This is me, Any chances of making NCAA Div1?

Yes, you are a D1 level athlete, but not all universities will offer you a scholarship, have the program you are interested in, or be in an area where you want to live.

BigFuture.org (find colleges) is a good reference for information on admission scores and majors. When you search for colleges, enter both Indoor and Outdoor Track, DI, for Sports, Health and Medicine for Major, and Kinesiology and Exercise Science for Specific Major as "Must Have". Then, cross reference that list with a search for "best Kinesiology and Exercise Science universities" and DI track program rankings.

http://www.ustfccca.org/2018/08/featured/2018-ncaa-di-mens-cross-country-regional-rankings-preseason

. From those three lists, try to come up with 15-20 schools to contact. For example, Rice in Texas if you like hot weather, and University of Michigan if you can handle cold weather, were qualifiers in all three areas. If you don't hear back or get any scholarship offers, just widen your search.

D1/D2/NAIA schools offer academic (merit) and athletic scholarships, as well as need-based aid, but often that's federal (government) aid which most international students aren't eligible for. Many scholarships are partial, half tuition or some $ amount. If that's the case at a state/public university, make sure to inquire if you would be offered "in-state" tuition which is 1/2 to 1/3 of "non-resident/out of state" tuition.

Good luck with TOEFL and ACT/SAT if needed.

Scholar Expert wrote:

Georgetown will cost you $50k per year and Notre Dame will cost $70k but you won’t get in. I had a son run 9:15 3200 at 17 and scored a 35 ACT with 4.0 GPA. He got rejected at ND.

How??

That really doesn't sound right to me. Were they getting a ton of people faster than 9:15?? I would think, at the very least, you'd admit a kid like that have them pay full tuition and tell them to walk on.

Hmm...It doesn't look good for me. 50K$/year is too much for my family.

Has anybody on this boards been to Loughborough University in the United Kingdom? I've been told it is very good for running, and cheaper because it would only cost 10K$/year. Is it really worth it the NCAA?

Thank you, everyone, you are being really helpful.

Don't get discouraged by the crazy pricing system in the U.S. A lot of students don't pay the "sticker price" listed. You might get a full scholarship, especially if you are a good student as well as a good runner.

It's a bit daunting to begin a search with so many choices and variables. Start with the East Coast, so you are near or in cities with shorter, direct flights to Europe (that is if you like your friends and family). Look for DI schools that have good academic programs in kinesiology, like Boston University or Northeastern, but that are not so elite (like Harvard or MIT) or competitive in running as to not offer you a scholarship. Also, if you get an offer, consider the climate and culture (liberal/conservative/religious) of the area as well if it's urban campus with great transportation/restaurants/shops vs. rural campus with great trails/less traffic.

I’m from Europe and got a full ride with a 1:54 and 3:53. They give full rides out more often for international athletes because they understand the financial system for college isn’t the same. I was also looking at Loughborough but the training isn’t as structured and there’s a bigger focus on partying

Which college? Coaches aren’t going to waste more scholarship on a foreigner of the same ability as an American. If equal, they may even lean toward the American.

There have been other posters who had similar experience with ND. They canned the coach and signed 3 of the top HS runners last year. My son is a jr in college now and he ran faster than all but one ND runner.

Title IX changed everything. Some schools only allow 30 spots for men but 50 for women. There may only be a few spots for distance and they don’t like to waste any scholarships until you are scoring.

NCAADiv1 Hopeful wrote:

Okay thank you.

What do you guys think about Georgetown...

I am after a good education and after good coaching experience. Getting tuition fees covered would be more than enough.

If I'm not going to get a good education I'd rather stay home with my coach and training group.

Kinesiology? Excercise Science? The academic rigor if the school makes zero difference for your stated field of study.

Well, I don't know in the US but in Europe, in Exercise Science, schools matter. i.e: It's not the same earning a degree from Loughborough than from Manchester Metropolitan.

I guess it's all going to be down to me getting in touch with coaches and see what they've got to offer me.

Easily D1 times. If you want to steeple, Syracuse is very good, but will probably not give a full ride. If you're focused more on 1500-5000, look into Wisconsin, Oregon (you wouldn't get a full ride but excellent history), Portland, Iowa State, Virginia, Furman, Texas, Georgetown, Princeton, Washington, Colorado, Penn State, etc. etc....there are a million good D1 schools for 1500-5000, you may perform well at any of these schools and all would give you a nice scholarship to go there, except maybe Oregon. E-mail every coach of every program in the Flotrack Top 25 except the military schools, and go to the NCAA Indoor DMR Championship and e-mail the coach of every program that made that race. Many will reply, some may invite you to visit right then; communicate with all of them about what their program is like, visit if you can, and make a decision based on that, as well as what they offer you. Good luck!