<p>Hi all. My son will be attending Case as a freshman this fall to study engineering (he hasn't decided what type of engineering yet). He/we were fortunate to receive the merit-based, University Scholarship. He will also be playing for the men's soccer team. My questions are: 1) Does anyone know how well intercollegiate sports are received @ CRWU? So-so attendance and coverage? 2) Does anyone that participates in a CRWU intercollegiate sport know how much help these young athletes get with their studies (ie, tutors, specific times they must be in study halls, etc.), or does this "help" vary from coach/sport to coach/sport. I love the fact that Case emphasizes the "student" portion of their student-athletes, I just didn't know what type of support they get. Any feedback on either of the two questions, would be MUCH appreciated.</p>
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<li><p>Sports are pretty well recieved and covered by the school, as well as by school media and alumni organizations. Plenty of students will come out for games, especially at big “rival” games and during BlueBash (alumni) Weekend. I’d say about 1/3 of the school is involved in some sort of sport, so many people do follow them, even if they aren’t involved at all (such as myself!). </p></li>
<li><p>I believe that this would vary from coach to coach, but there is a strong emphasis at Case on studies-first, and coaches and students work together to make sure that students stay on top of their schoolwork. Students are eligible for (I’m almost positive) 5 free hours of tutoring a week through TutorTrac, an online Case site that matches you up with a student who tutors for your class. As far as I know, there are no study halls like there are in high school though. If you think that your son might need a little extra support, I’m sure talking to his coach might reassure you that he’ll be able to handle the sports as well as his work. Freshman year is hard and an adjustment but everyone figures it out in their own time and does pretty well. Hope this helps!</p></li>
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<p>Thank you for the respone, jkrtist. Glad to hear that the CWRU sports seem to be well followed. </p>
<p>Very interesting to hear about TutorTrac and the available 5 free hours per week. I’d definitely like to learn more about this service that the university offers.</p>
<p>I think that my son will be fine, I just want to make sure he gets off the “starting blocks” on the right foot, and any additional assistance with his school work would, I’m sure, be of assistance to him.</p>
<p>Any other comments on this subject woudl be extremely appreciated.</p>
<p>BTW, can anyone provide a little more information on the TutorTrac program that jkrtist mentioned? Sounds like a great program offered by Case.</p>
<p>TutorTrac is Case’s way of providing tutoring services to every student, free of charge. There are multiple student tutors for each class, and if a student would like to be tutored in that class, they can sign up online, its that simple!</p>
<p>My son will also be a freshman athlete at Case. He will be playing football. He plans on studying math and economics.</p>
<p>I think that in college the students are expected to manage their own academic success. The coaches do their best to be supportive but it isn’t really their job to make sure the student athletes keep up academically. I know the football coach schedules practice so that the team’s off day coincides with a day where there are many labs. However, it is up to students to schedule their labs on that day. He can help the students navigate the waters, but the student himself needs to be in charge.</p>
<p>That’s very cool, jkrtist. I assume that my son already knows about TutorTrac, but I’ll let him know in case he doesn’t. Thanks!</p>
<p>Agree, Proudpatriot. Ultimately, how well a student-athlete does in the classroom is up to him/her. However, knowing that, usually, student-athletes have less free time to study than a typical student (because of all of the practices and games in which they participate on behalf of the college), schools and, sometimes coaches, have in place mechanisms which put these athletes in study halls, etc. at certain times.</p>
<p>For example, of the ~10 colleges that my son considered, I visted about 8 of them with him (unfortunately, my wife made the Case visit with him) and in the majority of the visits, when we met with the coaches, they made it clear that there were set times (in the evenings, etc.) when their players had to be in study halls (with sign-ups sheets, etc.) in order to make sure that the lesser free time they have is being put into good use. Obviously, they could sometimes opt out if they had reasons to be elsewhere, but this helped these young athletes “crack the books”.</p>
<p>It makes a lot of sense that universities, and coaches, would be very interested in athletes’ success in the classroom since the most important measuring stick of these schools is how students perform in class and, with sports teams specifically, how student-athletes’ GPA’s compare with that of other colleges’ equals. That is why many have these study programs in place.</p>
