you're only a one-year commitment, instead of a four-year like a high school senior would be. General rule of thumb is if you could score at their conference meet you can get some money, if you could be ~top 3 in their conference meet on the track you could potentially score a full ride. Of course, if you set your sights lower athletically the money would be easier to come by.
I'm guessing you should be cracking 14 at the very least.
So would sub-14 5k in junior outdoors get me a 1 yr full ride to a top end team (that's also a good academic school)? I'm thinking of Gtown, Stanford, W&M, UNC, Duke, etc.
Thanks guys.
There's quite a difference between some of those schools (especially Stanford). The only way to know for sure is to get in contact with the coaches.
thread starter wrote:
So would sub-14 5k in junior outdoors get me a 1 yr full ride to a top end team (that's also a good academic school)? I'm thinking of Gtown, Stanford, W&M, UNC, Duke, etc.
Yes, potentially, but you've got to deal with the coaches individually. (Some simply have no money to spare.) And your academics (record and interests) matter a great deal. Give the coach(es) a call or send an email--now would be a good time!
rolf