<p>I'm not sure where to post this because there doesn't seem to be a general forum. For any currently enrolled or recently graduated DI athletes (if you ever come back here), or their parents:</p>
<p>What is your life REALLY like? Are you getting any down time to experience college life? Do you feel like you are in college or do you feel isolated, separated and like you are only going to work everyday?</p>
<p>Do you get to participate in any school functions, attend other of the school's sporting events?</p>
<p>Are you happy or are you miserable?</p>
<p>How is managing your workload: fairly seamless or extraordinarily difficult? Do you have to spend every free moment of your time making up work?</p>
<p>Is there faculty support of your participation in sports, or could your professors care less where you are, but only that you are absent and have missed a due date? </p>
<p>Do you have to miss classes for practices, or as a freshman are you able to arrange your schedule around them? If unable to arrange around a class, how is that received by the coach?</p>
<p>How often (and when) do you get to go home?</p>
<p>Even though I realize each student, coach and school will likely differ, any information along these lines would still be helpful to paint a general picture of the life of a DI student-athlete. If anyone is able to respond, please include your school and sport. Thanks.</p>
<p>Although my dd plays D2 (soccer), it is very similar to D1. It is very tough, about 30 hours weekly during season, 20 off season. School schedules have to be planned around your practices (and games) - soccer comes first - no such thing as missing a practice for any reason. Some professors are ok with it, some penalize. Freshman athletes have special study halls set up so you can get adjusted. My daugher cannot get home any weekend during her season, but maybe one during off season. Off season they still practice, work out 5 days a week (6 days during season). The team is her “family” and a very close knit one at that. There is time for a social life, going to parties and bars (by the looks of her facebook pictures) but you have certain amount of days before games that you cannot party at all. Her team is monitored very closely. Does she love it? Not really - she has threatened to quit several times and would have if she didn’t have the money hanging over her head.</p>
<p>Thank you for your honest reply. It’s a definite trade-off. One that needs to be considered carefully. This is why any information about this is so helpful.</p>
<p>I had a friend who was a D1 basketball player. He said the coach’s advice was upfront immediately to the freshmen - College is about your sport, your academics and your social life, but you can only pick two.</p>