What schools should I consider for a scholarship?

Frankly I’d go to Wisconsin with those times.

You may improve senior year but it will come too late to gain the interest of Oregon and Washington. If you think you’d like those schools you wouldn’t like Oregon State or Washington State.

Other schools out west:

Portland: All 5k and 10k guys

Seattle U.: Expensive liberal arts school. No track

Portland State: Nothing

Gonzaga: no Mid-D

San Franciso: No Mid-D

Boise State: Maybe

Cal: New Coach

Stanford: Not an option

Thank you for the response, I eventually want to move out to the west coast and I’m just concerned that if I stay in Wisconsin too long it will be super difficult to leave because of friends, relationship, etc... walking onto the badgers is definitely on my radar though. Next year will be the first year where I actually practice in the off season before xc and track so who knows how that will go.

It is so much helpful for me and others. I think California is best.

You gave enough inof that everyone kniws who you are. That is okay but some kids don't feel comfortable doing that. Most kids go to one of the Wiac schools with those times. Wisconsin wont let you walk on but you probably know that. The schools on the west coast that have slow times are underfunded. You will be very disappointed to find out that you will pay $40k per year for a no name school. Two of the best 800 programs right now are Iowa and Iowa State. Both will let you walk on if you run 1:54 senior year.

College can be very expensive, especially private or out of state schools.

Central Michigan offers in state tuition to EVERYONE. Some border states allow you to pay in state tuition. then there are other rackets like if a Mississippi university doesn't offer a Psychology major, then you can go to a Texas school with a Psychology major.

You'll always get more scholarship for academics than athletics if you aren't a football or basketball player.

I have heard very good things about lots of the Wiac programs especially La Crosse but I feel like I would be underachieving, especially in academics choosing one of those schools. My gpa is lower than it should be because I didn't try by first year and a half of high school unfortunately. My coach was in contact with Madison for one of my teammates and I guess that the cutoff for walking on would be in the 1:55 region so with two more offseasons, cross country, and track I'll most likely be able to break that.

thanks for the info!

Don't listen too much to people on here. Go to a good school, academics are probably more important than athletics in the long run. Talk to coaches. See what they say. I'm sure you can find a good school that will help you out with tuition and let you run with those times. Good luck!

The signing period starts in November so if you don't want to wait until the bitter end, your times are your times. What is your ACT score since you said that you would not be challenged at the WIAC schools? You could always consider UW Milwaukee. Wisconsin is a good school but you will have to get much faster in order to compete in the Big Ten. I just don;t think it makes sense to move across the country to a no-name school that you will pay big bucks for. You will probably be back in Wisconsin within a year.

Did the OP get scared off once he realized that his identity had been revealed? Might as well come back to get some advice.

Haha no I’m still here, I was working quite a bit and I honestly forgot about this thread. I don’t mind if people know who I am, I’m pretty transparent. Last night I was looking at smaller d1 and bigger d2 schools out of state and emailing a couple of their coaches regarding scholarships and financial aid. My major is computer science so that doesn’t limit schools too much since nearly everyone has CS now. There are just so many options and it’s hard finding a good balance of academics and a team which suits me. It seems like everyone is either out of my league for an offer or my high school team would be able to compete with them... the hunt continues.

You right in line with a Marquette or UW Milwaukee or some of the WIAC schools. If you are smart and poor, Wash U is a great option.

You can totally still move out to California, but you will probably have to look at the smaller schools. UC Santa Barbara has a pretty solid team and their academics are right in line with what you stated about yourself. I'm pretty sure 29 is their ACT median. I'd suggest reaching out to the coach their and asking if any scholarships are available for someone like you.

If not there, you can still look at D3 schools. Occidental College is in line with you academically and have a competitive team. Same goes for UC Santa Cruz. D3's can't offer scholarships, though, so you'll have to keep costs in mind.

You will spend $200k to earn a degree or you could stay in Wisconsin and spend $90k.

What is your ACT? D2 schools are terrible which makes your comment about the WIAC schools illogical.

For such a distance rich state, why is the 800 always so slow?

Note small, private d3 schools often give very generous financial aid. There are some good matches on the west coast. Occidental has already been said, I would also look at Claremont McKenna. You can find how good they are on tfrrs, Claremont McKenna has a good group of fairly fast dudes.

Yes, their average ACT may be higher than yours BUT with the help of the coach (d3 coaches do help in admission!) you have a chance.

WiscRunner wrote:

Thank you for the response, I eventually want to move out to the west coast and I’m just concerned that if I stay in Wisconsin too long it will be super difficult to leave because of friends, relationship, etc... walking onto the badgers is definitely on my radar though. Next year will be the first year where I actually practice in the off season before xc and track so who knows how that will go.

That's the whole point of life, to be cared for and to care for others. That's where all the real joy in life comes from. The whole west coast is going to sh!t. Every city there is dying in dramatic fashion.

Right now you think the Midwest is boring and "square", and that the West Coast is more sophisticated and liberal. But that liberalism out there is an absolute religion, and it's basically a cult, and the people out there are devoid of real values and real principles. They're mostly not even capable of real friendship, and their marriages end in divorce the overwhelming majority of the time.

And I'm sure you'll dismiss everything I'm saying here. It won't be until you're in your late 20s that you realize how morally inferior the West Coast is compared to the Midwest and Wisconsin.

Just go to Madison, and with all the money you're saving you could literally use a credit card to fund a summer long road trip up and down the West Coast before your freshman year.

That's sound advice. The only additional information worth considering is that UW and the city of Madison have become quite liberal also. You may want to stick with a WIAC school to save even more and to be competitive.