Low walk on standards + great academics in the northeast?

Binghamton University Running Club

Cheap state school with quite a bit of resources, and you'd fit right into the club's competitive group, which has been rapidly getting better over the past year. The only drawbacks are that training is a bit chaotic since there is no coach keeping everyone on the same schedule, and you have to pay your way into some meets.

It seems like the running club scene may be where I end up, seeing as an expensive no merit aid liberal arts school probably isn't in the cards.

RPI

NYU is very strong academically, and I've met NYU students who got outstanding merit-aid packages (foreign trips annually, etc.).

They just got a new coach, so I don't know what his walk-on policy might be in future; but at present they certainly have several guys who are over 6min/mile for 8k (recent B-squad results:

http://gonyuathletics.com/documents/2014/9/20//Final_Scores_Men.pdf?id=2838

).

And goodness knows they have a wealth of majors. (One tip to college applicants, though: unless you are pretty darn certain of what you want your major to be, just apply as "undecided." Don't force yourself to pick a major if you're really not sure--you can hurt your admission chances.)

Could Rutgers be an option? (I am in-state)

How strict are they with walk-on times? I just checked their web site and they list ridiculous times yet they have guys in the 28-29 minute (8k) range in XC...

williams

swarthmore

bowdoin

amherst

all great schools

prospectivecolleger wrote:

Could Rutgers be an option? (I am in-state)

How strict are they with walk-on times? I just checked their web site and they list ridiculous times yet they have guys in the 28-29 minute (8k) range in XC...

I went there, didn't run besides some club during freshman year. They usually have a smaller team and ask for walk-on times that a lot(if not all) of their runners aren't even running. I was faster than you and knew runners faster than me that couldn't even get a tryout. I came to the conclusion that he personally recruits a few guys and that is pretty much his team. The club team when I was there was a mixed bag, from people getting in shape to 17:xx Holmdel guys. Not sure what it is like now.

Go to a school that fits you academically and financially. Rutgers has some very good programs and I absolutely enjoyed my time there.

I was a recruit at Rutgers (didn't go there) and that matches up with my experience. I wasn't that good, either -- 4:29, 9:50 guy as a junior. They have a very small XC team, and I don't think the coach really cares about it. You're probably a bit slower than he'd take, though.

Manhattan College

That's a real shame. Would be a good fit for me if I could run there.

So f I put up, say 4:30-4:35/9:40-9:50 this spring, I won't even be able to try out next fall?

Ugh. Why can't anything in New Jersey ever work?

Williams = #1 undergraduate in the nation

Swarthmore = #3 undergraduate in the nation

Both have very poor track teams, so the walk on standard must be very achievable...

Buggy wrote:

Williams = #1 undergraduate in the nation

Swarthmore = #3 undergraduate in the nation

Both have very poor track teams, so the walk on standard must be very achievable...

See, this is intended to be a joke. The two schools are perennially among the top D3 distance programs.

And to the person who suggested Manhattan College: the OP specified "great academics." He doesn't sound like he's interested in being an eligibility major...

Ignoring your sarcasm, neither of those schools offer merit aid.

drth wrote:

Buggy wrote:

Williams = #1 undergraduate in the nation

Swarthmore = #3 undergraduate in the nation

Both have very poor track teams, so the walk on standard must be very achievable...

See, this is intended to be a joke. The two schools are perennially among the top D3 distance programs.

And to the person who suggested Manhattan College: the OP specified "great academics." He doesn't sound like he's interested in being an eligibility major...

I didn't mean weak by D3 standard, but weak by D1 standard. If you look at the Swarthmore roster, many have 4:30+ Mile PRs, some even 4:40+. I even saw one with a 5:00+ mile PR... So, the walk-on standard is surely achievable for the OP.

Vfvggvhggghg wrote:

I didn't mean weak by D3 standard, but weak by D1 standard. If you look at the Swarthmore roster, many have 4:30+ Mile PRs, some even 4:40+. I even saw one with a 5:00+ mile PR... So, the walk-on standard is surely achievable for the OP.

Actually, most mid distance runners on the Swarthmore roster have mile PRs between 4:30 and 4:40. Two of them have mile PRs over 5:00 (and another one has a 4:59 PR). Finally, one of the athlete on the roster has a 6:00+ mile PR. I think that this qualifies as weak/poor.

They are accepting

Queens College. Flushing, NY. D2

Fordham

Union College

Ran at Swarthmore with a 1500 best in the 4:30s. The walk on standard is whatever you want. We had a thrower run cross country with us who could just barely break 8 in the 1600 and then he ended up not throwing.

No merit aid. With your stats and interests, consider TCNJ.