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November 18, 2005
Choosing the best fit
I was inspired to compose an entry after reading the fine post by my colleague, David Beckham...I mean, Emily Cole. Emily stressed the importance of college athletics, or any team activity, in the development of young men and women. I wanted to take the discussion in a slightly different direction. What are the most important factors in choosing a college?
I realize that my path was much different than many of the students applying to Case. Regardless, my story is as follows. After having some success at the prep level, I based my entire college decision on football. Which program that showed some interest in me was the most successful, and where could I get on the field the fastest?
Before I knew it, I found myself in a heated battle to become the starting place kicker for that year's reigning Mid American Conference champion. I eventually lost the starting role to the incumbent, a junior. The university was on a quarter system and as classes were just beginning and autumn was in full swing, I soon realized that basing my college decision on football alone was a BIG mistake.
Coming from a mid-sized and somewhat sheltered Catholic high school, I had trouble adjusting to the large, state school environment. My classes were overwhelmingly large. I never met my professors and received instruction from teaching assistants who were only a few years older than me at the time.
In addition, balancing a Division I football schedule and workout regimen with academics and, oh yeah…a social life too, was difficult. Make no mistake about it, Division I athletics is a job and I would have had to continue this schedule for at least another season before actually seeing significant playing time. While warming up before an ESPN televised game was exciting, I could not help but feel completely lost as a college freshman...and my grades and personal satisfaction suffered. I could have pushed on and made the most of it, but transferring to a smaller school was clearly the best option.
With no hard feelings, I made the decision to transfer after my freshman year. After a redshirt freshman season, I went on to have a successful four seasons of football at the Division III level. More importantly, I felt much more comfortable on campus and in the classroom. I knew my professors by name and face and they knew me as well. Academic advisors, career counselors and tutors were easily accessible and the small class sizes fit my learning style much better than the large auditorium lecture halls. Plus, I kind of enjoyed being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
From my experience, there are certain sacrifices that a student makes when attending both large schools and smaller schools. The decision comes down to fit and which sacrifices the student is willing to make. As a high school senior, I should have been keener to this because being a transfer student has its obstacles as well. I am, however, happy with the way things worked out. Yes, it would have been nice to play football at the Division I level…but I would rather have played four seasons in front of 5,000 fans than sat on the sidelines in front of 50,000.
Posted by dav8 at November 18, 2005 02:18 PM
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