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College

This page is a product of the college search process for my daughter Courtney - who'll graduate in the spring of 2010.  Courtney hopes to run hurdles in college - so there is information regarding the NCAA, NAIA, individual colleges, scholarships, etc.  

Update - 2/20/10 - I think we're surprised as a family to find  her final decision has not yet been made!  Courtney applied to, and was accepted by each of her "Final Four" schools.  She has been fortunate to receive athletic scholarship offers from each.  She also received academic scholarship offers from two of the schools.  Its important to note that while each school has a "list price" (tuition, R&B, fees, etc.) - after applying scholarships and other forms of aid - the cost order may change.  For Courntey, the lowest "list price" school ended up being the 2nd most expensive, while the most expensive "list price" school became the least expensive!  We're waiting for the final "Award Letters" from each of the schools which includes critical financial aid information such as grants, student loans, work study programs, etc. and the actual costs for the upcoming  school year (most of her schools haven't set next years costs yet!).  If your close on $'s - you'll have to wait for this.  

Of course, there are other factors besides "cost" that needs to be considered:
  • G raduation rate - how many kids graduate in 4 years?  In 5 years?
  • What are the graduation rates for athletes?  You'll be shocked at how few kids graduate in 4 years at some schools (some were less than 40%).  Believe it or not - a graduation rate of 60-70% is pretty high!  May not be a bad idea to budget for 5 years instead of the typical 4 years.
  •  Academic fit - how does your GPA & ACT compare w/other freshman at your school.  At some schools a 3.0 GPA is in the 50% range - at others it may be in the lower 25%
  • Athletic fit - compare preformances by looking at the school's records, top-10 lists, conference meet results, etc.  Check out the Rankings and Performance list links below!
  • Other lessons learned:
    • Your pre-search favorite school may not even make your final cut - it didn't for Courtney .  So keep an open mind - you might be surprised.
    • Don't be fooled by the glory of competing at a Division I school - as your mileage may vary!  Simply - while it may be true that LSU, Texas A&M, USC, UCLA, etc. have exceptional programs,  there are Division I programs that are pretty weak.  
    • Many Division II programs are stronger than alot of the Division I programs.  
    • Some NAIA programs are more than an equal to the best Division II schools - while others may  not be as good as your high school team.  
    • Look at the schools indoor & outdoor conference results and school records/top10 lists.Coaching 
    • There are great coaches at all levels - and yet there are no doubt coaches at the Division I level that may be better recruiters than coaches.
    • Programs - Just because a college has a multiple "stud" hurdlers - doesn't mean that they develop great hurdlers - they may be great at recruiting exceptional talent.  Do your homework - go back over the results for previous years & athlete bios to see how much they've improved.   You'll find that some athletes aren't running much faster than they did in high school (some even run slower).  You may want to be in a program that can take a 15.2 second hurdler and turn them into a 14.3 second hurdler than one that takes a 13.8 second hurdler and turns them into a 13.6 second hurdler. 
We started with a list of over 30 Colleges & Universities before getting down to the Final Four!  The original list included NCAA DivI, II & III schools as well as NAIA. Courtney ended up visiting around 12 different schools before trimming the list down to the four that she intends to apply to.  Naturally - none of the remaining schools are in state - and only 1 of the 4 is a public school (ouch $'s).
College & Scholarship Articles

The Price of Admission - MONEY Magazine (February 1, 2003) article on the costs of applying to college - by Jean Sherman Chatzky additional reporting by Amy Wilson.

It's Not An Adventure - It's A Job! - Bill Pennington's New York Times Article (March 12, 2008) on some of the realities of scholarship athletes!
Want To Try Out For College Sports - Forget It! - Bill Pennington's New York Times Article (September 21, 2002) offering something less than encouragement for those interested in college sports.

College Athletics & Scholarships - Donna Dye's "College Athletics & Scholarships for Track & Field - What's it all about?" article - 02/03/09
Dyestat Guide for College Bound Student Athletes - Dyestat's Four Year Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete
Dyestat Scholar - Thrower Karen Freberg keeps a diary of her senior year & the recruiting season 
College T&F Results & Rankings

Track & Field Results Reporting System -  NCAA Div I, II, III and NAIA Meet Results and Performance Lists - by gender, event, etc. - Great Site!
2010 NAIA Performance Lists - Direct Athletics - Performance Lists by gender and event - Great Site!
2010 Qualifying Standards  - Apple Raceberry JaM  - NCAA & NAIA National Qualifying Standards (not the prettiest site - but the info is there).

