<p>I believe Stanford is a better fit for me than Yale. However, if I were to go to Stanford, I would have to train solo and hope I make enough improvement to eventually tryout for the team. At Yale though, I can simply walk-on and begin training with the team.
I do not and will not end my athletic career, but I want what's best for me as an individual.
Any advice...</p>
<p>First congrats for being in a position where you can choose Yale Vs. Stanford. That is a choice anyone would love to have. I honestly would say unless you want to go pro I would stick with Stanford since you feel it is a better fit. BTW what sport are you talking about?</p>
<p>cross country and track</p>
<p>If you knew for certain that you would never make the Stanford team, which school would you choose? Go with that decision.</p>
<p>
I would say:</p>
<p>If you knew for certain that you would never make it PRO, which school would you choose? Go with that decision.</p>
<p>There are ways to pursue athletics without being on varsity (through club sports, intramurals, etc.).</p>
<p>Every kid who participates in sports at some point has to accept the fact that they don’t have the talent to move up to the next level and leaves competitive sports behind. Doesn’t mean you can’t participate at a recreational level. Or in the case of x-country/track just enjoy running on your own or with friends. Sounds like you have reached the point of leaving competitive sports behind. You should be choosing a college based on what is best for your future, not on prolonging your athletic career.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys.</p>
<p>I’m going to be the contrian in this thread … Stanford and Yale are both terrific schools and options so, first, congrats on the great results. They are smilar schools on many dimensions … very selective, mid-sized, similar student bodies … so if both schools are essentially equivalent about majors, location, weather, and finances … then I’d say letting sports be a tie-breaker is a very reasonable approach. While I agree eventually you’ll have to give up competative track & field if the schools are close enough in other dimensions then at this time your school options also allow you to continue running competatively if it is important you.</p>
<p>The running club holds its own for those who don’t want the time commitment or [necessarily] the intensity of a varsity sport.</p>
<p>Are you male or female? If you went to Stanford, you could also try cycling or triathlon or walk-on for rowing.
Also, even if you made the running team, the competition level would be way higher than within the Ivy league. On the other hand, the running around Yale is not as pretty as around Palo Alto.</p>