What to look for in a college

Also would Throw in Coaches Goals for you individually and the team in the future. If you wanna join a team that has reputation of making a national meet most of the time at any level you should probably look at those schools.

He'll know which one is the right fit when he visits. Not much else to it

RecruitHelpers1234 wrote:

My son is a senior in high school and is about to take his first official visit next weekend and he doesn't really know what to look for in regards to finding the right place for him and the things to look for when finding the right place. I was wondering if anyone could share the deciding factors of what made you choose a school. I thought of a few but I'm sure there are more deciding factors.

School Atmosphere

Team Atmosphere and Culture

Academic Reputation

Facilities

Major

Coaches Training

Location

Proximity from Hometown

This is how I reordered your list.

School Atmosphere-Doesn't matter where you go if you hate the school you won't be a successful runner or student.

Academic Reputation- More important than anything to do with running. Your kid will probably not be a pro runner, he will be a professional something else.

Proximity from Hometown- This more important than many will say, but the logistics of a long distance from home can make school very difficult. (I'm not saying it's impossible, but when you are within a reasonable driving distance from home basic things are easier (sickness, vacation time, family emergencies, etc..)

Location- Area of the country can be a big factor. Training in the South is exceptionally horrible from May-Oct. That being said, winters in Wisconsin have to be wicked thing to deal with.

Team Atmosphere and Culture- What is the turnover like. Just like with a job hunt, if the roster is turning over at a very high rate, that tells you something.

Coaches Training- Should be fairly self evident.

Facilities- Nice to have but seriously, if you are a distance runner you need a track, training room, weight room, and a decent area to get in miles.

Major- Most people do not know what they really want to do when they enter college or they change their major later on. Picking a school because it's the better business school then realize you later that you want to go into the medical field creates all kinds of issues.

Cost to go to that school cause unless your son is a 8:50 2 Miler or 4:05 Miler or 1:50 800 guy cause if not your gonna be paying something (Obviously some more than others depending on Times & Accolades) but its so tough to get athletic money at places for distance running. Everyone is different in that way, some are willing to pay more for their kids to go to a certain school if that's where they really want to go and aren't getting a lot of athletic money if any, also look for academic money too. Some people need an athletic scholarship that's quite large to be considering that school. Everyones different in regrds to the financial aspect.

What I would ask about if I were a senior in high school,

Physical size of school (walking vs biking vs bussing)

Location (# bike paths, soft surfaces, safety)

Team culture (non-drinking vs drinking)

Academics (variety of programs for undecided freshmen, ranking doesn't really matter)

Housing (dorms vs apartments vs houses; teammates live together?)

Funding (team goes to good meets? gear handouts?)

Facilities (indoor track, xc course, outdoor track?; school facilities are old or new?)

Training (amount of mileage, style of workouts, workout intensity, flexibility, team execution of workouts)

Athletic Training (coach ok with being injured? staff actually helpful? cross-training methods)

Lifting (intensity, organized vs on-your own, core)

Easy. Hot chicks.

Simply put

What does your son plan on studying? And what does he want to do with his career?

That is the priority.

The running program- he could be hurt first semester and never run again. Coaches change. Kids change.

But even a foot locker champ eventually has to earn a living.

Meet with the career planning and placement office. How many companies come to interview in his proposed major?

Those are the real questions.

In my experience:

School Atmosphere - One of the biggest deciding factors.

Team Atmosphere and Culture - Another one of the biggest deciding factors.

Academic Reputation - I only visited top tier schools, so this was a given

Facilities - Minor contributing factor as most universities have amazing facilities. If they don't, then it's a good sign to go to another school

Major - Wasn't a huge determining factor as a) if it's an academically rigid school, then you'll be good no matter what major you are studying (unless you're going to be super-specialized) and b) most college students change their majors

Coaches Training - I played soccer, so it was less about their training and more about the 'vibe' I got from the coach: could I see myself having a positive relationship with this person for the next 4 years?

Location - had zero impact on my decision

Proximity from Hometown - had zero impact on my decision

Other contributing factors for me:

Weather - I'm a four season person, so I didn't look at any southern/southweastern schools. Duke was the most southern school I visited.

Alumni network - if their alumni are still involved with campus life and they have a large alumni group, then the chances of finding a promising career skyrockets

Intensity - not really sure how to put this into one term, but I knew going into college that I wasn't going to be on a World Cup team or get signed by Manchester United, so I wanted to enjoy my time playing soccer, but I was also realistic in that I wanted to make friends, do well academically, and enjoy college...not just have it be 4 years of nothing but soccer. So I wanted a coach and a program who appreciated that sport/life balance.

Some easy questions for recruits to ask to people on the team:

Why did you decide to go to X?

How has your experience been at X?

Can you tell me about your major?

What questions do you wish you would have asked on your recruiting visit?

Why would I choose to go to X over other schools?

Team size also could be one. Some may like a bigger team and some may want a smaller team in regards to roster size. Also the coaches personality can be one, some may like a more quiet and passionate coach and some may want a extremely loud and get in your grill type of passionate coach. Most college coaches are passionate but just in different ways and styles, if they don't seem passionate about what they're doing then that's a place you shouldn't go to.

Look for da bitties yo.

it's going to come down to whether or not he vibes with the athletes

There is no most important part, there is only the best combination. The two most important though is the culture of the school in how it makes a prospective student feel - obviously they should feel good and the what they will leave the school with - hopefully the skills needed to attain happiness in life.

Capt. Obvious wrote:

Easy. Hot chicks.

First the cafeteria food then ^

Cost should be the number 1 factor. It ranges from 0 to $75k per year. For the OP not to include it, shows that he is not skilled at decision making. Large schools will have all majors. School reputation had been proven not to matter for smart kids. The other feel good factors depend on the priorities of the kid.

aoxomoxoa wrote:

Alumni network - if their alumni are still involved with campus life and they have a large alumni group, then the chances of finding a promising career skyrockets

In the current day and age of artificial intelligence scanning resumes and employers wanting 3-5 years experience for what used to be entry level, "learn on the job" positions, having access to a strong alumni network is something that is way underrated in college selection. This is especially true if your kid is not very driven towards a very specific major/industry.

I also think that it is valuable for kids to have a college experience that is different from their home environment. City kids should consider a school in a small town or rural area and vice-a-versa. College can be the only time in kids lives when they have a chance to live in a different atmosphere from where they grew up and will end up after graduation.