<p>I really need advice. I've spent the last 8 years training 5+ hours every day, lived in 4 different states, been on world teams, traveled through several countries, and [in June will have] graduated online high school in order to chase my dreams in the sport I love. It's a small niche winter Olympic sport and there's really only one place in the US that I can train for it at a high level. I have a slim chance of making the 2014 Olympic team but if I continued to train through the next Olympic cycle I would have a very good chance of making 2018 (given how average career cycles go and the fact that I'm a wicked hard worker.) I love this sport, HOWEVER, some days I question how much I am into it. Some days I treat it like a tedious job. I just get done what I need to and go home and decompress. Other days I love it and I feel like I'm living the dream. I'm afraid if I quit and go into "academia" I will have no outlet for my energy and I'll miss the fast paced "athlete lifestyle."</p>
<p>I also really want to become a nurse. I have no experience in the medical field but I know I want to work in it. I want to help people and I think a fast-paced nursing environment would be rewarding and exciting. I also have this yearning to be normal because I've lived away from home since freshman year. Then again, I'm abnormal, so I don't know if I'd fit in. Ha. I got accepted into one of the top 4 year nursing programs in the country and I worked so hard to get in. I toured it and I love it there, besides the fact that the nearest xxxx team is 4 hours away.</p>
<p>This leads me to the two options I have to choose between.</p>
<p>Option 1: Live near the best training facility in the US and go to their state school part-time. Tuition is really cheap for me even though it's out of state because of a deal with the USOC. I would be invited to the national team so I wouldn't have to pay for training. It is a very cheap option. However, their school is not as good as option 2 and it's a 2 year nursing program, so I'd have to apply after sophomore year. (Later though because I'm part time). I don't really like the school. And sport is uncertain. I could get injured and it would be the end, and then I'd be at this school I don't like. But if things work out this plan could have great reward for me. My mom wants me to do this.</p>
<p>Option 2: Quit sport and go to college at my dream school with the great nursing program. This option would be considerably more expensive. I would have a stable future and would get to be normal. I worked hard to get into this school and I want to see the results. My body wouldn't hurt all the time and I wouldn't have to deal with the stressors of competition. If I went to this school I would do cycling because I've done a lot of cycling for cross training and I really like it. So, I'd have an outlet for my competitive energy. My dad wants me to do this.</p>
<p>This decision is literally tearing my heart. I don't have to decide until May, when I must commit to a school. Honestly I've fantasized about a career ending injury so I don't have to make this decision and it is forced upon me. But that's sick. If I make the Olympic team that would solve things too because it's all I've ever wanted. I would sincerely appreciate any advice. I just want to get other perspectives. Thank you for reading and any input you can provide.</p>
<p>I would choose #1 because you can work on your prereqs and the possibly for transfer later is also open while you see how far you get in your sport. It buys you more time. I might be wrong, but I don’t think it matters all that much where you get your nursing degree from. And the costs are attractive.</p>
<p>I’m no expert, but don’t athletes sometimes take a “sabbatical” after the Olympics, to prevent burnout like you seem to be having? It’s a long way to 2018, perhaps a change of scenery would do you some good and allow you to refocus with the intensity you need.</p>
<p>I would think the USOC also has some sports psychologists to talk to to help you through this. I’m sure it’s not an uncommon problem, and if you’re a top prospect for 2018, they probably don’t want to lose you.</p>
<p>I say choose your sport. If you get injured or decide to quit, you can transfer. You can’t go back and have this shot at a medal again. I will say that I know a student who went to Princeton, then took two years off to train for the last summer Olympics. She ended up with an Olympic medal. Princeton did have a team in her sport so she could continue to train in it while she was there, though – although it was not Olympic caliber training, so she did take time off from college and move to train for the two years prior to the Olympics. She was by no means a lock to make the Olympic team at all, by the way.</p>
<p>You do sound like you could use a break from your sport, though.</p>
<p>Again, I’m all for the sport. Nursing will be there after 2018 or if you get injured. </p>
<p>I second Brownparent. Do your pre-reqs or your gen en while it’s free. Once you retire from international competition you can go to your dream school with the added hook of your sports achievements. </p>
<p>Absolutely take an extended vacation if you need it. Sometimes you just need to be away from something long enough to remember why you liked it in the first place.</p>
<p>If you truly prefer University1 and the direct admit to Nursing there, have a chat with them about your situation, and ask for deferred admission for a year while you pursue the spot on the team. They may be able to arrange this for you.</p>
<p>Here’s the other thing, training for the Olympics and competing at an international level is probably the ultimate hook for just about any school you want to go to, even if it’s the curling team. (Which is could be.) I think you’ll be losing nothing by continuing to train, and when you say you want to go somewhere, you’ll be in. And as suggested above, contact the school now, tell them what’s going on, and I’m sure they’ll give you every chance to get in when you decide it’s time to go.</p>
<p>Take a break, a vacation, a week without training if it’s possible, take a road trip or stay at home under a blanket, go to a spa or to the beach in Florida, lay outside in the sun, you sound like you need some rest. As suggested above, email your favorite college and explain you’ve got a shot of making the Olympic Team, would they accept to defer you for that? (ie, they’d keep your spot open for after you’ve competed). I am willing to bet that they’d be very willing to keep your spot open for you for after the Olympics. :)</p>
<p>Do your sport. It’s a once in a lifetime chance. In 5 years you can still go to nursing school, but you won’t be able to physically compete at an Olympic level.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice. I looked up the “favorite” school’s deferral policy and students cannot defer. I will still talk to them about it. I find it odd because I’ve read articles lately about how colleges like to see students take a gap year so they can mature… but anyways. I definitely need a change of scenery for a bit so it might be smart to stay here and do the bike racing thing. I’ve been working on a pro/con list for a couple weeks now and logically it seems like a better decision to go to the dream school but my heart is just saying nope lol. At least I have until May-ish to decide.</p>
<p>Check your favorite school to see what its withdrawal and readmission policy is. Depending on when the training period is, a possibility is to start attending the college, then withdraw to train for your sport, then re-enroll after you have finished with the training and competition. Many colleges are more lenient about taking “gap years” and returning after you have already attended, as opposed to deferring initial enrollment for a gap year.</p>
<p>Almost every university will defer your admission for a year once you are accepted. You can pursue your sport, take some classes to get prereqs out of the way, and have time to decide what to do a year later, with more training under your belt.</p>
<p>if top 4 nursing program accepts you now, they will likely accept you in a couple of years. But if not, attending nursing school #5-10 is not too shabby.</p>
<p>Option 1. College will always be here - it will be here after you train, after you compete in the Olympics if you make it, etc. Your youth and athleticism, however, will not.</p>
<p>In fact, I encourage you to do option 1 and then maybe not take any classes part-time - just focus on your sport. You get the most financial aid when you apply as a freshman, and then you could apply to your dream school and start fresh there. But even if you wanted to, you could earn an RN at school 1 and then do an RN to BSN program later at either school 2 or some different school.</p>
<p>It sounds like you will need more than a year to defer - if you want to train to potentially get into the 2018 Olympics. I think you should just forego it altogether for now; you can always reapply later.</p>