Choosing a College

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Not Stanford level. Portland will take him without scholarship. Need to go d2 if you want any significant scholarship.

Ya I didn't think Stanford would be much of a shot. Portland is definitely an option. The runner doesn't care what level it's at D1-D3 or NAIA. Don't you think some D1 schools would take a kid runnining 9:0x for 3200m or 15:0x for 5k xc? Like a Washington State?

Yes his times will get him into many D1 Schools. Scholarships are hard to come by though.

I'd say there's probably some lesser competitive D1 schools where he could for sure get some scholarship money, this may come at the loss of choosing a weaker school for running/academics. Even some of the more competitive ones like Washington State may offer some money. Just depends on what the current financial situation those types of programs are in at the moment.

Colorado Mines would probably offer some money, right now their top 5 for 5k on the track are all sub-15. It seems like the D2 schools always find a way to get some money to each kid for the most part. Had some 4:30 mile guys getting money at my school. And to my understanding Mines is a pretty good school academically.

I guess it all just depends on his priorities are when it comes to the running, academic, and financial aspects of college. Obviously picking a college that excels in all these fields is ideal but can be unrealistic.

I'd say look into D2 programs like Mines. A lot of quality D2 programs on the west coast with good coaches and team depth and your athlete will assuming he continues to progress will probably be able to compete at the national level by the time he graduates. He'll be more likely to get money from D2 schools. Academically things will vary greatly depending on the school.

Wish I could say specific schools but my knowledge of west coast programs is limited. But the RMAC is one of the most competitive D2 conferences and is mostly around the Colorado area so I would look into those programs.

LeftCoastColleges wrote:

I coach a junior boy who ran low 15's for 5k xc and low 9's for 3200m. He wants to stay on the west coast and pursue the sciences and have a good coach and receive at least some scholarship or FA aid. Obviously the schools who placed last year on the west coast are N. Arizona, BYU, Portland, Colorado, Colorado St, Stanford, UCLA, UW, WSU, S. Utah, Boise St, Utah St. D2: Adams St, Colorado Mines, Western St, Cal Baptist, Chico St, CSU Pueblo, W Oregon. D3: Pomona-Pitzer, UC Santa Cruz, Claremont/Mudd/Scripps, Occidental. NAIA: British Columbia, S Oregon, Lewis-Clark, E Oregon, Coll of Idaho, Oregon Tech, Northwest Christian, Embrey-Riddle, Westmont. Which are the best for an athlete with his times and needs? What program is the best for a kid who will hopefully break 15 and break 9 this year?

Obviously D3 schools don't give athletic scholarships, and as a potential sub 9:00 3200 runner, D3 is not a good challenge for him, but if he wants to do that, Pomona, Pitzer, and the Claremont colleges give great financial aid if his family is not wealthy. Under $125,000 family income will get him great financial aid to those colleges.

D2 schools are the worst academically as a group, so I would not recommend any of those except for Colorado School of Mines academically, and that school is a bit more specific with the curriculum, so he should really make sure he wants to go there if he indeed does.

BYU only if he is Mormon. Most who go there who aren't feel left out a bit.

Stanford has some very high expectations both athletically and academically. I know a kid who went 14:58 in CC and 4:08 in the 1600 and who had straight As in high school including tons of AP classes at a very good high school, and Stanford had a problem with the fact he didn't take a 4th year of a language. So, if he gets to that level and has the grades and all the classes Stanford wants him to have, then go for it. Great school and program obviously. Most financial aid there will come in form of need. Stanford gives great financial aid based on need.

Of the remaining D1 schools, I would look seriously at Northern Arizona and Colorado. Both have the benefit of high altitude. Northern Arizona gives some very good academic scholarships for even just slightly better than average students though it's not known as the best school in the world. The training there is top notch though as the coaches there have turned some not so studly high school runners into college studs.

If he wants to study the sciences(possibly premed? Or pursuing grad school) he’d be better off at a smaller school like Claremont/Mudd/Scripps. Stanford is overrated. The Claremont schools are probably the best schools for a science major in the west coast because they’re smaller and more personal than schools like Stanford and UCLA which really helps when you’re looking to pursue an md or PhD because you’ll need a high gpa, research, and good rec letters. I don’t know about their athletics programs but the Claremont schools are the place to go if this kid is serious about accademics

I would look at Arizona or Arizona State, not for athletic money but for academic money. He'd get more at U of A and the requirements aren't as tough, but they are both generous with merit aid for out of state students. If he has decent ACT or SAT scores, he can get around $8,000 to $15,000 at ASU as an out of state student. For the $15,000 award he'd need about a 32 ACT/3.6 GPA. U of A offers anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 for merit aid. A kid with a 3.5 and a 30 ACT can get about $18,000, it increases as the GPA and test scores go up.

https://financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/freshman-transfer

https://financialaid.arizona.edu/cost/npc/freshman

https://scholarships.asu.edu/estimator

The OP was really hoping that we would tell him that the athlete would get a big scholarship at a D1 school.

