Does Princeton Take Walk-Ons?

i'm guessing you probably run in the mid to high 17ms for 5k... and if that is the case the answer is unfortunately no. however. i refuse to believe that you can't run in college, or even that you cant run for princeton. pull a johnny grabbow and wake up at 4:30 am every day to train. make sure to race open track races (they wont accept local 5k times as legit). i know for a fact princetons #1 man on the club team runs in the 25:50's. they have a highly competitive club team that you can use to supplement your hellish training. break 30 for 8k, then 27, then 25. prove to them that you are an asset. by senior year, vig will have no choice but to take you on. thats pretty much the only way you can do it.

The plan you outlined doesn't sound too bad regardless, but I actually ran a 16:10 5k XC PR so the situation isn't as bleak as it could be... Would that change anything?

That is if Vig is still in town then...

OP: what are your current prs? Track, too. Those are easier to gauge, since not all xc courses all the same. I'm sure someone will be able to give you a more accurate answer based on whatever your best times are.

Maybe you should try contacting some of the folks at Princeton? Vig, himself, might not be too helpful. Generally head coaches are too busy (or just too lazy) to give potential walk ons the time of day. So, maybe you could try to contact some assistants, or (you'll have to do some legwork here) graduate assistants. Who knows? Maybe you can get ahold of some athletes. That might be a step to take...

Unfortunately my Track PR's are not worth much as I got substantially better over the summer. (Ran a 17:30+ last year in cross and dropped it 80+ sec to give an idea of my improvement). Nonetheless, here they are, along with the times that I think would better represent my current ability:

1600m 4:43 - Ran this in practice, split 2:22-2:21 so I really think in a race setting I could've ran 4:35-4:40 this fall. I hope to get it down to around 4:30 or possibly under in the spring.

3200m 10:23 - Last year's track PR. However, I split a 10:22 at the 2mile mark of my 16:10 : I can say without wishful thinking that I'm probably in at least 9:50 shape right now. I hope to get that as close as possible to 9:30 this spring.

I know these aren't worth much and nobody likes to run on hypotheticals, but I hope they help to give a general idea.

I thought a walk-on was someone not on scholarship.

Princeton doesn't have track scholarships so aren't they all walk-on's?

It's all about what you've done, not about what you will do. I have no doubt you could go sub 4:30 and sub 9:50 during track season. Right now, they may or may not take you.

Your best course of action might be to keep in contact with them throughout the season. Sure, you might not ever hear back from them, but don't give up. If the times keep dropping, then they *might* take notice. I'm just guessing here, but it seems like a sub 4:20 and sub 9:30 would be some rough minimums to hit. So, not impossible for you, but it won't be a walk in the park.

In the meantime keep your grades up. Coaches might actually notice you more once you actually get into the school.

I'm not buying that a "club" guy runs 25:50 and could not be on the team. That's 5:11 pace per mile. At heps, the last guy who competed ran 25:44. I'm sure he could at least be on the team, maybe not compete in a ton of races but at least be involved.

What are your SATs? And what are the minimum scores required for Princeton anyway?

No minimum scores as far as I know, they're all about the holistic application process nowadays. I'm in the 2200-2300 range though, 1570 without writing.

this new world of title 9 is so sad- I was a 10:15 two miler in 1987 at Dartmouth and Vin let me run with the team and even compete 3 times.

* wrote:

I thought a walk-on was someone not on scholarship.

Princeton doesn't have track scholarships so aren't they all walk-on's?

Walk-ons are players who weren't actively recruited by the coach. Ivy coaches can't give scholarships, but they can give nearly guaranteed admission to academically qualified students (which, for most of the Ivy athletes that I knew, was worth more than a scholarship).

To the OP, the thing I think is most curious about your case is that you're only 15. That's a pretty huge obstacle for anyone not named Jordan Hasay. Though you're not likely fast enough right now, you do have puberty in your favor, and so it's likely that you'd make more progress than a typical 16 minute high school senior.

That being said, the answer to this (and almost every other college question) is to contact the coaches.

Princeton has taken walk ons in the past, in fact a friend of mine recently walked onto the team. Under Dolan there was a tryout for walk ons; runners had to run under a 15:30 5k on the track during a team time trial to join. With the coaching change I don't know what the procedure will be.

* wrote:

I thought a walk-on was someone not on scholarship.

Princeton doesn't have track scholarships so aren't they all walk-on's?

Princeton, along with the other Ivy League schools, has athletic scholarships. They just don't call them athletic scholarships.

Under Dolan, the standard for potential freshman walk-ons was a 15:37 track 5K, to be run during a team workout (well, workout for the top guys; more of a time trial for everyone else) at the beginning of the XC season. That's more or less exactly 5:00 per mile. I know of at least one successful walk-on when I was there (I just graduated last year, so you have the time frame). There were others that were very close but couldn't quite do it - a freshman ran a 15:43 or so last year and that didn't cut it, for instance.

What I have heard is that the new policy under Vigilante is that there are no walk-ons, period. Take this with a grain of salt and do your homework (read: email people), but I think it just got a lot harder with the coaching change.

It's kind of unfortunate, if true. There are a lot of really talented runners at Princeton that don't get a chance to prove themselves.

I should also add that, as people have mentioned, the best runners on the club team are pretty good. The #1 last year was a 15:20s-range guy who was 10th at NIRCA nationals.

if you work your butt off the summer before freshman year, anything's possible. taper and peak for the time trial meet

I was a 10:00/4:35 guy my junior year of high school. Fall of senior year I ran around 16min in xc. I thought, still think, I was pretty good and on track to be a good college runner. I ended up having a great career in the ivy league.

If you have the academic credentials to get into Princeton then you're going to be fine regardless of what happens. Start training your butt off now, dont let anyone tell you that you can't be great. If you're in the best shape of your life on the first day of practice youll be better off than some of the recruited guys. Good luck, Vig is a great guy and amazing coach.

ps, aim higher and go to Cornell :)

eh000 wrote:

I should also add that, as people have mentioned, the best runners on the club team are pretty good. The #1 last year was a 15:20s-range guy who was 10th at NIRCA nationals.

I'm running in grad school with this guy now. He ran under 25:00 at club nationals. I don't know if he ever officially tried to make the team but it sounded like the time trial policy was a hindrance for him.

SlipperyPete1340 wrote:

I'm not buying that a "club" guy runs 25:50 and could not be on the team. That's 5:11 pace per mile. At heps, the last guy who competed ran 25:44. I'm sure he could at least be on the team, maybe not compete in a ton of races but at least be involved.

You don't have to buy it

So, the takeaway is this:

1) It sounds like it's very difficult (if not impossible) to run for Princeton if you haven't been recruited

2) They have an active running club currently on an upswing