I am entering my senior year this year and have participated in cross country every single year. In addition, I have participated in the varsity team since freshmen year and completing another season this year would allow me to be a four-year varsity runner.
However, I injured myself when I tried track for the first time during junior year, and despite recovery I just don’t feel the same passion and motivation for running. In addition, I just haven’t had as much fun in the sport due to the overly competitive and mean-spirit of some teammates and conflict with my coach. Normally I would quit, but I am worried that quitting during my senior year will significantly impact my chances at college admissions. As I intend to go out-of-state for college, I want to have the most opportunities open to bolster my chances of success, and being a four-year varsity runner would most likely stand out on my college app.
So is it worth quitting the sport? I don’t know how much weight one’s performance and duration of participation in the sport have on college admissions and scholarship opportunities, and having that information would allow me to make an easy decision. Thank you in advance!
Sports – if someone is not a recruit to play in college – are like any other EC. While 4 years shows dedication, if someone is not enjoying it or is recovering from an injury and can’t contribute as in the past, then there is no reason to force it. It’s helpful to have a reason why you dropped it, and to have something else/new you can show commitment to. If you still want to be involved in the team, can you be a manager (though if you are having conflict with coach, maybe that’s not a great option). For what it’s worth, one of my kids was a musician, and dropped the school band program after 11th grade, but added an outside music commitment to replace it. It’s not like participating has its own value, the value is in the commitment and interests that show what a student would bring to campus.
At the end of the day, for someone who is not being recruited to run at a school, whether a student ran cross country 3 or 4 years is not going to be the deciding factor in admissions. Good luck in your process!
Agree, if you are not going to be a recruited runner it is fine to drop track. I would, however, recommend that you “replace” track by getting involved in another EC you find enjoyable or finding a part-time job.
At the moment, my unweighted GPA is sitting around a 3.6, although I have virtually taken all honors and AP courses throughout high school, so I imagine my weighted GPA will look better. My AP classes include the following:
AP Comparative Government (4)
AP World History (3)
AP Language Arts and Composition
AP Calculus AB
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP Seminar
I also plan on taking AP Psychology, AP Research, and AP Environmental Science for senior year, alongside college courses in US History, English, and Statistics
In terms of extracurriculars, they include the following:
Varsity Cross Country (3 years)
Varsity Tennis (1 year)
Beta Club (3 years)
Politics Club (Vice President; will be President this coming year)
Leadership program (2-years and selective)
My primary targets are University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, UCLA; Los Angeles, Cornell University, and University of South Carolina. I plan on studying International Business and a foreign language if that provides any help.
Regarding your other question, my parents budget is generous, but they would prefer that I keep avenues open for scholarship opportunities if I want to go out of state.
Finally, in terms of how competitve I am for recruitment, I have hit the marks for Division III school, and pending that I fully recover from my injury, I could be recruitable for a Division II school
Because I am a senior, I will be holding a leadership role for the team, which might elevate my college application. I am wondering if that in particular would make a difference as well.
If you would be team captain then maybe it would be worth staying on the team at least for the fall semester. It depends on just how unhappy you are being a part of the team.
Leadership positions are fairly rare at most high schools, so there is usually “value” with being a captain of a varsity sport. But you already have other ECs that appear to demonstrate that. At the same time, the schools on your list will most likely want to see a progression of rigor as you progress through HS. So as long as your schedule is getting more rigorous and your test scores are high, those would be a higher priority, IMO.
Thank you for your responses! I think I will pull it out one more year for the fall season and get the leadership role + final year of varsity running. However, I’ porbably run for my own personal enjoyment rather than competition since I’ll most likely not run competitively in college.
If you don’t feel like running, but still want the letter, offer to become a manager for the team. You can keep records or something. I am sure that would show your dedication, but you won’t have to run injured or uninspired