I'd encourage him to obtain citizenship in a third world country, gradually improve his times to national class level and at age 24 apply to US DI programs stating his age as 18 and watch the greedy coaches throw him full scholarships to feather their nests.

I appreciate all of the serious responses. The funny ones were amusing though, so thanks for those too. If anyone has specific info on programs or coaching I would appreciate that as well. I think Portland is top on his list. I'm not sure how he would do at NAU or Oregon or Coloradoor Stanford, those are pretty amazing programs, (not that Portland isn't). I would really like more info on Mines, and Adams St and S. Utah if anybody knows about them. Thanks.

Portland usually carries a large roster and won’t give much in scholarships. It is a very good program that is well coached though.

Depending on what type of "sciences" he's interested in, Mines could be a very good school for him. All but two degrees at Mines are officially engineering degrees, though most are engineering in name only. He should really take a look at the departments he would be interested in. If he has good grades and test scores(e.g. top ten percent) he is likely to get an academic scholarship that will reduce the out-of-state tuition down to in-state level. As for athletic scholarship, unless things have changed significantly since I was there, there isn't much money to go around. His chances of getting money are more dependent on the allocation to current runners and the remaining availability. Though with low 15 5k and sub-9 32 I would be surprised if the coach wouldn't find him some money, just don't expect a full ride or anywhere near. I don't believe any runners are at Mines because of athletic scholarships, its just icing on the cake. They are there because it's really the only top-notch academic school that also has a top-notch running program. Also Golden is a great place to live, like Boulder but without all the bullsh*t.

Ever heard of Princeton or Stanford?

SUU is a good program that has been able to produce quite a few All Americans in distance over the last few years. In addition to a 2x NCAA champion and Bowerman award winner in Cam Levins. It wouldn't hurt to reach out to the coach to see what interest they might have.

Cam Levins ran a 15:27 5k in highschool and I am pretty sure SUU gave him some sort of scholarship going in his freshman year. (back in 2006, 2007 somewhere around there)

Predictor wrote:

Ever heard of Princeton or Stanford?

No. Tell us more?

Couldn't let a statement like "it's really the only top-notch academic school that also has a top-notch running program" go unrebutted. I would rank Princeton and Stanford higher in both categories.

The OP is casting a very wide net with NCAA D1, 2, 3 and NAIA schools on the west coast and an interest in the "sciences". It will help to narrow this down with the help of a high school counselor who is good with helping kids with the college application process. It's better to focus on a school with a good academic fit, then fit in running as a secondary factor. It's good to consider what the options are to walk-on the team at a school that you really like and be considered for a scholarship after 1-2 years. Location matters also: Portland, OR is a different place than Flagstaff, AZ, etc. There's also (possibly) the consideration of paying in-state tuition at a local state school versus out-of-state. Some people like to be at a school that's driving distance from home, so that it's easy to get back and forth on breaks or holiday weekends. It will help to narrow down his academic interest in the "sciences" to life, physical, earth, computer science or engineering and pick a school that has strong undergrad programs in those fields. If a scholarship for the first year is important, then focus on D2 and NAIA. Add to the D2 list two schools in California: UC San Diego and Chico State.

LeftCoastColleges wrote:

Ya I didn't think Stanford would be much of a shot. Portland is definitely an option. The runner doesn't care what level it's at D1-D3 or NAIA. Don't you think some D1 schools would take a kid runnining 9:0x for 3200m or 15:0x for 5k xc? Like a Washington State?

Yes, there will be D1 schools that will be interested especially if they see a good progression and potential to grow. Just don't expect a full ride. There is some money with those times but not a full ride (at least on the guys side). Do your homework, look at incoming recruits times and check out past times of guys currently on the roster for comparison to your athlete's times. Also look at rosters to see how many seniors are graduating from program the year prior to when your kid would be going. That will give you an idea of how many spots they are looking to fill and what money may be available. If they are only filling one or two spots that year, the standards will be much higher and obviously more competition for those roster spots. Some schools carry huge rosters though and just don't offer much money, like Portland. Also, have your athlete talk to kids he knows who are already on those teams. If he is currently on the west coast and runs in any of the bigger races there ( NXN, Footlocker, NXR, Borderclash, Oregon Relays, Jesuit Twilight, State meet, etc.) he undoubtably already knows runners on most of the D1 teams that you mentioned and can find out a lot from the current guys. That is a great source of info about the coach, team culture, academics and recruiting standards.