Critique my college choices

sjsu, you can get in easily. You can even get a full ride, but you might not be able to run track by the time you graduate. If you go there, you should transfer out after two years.

Based off your current grades and prs, I would say the best fit colleges would be Chico, Davis, and SLO. Your academics are too weak to get into Cal, and I don't think your prs are good enough to get you into the other schools like CU, Oregon, NAU, or ASU. There's an off chance that you could walk on, but you don't want to be at a school where even after 4 years of hard work, you haven't made a single travel team. When choosing a college to run at, look at the ones where it will be a challenge at first, but you will improve and be one of the top runners by the time you graduate.

Chico is a great program that takes average runners and turns them into studs, but their academics aren't great and they're D2. Davis has only been D1 for a couple years, but they've already had runners like Kim Conley (2012 Olympian) go through their program. They also are the 3rd best UC behind Cal and UCLA and probably the best academic choice from these three colleges. Finally, SLO has a great tradition and it seems like every runner who goes there improves. It's also located by the beach. Also look at schools like UC Santa Barbara and UCI, which recruit runners a lot like you.

what about santa clara university?? good school. you can get in with your PRs. don't know academically.

Flagpole, you went to SJS, several of my fam and friends went there, so I may have to start kissing your tail more....because you were civil during this political season, and I agree with your advise above.

Yep...2 years for my graduate degree in English Education. Wasn't a horrible experience, but my professors at Ohio Wesleyan University were MUCH better, and in some of those SJS classes, it was a huge lecture room filled with 100+ students. Just not as good as a smaller school in my opinion. I loved the weather there though. It was just convenient (and CHEAP) for me to go there, so I did. I don't really have any allegiance to San Jose State.

It is rare to read such sane, realistic, and helpful advice on this website. Quite frankly, based on your posts and likely college choices, I don't think you have it in you to be anything more than a mediocre student and wage-earner, at best, but the advice above is as good as it gets.

SJSU is only adding women's track and will never have men's track again. The only reason they are adding the women's distance only track program is because they were already behind in keeping up gender equity. A men's program is never happening. It's a good place to run if you have other interests and want to still be a college athlete. If you live and die running then its not for you. Plus I have heard some awful things happening with the new staff, like no team dinners or meal money on road trips. Great weather and good foothills surrounding the valley.

Go to Chico - probably a better fit for you academically than a UC.

due to my connections, there is a plan for track. there will be a new track being built in a few years so i assume in a few years there will be a mens track.

also don't stay at SJSU. Its gonna take a while to graduate... too many GEs, classes r hard to get unless u run for the school. So if u go to sjsu, transfer out after two years and maybe redshirt first year.

If you are looking at going to one of the top Exercise Science schools in the country, you should look at Springfield College. I know there running standards are no Oregon, but they are on the upswing.

Former College Runner wrote:

My advice is to narrow down your list to your top 5, visit each school and listen to your gut.

This.

Visit every school you are seriously considering. Hang out on campus, wander around. Try to get a sense of how you'll fit in. That will probably be hard to do at first, but after you've visited a few schools you'll probably start to get a sense of which ones feel "better" to you (so do NOT decide, even to yourself, until you've visited all your top choices). I know that may be a financial stretch, but it is worth it.

I wouldn't worry too much about academic reputation at this point. What you do is more important than where you go (for the most part, if you compare extremes this breaks down). If you go to a school with a lesser reputation, but you fit in and like it there, you'll be in a good position to find some field you really enjoy and do well in it. That will put you in a way better position than having gone to a school with a superior reputation but not liking it there and, as a consequence, struggling to get through.

Having said all that, let me put in a pitch for ASU. It has pretty good academics (way better than NAU), actually quite strong in certain fields. And the chicks will blow your mind. Blow. Your. Mind.