Division I T&F Rankings - US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Div I Rankings
Division II T&F Rankings - US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Div II Rankings
Division III T&F Rankings - US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Div III Rankings

2009 Big 10 Outdoor Championship - Men - NCAA - Div I
2009 Big 10 Outdoor Championship - Women - NCAA - Div I.

2009 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship - NCAA Div II

2009 Midwest Collegiate Conference - Women - NAIA

 2009 NAIA Outdoor Championship -  National Association of  Intercollegiate Athletics - Co-Ed Results
2009 NAIA Indoor & Outdoor Standards -  National Association of  Intercollegiate Athletics - Indoor & Outdoor Qualifying Standards (.doc)

2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Men -  2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Qualifying Standards - Men
2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Women -  2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Qualifying Standards - Womern

2009 NCAA Division II Indoor Championship
2009 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship

2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship - Men
2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship - Women

2009 NCCAA Outdoor Championship - National Christian College Athletic Association - Co-Ed Results
2009 NJCAA Outdoor Championship - National Junior College Athletic Association - Co-Ed Results


College Scholarships & Walk-On Standards (for reference only - please contact the college or university directly for current information)

Information for High School athletes considering T&F at the college level.  Only NCAA Division I & II programs can offer athletic scholarships. NAIA and some Jr. Colleges may also offer athletic aid.  Many schools offer "partial" scholarships vs. "full rides".  Some schools favor XC/distance athletes - who can compete in 3 seasons (XC, indoor & outdoor) vs. 2 seasons for other T&F athletes as it gives them more "bang for their buck". Naturally, athletes who can meet standards in multiple events will get more consideration.

Best advice - get good grades and score well on your ACT/SAT  - as there are far more academic scholarships, grants and aid available than T&F scholarships!

NCAA & NAIA Scholarship Limits (do your own math to calculate the total number of scholarships available - then consider the number of athletes on a Division I or II T&F program...)

National Collegiate Scouting Association - Disclaimer : I don't endorse nor recommend the NCSA.  This information is for reference only.
NSCA T&F - National Collegiate Scouting Association Track & Field
NCSA Men's T&F - Men's Track & Field Scholarhip & Walk-On Standards - NCAA DIV-I, DIV-II, DIV-III, & NAIA
NSCA Women's T&F - Women's Track & Field Scholarhip & Walk-On Standards - NCAA DIV-I, DIV-II, DIV-III, & NAIA
NCSA College T&F Power Rankings - Ranking of Colleges T&F and Academics

Specific College Scholarship/Walk-On Standards:
College Sites (Also see "College Search" below):

Colleges - Iowa - Links to Iowa Colleges
Colleges - Indiana - Links to Indiana Colleges
Colleges - Minnesota - Links to Minnesota Colleges
Colleges - Wisconsin - Links to Wisconsin Colleges

NAIA Member Institutions by State - National Association of  Intercollegiate Athletics -  search for non-NCAA Colleges!
NAIA Sports - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic's Sports Webpage

NCAA Clearinghouse - 1st stop for college bound athletes!  Register Fall of your Junior Year!
NCAA Prospective Students - 2nd stop for college bound athletes! Remember to download "Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete"

NCAA Division I Women's Track - NCAA Division I Women's Track Teams
NCAA Division II Women's Track - NCAA Division II Women's Track Teams
NCAA Division III Women's Track - NCAA Division III Women's Track Teams

NCAA Division I Men's Track - NCAA Division I Men's Track Teams
NCAA Division II Men's Track - NCAA Division II Men's Track Teams
NCAA Division III Men's Track - NCAA Division III Men's Track Teams

NJCAA - National Junior College Athletic Association - many of these 2 year colleges have T&F programs! 

College Signings:

MileSplit US - 2009 College T&F Signings - By College or State - previous years as well
MileSplit US - 2010 College T&F Signings - By College or State - previous years as well
Northern Illinois Sports Beat - College Signings - College Bound Athletes (including T&F) from our area!

College Search:

CollegeBoard - The CollegeBoard - Great tool for searching for schools - comparison tools, etc.  Use the "How Do I Stack Up?" feature to see if you're a good fit for the school/s your interested in!
Petersons - Petersons - Another great tool for searching for, and comparing schools - highly recommended!

FinAid - FinAid! - helpful information regarding the financial aid process
ASA - American Student Assistance - student loan information