Student-Athlete school choices

[mebison]

After reading lots about who's being recruited where, and whether athletes will come to NDSU or jump to bigger ponds, I'm curious about what goes on in the mind of a high-school student being recruited for athletics. Since some of you were athletes, I was hoping you could tell me what it's like to be recruited by multiple schools. In particular, how much do academic programs fit into the picture? Do you go where the best team is just knowing that you can get a reasonable education at just about any accredited institution? Are there specific cases where a star athlete has chosen to go to a lesser team because they had a better program in X?

I didn't have to deal with these things with my college choices. The recruitment practice for me consisted of me standing at NDSU's front door and waving a signed check until they let me in :D

[NDSUguy]

I was recruited out of highschool to be on the NDSU football team. I redshirted my freshman year then decided that I wasn't good enough to be a factor long term so I gracefully left the team.... Anyways, to answer your question... I think that most of the student athletes decide to attend a school based on several factors.

1. Athletic program - after all, if the student will spend most of his/her time with the team this is truly one of the more important factors.
2. Athletic facilities - I loved the FargoDome.
3. Student life on campus. Where are the parties and how are the girls.
4. Academics.

Unfortunately, academics is usually one of the least important factors (unless of course the student knows what he wants to do with his life). Since most students don't have a clue at age 18 what they want out of life academics is usually a second tier issue. It's sad but true.

[RodentiaX]

No college sports teams recruited me for anything, so I can't answer personally about it. I did play a year of soccer in college. I was awful. :)

Anyway, the factors that people use in selecting a college vary by the individual. Parents can often be the ones who encourage their kids to pick a good academic school. There are some athletes who have their hearts set on playing for a particular school, and if the warm the bench for four years, and only get some cleanup time in their senior year, they are willing to do that. It's a choice I respect, although chosing a school where you can get playing time is respectable too. There are also players who choose to play at a lower level of athletic competition to get the academic programs they want.

[IowaBisonToo]

I swam at SCSU for a year - or at least tried to until I blew out my shoulder and the most SCS would do is give me some ice for it. >:( Turns out my rotator cuff is shot. In any case, I chose SCSU mainly for the following reasons:

1) costs - cheaper than U of M which is where I initially wanted to go
2) good academic program
3) old teammates from high school that swam for SCSU said it was a pretty good program at the time (actually only UND was better in the conference than we were but not by much)
4) good friends went to SCS
5) grew up in SC and liked the area

Funny, I was only approached by the coach once - probably because of a coaching change - so that was definitely NOT one of the reasons I chose SCS.

[Hammerhead]

I would have loved to play for the NDSU club team in soccer, but I had to work to pay my tuition since I didn't want to take out a student loan. I'm sure the reasons for picking a school vary from person to person. Someone might also choose to play at a lower level to get more playing time instead of riding the pine for years at a top program.



No college sports teams recruited me for anything, so I can't answer personally about it. I did play a year of soccer in college. I was awful. *:)

Anyway, the factors that people use in selecting a college vary by the individual. Parents can often be the ones who encourage their kids to pick a good academic school. There are some athletes who have their hearts set on playing for a particular school, and if the warm the bench for four years, and only get some cleanup time in their senior year, they are willing to do that. It's a choice I respect, although chosing a school where you can get playing time is respectable too. There are also players who choose to play at a lower level of athletic competition to get the academic programs they want.

[Woden]

Well, before everyone gets too warm and cozy, let's point out the biggest factor in choosing which athletic program to be in-

AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP-let's face it, money talks, and collegiate athletics is no different. I should point out that amount isn't necessarily the right word, but rather the percent of the bill that scholarship will cover. By this i mean there is a difference between $10,000 to go to NDSU and the same to go to Augustana. At NDSU you are now paying nothing and at Augustana you owe about $17,000.

Yes, things such as program success and academics are also factors, but money talks my friends.