Serious studies and College soccer

[Unregistered]

I do not need to do myself that favor. I am the departments academic advisor and know without looking, and you are wrong. Over 38% of our female student-athletes are nursing majors. The team with the highest GPA has a roster of 22 players. 10 are nursing majors, team GPA last yeat was a 3.25. The next most popular major among student-athletes is exercise science, followed by business and criminal justice. Tell me which of those majors is easy? Of course there are a few teams with kids who are in easey majors, but they arw the minority.

Regarding ND, my nephew graduated in the current decade. The opinion from someone who graduated 25 years ago is not going to trump his.

Would you mind telling us what school you work for? Is it a D1, D2 or D3 program? What is the school's reputation for academic rigour?

[Unregistered]

Would you mind telling us what school you work for? Is it a D1, D2 or D3 program? What is the school's reputation for academic rigour?

I will not name the school as that will open too many avenues for people to attack it, as that is what happens most often here. I will say it is a DII private school. I came from a state scool that was DIII and the same type of support services (that truly focused on producing student-athletes, not just athletes) were there.

In general, the numbers show that female student-athletes have higher GPAs, that student-athletes have higher GPAd than the general student-body, and they have higher graduation rates as well.

At my former institution, the captain and star of the hockey team had a 3.9. He was an athletic training student. Our top student-athlete here is a nursing student with a 3.8, and she also is a member of our track team.

[Unregistered]

Sorry for my spelling errors, I was up early shoveling all the snow!

Can't be from around these parts then.

[Unregistered]

One notable example is Magda Tomeckca (Fuller Hamlets)

Four years at NC. Now an MD and plays for the Boston Breakers.

Could be the best female soccer player ever produced in Massachusetts. Very impressive record of success.

[Unregistered]

I do not need to do myself that favor. I am the departments academic advisor and know without looking, and you are wrong. Over 38% of our female student-athletes are nursing majors. The team with the highest GPA has a roster of 22 players. 10 are nursing majors, team GPA last yeat was a 3.25. The next most popular major among student-athletes is exercise science, followed by business and criminal justice. Tell me which of those majors is easy? Of course there are a few teams with kids who are in easey majors, but they arw the minority.

Regarding ND, my nephew graduated in the current decade. The opinion from someone who graduated 25 years ago is not going to trump his.

I don't think the two views on ND, though 25 years apart, are really that different, just BTDT's interpretation. People in this area of the country love to ridicule ND, but I think they do a good job of helping students succeed at both - and the degree they earn does mean something.

[Unregistered]

I read but will not quote the long post on illusory academic performance by teams. I can agree that those sorts of things did occur in the past at least, 40 years ago I was ranked single digits in my state on the National Merit Test - I got a lot of form letters from schools asking me to apply - and one personal letter from a mid-western basketball coach offering scholarship including laundry allowance and asking if I could bounce a ball at all...

For what it's worth, judging by my son's teammates today's student athletes are taking their studies more seriously than kids in my day, less than half of the good athletes in my HS graduated college, some did not go to college at all, one kid dropped out of HS as soon as football was over his Sr year. So I think the "student-athlete" culture is stronger academically now than in those days...

Probably should also note that back then, your 2S student draft deferment was a big incentive to find a college somewhere that would take you... Also opportunities for girls in sports were very limited then, we did have fieldhockey, girl's hoops, and softball but I don't think any girls from my grad class went on to play sports at all....

Things are better now...

[Unregistered]

Can't be from around these parts then.

Notice the wink emoticon...it was a joke.

[Unregistered]

I will not name the school as that will open too many avenues for people to attack it, as that is what happens most often here. I will say it is a DII private school. I came from a state scool that was DIII and the same type of support services (that truly focused on producing student-athletes, not just athletes) were there.

In general, the numbers show that female student-athletes have higher GPAs, that student-athletes have higher GPAd than the general student-body, and they have higher graduation rates as well.

At my former institution, the captain and star of the hockey team had a 3.9. He was an athletic training student. Our top student-athlete here is a nursing student with a 3.8, and she also is a member of our track team.

I bet that Springfield is a completely different world than Durham. Think about what you are writing for a second. What does that say about the quality of the school if the athletes are doing better than the average student?

[Unregistered]

I bet that Springfield is a completely different world than Durham. Think about what you are writing for a second. What does that say about the quality of the school if the athletes are doing better than the average student?

Um, I am a bit confused about that post, but it is absolutely a fact and not a guess on my part. I am not associated with either Springfield or Durham? I assume you mean UNH?

Student athletes are doing better than the average student because
1) Most have to, as they face guidelines that say if they fall below a certain GPA they do not get to play. Students in general don't face that criteria.

2) Many do have access to support services and use them as a condition of being part of a team, as in the case of study halls, meeting with academic advisors; and

3) Student-athletes (as a necessity) have better time management skills than many of their peers. This helps them stay on track with their studies and work assignments.

Again, it is not a generalization that I made up. It is a statistical fact that student-athletes (in general) have better graduation rates and better GPA's than the general student-body.

[Unregistered]

I bet that Springfield is a completely different world than Durham. Think about what you are writing for a second. What does that say about the quality of the school if the athletes are doing better than the average student?

My daughter was accepted at Springfield but not at a state school. She played JV at Springfield and is happy there, but it was quite a shock for her to get the letter or denial from the state school. I think people underestimate how difficult admissions has become at schools with lower tuition.

[Unregistered]

Um, I am a bit confused about that post, but it is absolutely a fact and not a guess on my part. I am not associated with either Springfield or Durham? I assume you mean UNH?

Student athletes are doing better than the average student because
1) Most have to, as they face guidelines that say if they fall below a certain GPA they do not get to play. Students in general don't face that criteria.