<p>So, again, I agree with Proudpatriot that, ultimately, it’s the student-athlete’s responsibility to do the work and get the good grades. However, it’s also in the school’s and coaches’ best interest that these young men/women succeed in the classroom. Many times it’s these study programs that I heard many of the university coaches that I met with talk about, that gives the student-athletes the edge to succeed both on the field and in the classroom.</p>
<p>NewSpartanFan:</p>
<p>I did not ask about team study hall when I visited with my son. If your son was successful in high school what makes you think he needs to have a study hall imposed upon him in college? </p>
<p>I have confidence in your son. I think he will do what he needs to do because he is an adult. Of course, his parents will worry about him but I bet he will be fine.</p>
<p>Yes, my son was fairly successful in high school (i.e., 2150 SAT, 31 ACT, +4.0 with lots of AP and honors classes, Executive Board member of the Honor Society, State Finalist in FBLA, President of the Key Club 2 years, HS choir section leader 2 years, 4-year varsity starter on HS soccer team, 2-time soccer All-Section honors, 2-time captain, soccer All-region honors, Team MVP senior year, section championship, region semifinals & state quarterfinals sophomore year, section championship ®ion quarters senior year, Led several food drives and charity events during high school, tutored local middle school students, traveled to New Orleans with a local Pennsylvania Church group two years in a row, for a 1-week stay, to help rebuild homes, churches, etc. in the 9th Ward and tutoring & putting on soccer clinics for the local Boys & Girls Club of New Orleans in the evenings, etc.</p>
<p>However, I realize that Case will be another order of magnitude more difficult than high school and, although our son will probably be fine, I’d still feel more comfortable with some school-provided assistance by the college for their athletes who put lots of time into athletics on behalf of said college. That’s why I liked it when some of the college coaches with which we spoke during our college visits, indicated that they had study sessions in place to help their players stay in front of the learning curve.</p>
<p>I think the bottom line, Proud patriot, is that you are stating that our kids/athletes should be fine in school, they are now adults, and they should be solely responsible for their successes and failures and, hence, don’t need any additional help</p>
<p>I, on the other hand, am stating that, our kids/athletes should be fine, they are now adults and they are ultimately responsible for their successes and failures BUT, it’d be nice if there were some program(s) in place which help increase the odds that they will find success in the classroom while still taking the time to represent their university on the athletics field.</p>
<p>I don’t think that students are solely responsible for their academic success. Private universities have support systems in place for all students. Those support systems are available and it is a student’s responsibility to access them if they need them regardless of whether they are athletes. </p>
<p>[Strategic</a> ? Learning ? Experiences - Case Educational Services for Students](<a href=“Division of Student Affairs | Case Western Reserve University”>Division of Student Affairs | Case Western Reserve University)</p>
<p>I think being an athlete helps freshmen because it brings them in contact with older students right away. Those older students are often able to provide freshmen with insight, support, and advice that many students do not access until they themselves are older.</p>
<p>CWRU has some very successful student athletes. </p>
<p>[College</a> Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans - Case Western Reserve](<a href=“http://athletics.case.edu/information/academic_all_americans]College”>http://athletics.case.edu/information/academic_all_americans)</p>
<p>I know this is an old study but in 1999 there was a study of Division 3 athletes that concluded that athletic participation did not hinder academic success.</p>
<p>[The</a> Division III Student-Athlete: Academic Performance, Campus Involvement and Growth.](<a href=“ERIC - Education Resources Information Center”>ERIC - EJ596702 - The Division III Student-Athlete: Academic Performance, Campus Involvement and Growth., Journal of College Student Development, 1999)</p>
<p>This link is to an athletic department of a D3 school which cites a higher graduation rate among D3 athletes than the general college population.</p>
<p>[NCAA</a> DIVISION III WEEK PART 2: Academics and Athletics - UMPI](<a href=“http://owls.umpi.edu/sports/wbkb/2011-12/releases/20120411w825lx]NCAA”>http://owls.umpi.edu/sports/wbkb/2011-12/releases/20120411w825lx)</p>
<p>Your son will do great!</p>
<p>Well said, Proudpatriot. I also played soccer at a DII school and, I agree that, many times a student athlete will actually do better with studies during the sports season because they realize that they have much less non-classroom time to study than most and, thus, must manage their time better.</p>
<p>Good points and I appreciate you valuable feedback. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your son in football next season. I hope they kick CMU butt (et al)!!! ;-)</p>