2) Many do have access to support services and use them as a condition of being part of a team, as in the case of study halls, meeting with academic advisors; and

3) Student-athletes (as a necessity) have better time management skills than many of their peers. This helps them stay on track with their studies and work assignments.

Again, it is not a generalization that I made up. It is a statistical fact that student-athletes (in general) have better graduation rates and better GPA's than the general student-body.

Doesn't AIC have a large nursing program? I think that it is the only private D2 school in MA that has a nursing school. AIC in Springfield and I believe that BTDT went to Duke which is in Durham. I'm just saying that there is a big difference between AIC and Duke.

[Unregistered]

Part of what gets lost with the point that BTDT keeps pounding perservatively is that the vast majority of kids end up at schools that are appropriate for them. Kids interested in nursing or certain pre-professional tracks go to schools that fill those needs. Kids who have a desire to read Heidegger go to schools where that can happen.

A kid either is a really serious student or not. Those attempting to go to certain schools, for the most part, will do fine and succeed. It is rare that a kid is going to reach above their level and actually be admitted if they can't be successful. The exceptions are the more elite athletic schools for very top athletes (UNC, UVA, Duke, etc.) where the amount of reach might be excessive but in many of those cases excelling academically may not be that important to these most athletically elite, professional-caliber kids. The question most of us struggle with now is not whether one's kid can cut it academically but whether they can get in. There are schools that kids could fit in very well that simply have gotten more and more difficult to gain admission to, and those are the cases where folks hope soccer might lend a helping hand.

[Unregistered]

Doesn't AIC have a large nursing program? I think that it is the only private D2 school in MA that has a nursing school. AIC in Springfield and I believe that BTDT went to Duke which is in Durham. I'm just saying that there is a big difference between AIC and Duke.

please do your research for AIC is not the only small DII private college with a nursing program in Ma.

[beentheredonethat]

Part of what gets lost with the point that BTDT keeps pounding perservatively is that the vast majority of kids end up at schools that are appropriate for them. Kids interested in nursing or certain pre-professional tracks go to schools that fill those needs. Kids who have a desire to read Heidegger go to schools where that can happen.

A kid either is a really serious student or not. Those attempting to go to certain schools, for the most part, will do fine and succeed. It is rare that a kid is going to reach above their level and actually be admitted if they can't be successful. The exceptions are the more elite athletic schools for very top athletes (UNC, UVA, Duke, etc.) where the amount of reach might be excessive but in many of those cases excelling academically may not be that important to these most athletically elite, professional-caliber kids. The question most of us struggle with now is not whether one's kid can cut it academically but whether they can get in. There are schools that kids could fit in very well that simply have gotten more and more difficult to gain admission to, and those are the cases where folks hope soccer might lend a helping hand.

When you really boil it down, the issue that I have a problem with is the admissions concessions or tips. I can't tell if it is you or not, but someone essentially keeps arguing that when a kid's numbers are within a school's admission profile everything will work out fine. I think that they are underestimating the impact that playing a sport has and don't agree that it is a sure thing. A whole lot ultimately depends on the individual kid, their maturity level and just how good their time management and organizational skills are. I would hope at least that people could agree that the further outside of a school’s admissions profile a kid is, the bigger the academic hill they would likely have to climb. The advice that I have been proffering is, if your kid wants to play a sport in college to think about picking schools where they are at the top end of the admissions profile rather than the bottom. I believe that this can offset the demands of playing a sport and give them a better chance of being academically successful. I think that we all agree that academic success is the primary goal. One thing that we found as an additional benefit of doing this is the financial packages will usually be better. Is that such awful advice?

[Unregistered]

When you really boil it down, the issue that I have a problem with is the admissions concessions or tips. I can't tell if it is you or not, but someone essentially keeps arguing that when a kid's numbers are within a school's admission profile everything will work out fine. I think that they are underestimating the impact that playing a sport has and don't agree that it is a sure thing. A whole lot ultimately depends on the individual kid, their maturity level and just how good their time management and organizational skills are. I would hope at least that people could agree that the further outside of a school’s admissions profile a kid is, the bigger the academic hill they would likely have to climb. The advice that I have been proffering is, if your kid wants to play a sport in college to think about picking schools where they are at the top end of the admissions profile rather than the bottom. I believe that this can offset the demands of playing a sport and give them a better chance of being academically successful. I think that we all agree that academic success is the primary goal. One thing that we found as an additional benefit of doing this is the financial packages will usually be better. Is that such awful advice?

BTDT - I think you are selling kids short. Some kids will find the challenge beyond their ability, but others will do fine. While I agree that going to a reach school academically is going to add a level of difficulty to anyone, the concept of doing a sport in a D1 college and being a good student at a good school is nothing more than many of these kids have been doing for years. The typical female athlete in MA that is good enough to get into a D1 college program - whatever the sport - has had to prodice good grades for 3-4 years of high school, on top of playing one, two or three sports for her high school and play one sport year round on top of that commitment. In high school she would have been practicing and playing 5 to 6 days a week, and been doing her primary sport for an additional 3-4 days a week on top of that. Some of these girls in soccer are doing basketball and lacrosse and perhaps lacrosse club in addition to soccer club with travel all over the couuntry at showcases, ODP and various other commitments as well. While at college they are going to have more travel weekly, but they are also going to have one sport and plenty of study time and tutoring help in order to maintain good work habits. Good work habits that they have already for the most part mastered in hs in order to get homework, studying and reading done while traveling to regular games and tournament weekends.

I cannot agree with you more that it is a challenge. But really it is no more a challenge than the work they have put in for the past 3-4 years of high school. And for many, college academically is not going to be any more of a challenge than their rigorous high school academic loads were either.