Transferring from CC/D3 to D1 wrestling?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I need some insight about a decision I'll have to make. </p>

<p>I'm currently a senior in HS on the wrestling team and looking to continue wrestling in college. My grades aren't that great and won't get me into most D1 schools, so I plan on going to a D3 school or community college to get my grades up (and financial reasons as well) and might transfer after 2 years. My top choice is SUNY Oneonta. I'm also looking at Cortland, Oswego, and some other SUNY's. I may or may not transfer after 2 years.. I'm not really sure, I'm taking it one step at a time. What I know for sure is that I'm not satisfied with my high school wrestling career and I'm hungry to be an all-american no matter what division I wrestle. From my understanding though, I will have to sit out a year if I transfer to D1 from a CC or D3 so I'll only have a couple of years to wrestle at that level. I'm looking at Cornell (top choice) as a possible school to transfer to (for academics and possibly law school). I went to camp there over the last few summers and absolutely fell in love with it.</p>

<p>My questions are:
-Is the transfer worth it or should I stay with a D3 if I want to become an all-american?
-Will I be able to make it as a walk on (not just Cornell, any D1 school)?
-Will I be behind from the rest of the team, as far as "experience", a transfer because I started at a D3/CC program that isn't as rigorous as a D1 program?</p>

<p>I understand that D1 is a whole other level and I'll have to dedicate most of my life to school and wrestling if I want to be good, so that means no drinking/partying and if I transfer, I'm ready to do that. I'm ready to work hard and do whatever it takes. Like I said I'm hungry and want to wrestle at a competitive level. On the other hand, if I were going straight to D1, I don't know if I would be ready to do that.. so one of the pro's about going D3 first is that I can get all of that stuff out of my system. However, a pro of D1 is having that so called "experience" so my junior/senior years won't necessarily be a wake up call. </p>

<p>Nothing is set in stone right now but I'm just thinking about the possibilities. I would really like to transfer to a prestige school especially for law school and at the same time still compete in my sport. Thoughts??</p>

2

<p>Talk to your team coach. They will know more than the vast majority of people on this board.</p>

3

<p>@xanderness828</p>

<p>May be able to help you here a bit. First, it’s great that you have set goals both academically and athletically in college. And you are asking some valid questions regarding the best way to achieve those goals. </p>

<p>Becoming a college AA in wrestling at any level is a huge challenge. I have seen many kids who have had very accomplished HS careers not reach that level in college. I’m talking about kids who were mult-year state placers in one of the toughest wrestling states in the country. The number of D1 wrestling programs has been reduced signicantly over the last couple of decades. So there is intense competition just to get into the starting lineup at the remaining D1 schools. Go to the web sites of a Cornell or Ohio State or even programs not at the top of the college wrestling food chain and look at their rosters. You will see they are 3 and 4 deep at most weights with kids with very strong resumes (state champs, state placers, Fargo placers, etc.). Most of the kids (non-starters) on those rosters are getting their wrestling in during open tournaments during the season. This helps their development and keeps them ready if/when they can crack the lineup. </p>

<p>D III is a great option if you love wrestling and want the opportunity to continue competing and getting better. There are a lot of D III programs and the wrestling at many D III schools is still absolutely top notch. To succeed in D III will still require great dedication and hard work. Sounds like you are up for that. D III does not provide scholarships. During your upcoming season talk to your coach and see if he has connections at any DIII programs. Talk to the coaches. Get an idea of how they run their program, the time commitment, the type of schedule they wrestle. If you show an interest, and they see you have some ability, they will pursue you. They need to bring in kids to keep their numbers up and have a competitive room. </p>

<p>My sons wrestled with and against kids who have AA’d the last couple of season at D I, D II, and D III. I can tell you these kids were all great in HS but they also had a desire to achieve more and they have worked very hard at the collegiate level.</p>

<p>So to answer your questions directly:</p>

<p>1) All levels are tough, but the jump from D III to D II to D I is significant. </p>

<p>2) Walking on at any D1 school is possible. I would think a lot of programs will take walk-ons to keep up the number in the program. Keep in mind, to get a starting spot, you are going to be competing with possibly mulitple scholarship kids at any weight. It’s certainly possible, but tough.</p>

<p>3) Find the level that is right for you and work hard to excel at that level. I think you will find that good D III programs are very rigorous.</p>

<p>Have you asked your coach or anyone else for feedback on the best level for you if you choose to pursue wrestling in college?</p>

<p>Good luck to you on your senior season and your college search.</p>

4

<p>@Matmaven is correct. It is important to realize that making the roster, as hard as it is, is only half the battle. Do you want to start and travel for duals? If so, you’ll need to be one of the select few. This means you need to be the #1 or #2 guy at your weight. Look at the last few years at Oneonta, they bring 10-15 freshmen in a year. </p>

<p>Honestly, most of guys that make a D1 roster will never see action in a dual. The attrition rate for freshmen is very significant in college programs. It is much more work than high school wrestling, and a lot less glamorous. Your toughest high school matches you ever wrestled will be your every day competition in practice. Even in D3 state qualifiers are a dime a dozen and in D1 practically everyone was nationally ranked and at least a multiple time placer. (Look at the bios of the starters at Cornell)</p>

<p>I know you are convinced that you will work hard and improve in college. And it is possible. But so will everyone else. All those guys are working just as hard to get better every day and if they are even better coming out of high school it will make it that much harder for you to make up the difference. </p>

<p>You have the right idea on being more conservative and not trying to go D1. You need academic help. Wrestling is not going to pay your bills so you need to get a good education. You will want to find a school with a program that will allow you to be a part of the program but will not be so difficult that it makes it impossible to spend the time you will need on your academics. </p>

<p>There is nothing worse than all the guys that want to go to D1 schools just to say they are a D1 athlete and then they find out they don’t enjoy how demanding wrestling is and their grades suffer. Many of these guys are worse off than if they had gone the NJCAA/ or D3 route and when they transfer they are trying to play catch-up.</p>

<p>Without knowing anything about you, and making general assumptions, I would recommend you look at a transitioning D3 program like Alfred State, new NJCAA Sullivan CC, in addition to Oneonta. But most importantly you need to find the right academic fit and a coach that will help you succeed in the classroom. </p>

<p>Transferring D1 is actually pretty easy. If you go D1 right from high school you won’t get any scholarship money. If you’re not being recruited right now then there is no hope of getting any scholarship, there is very little money available in wrestling. But if you break out and are a NJCAA All-American and get your associates degree, or are a D3 All-American, you may get some lower tier programs interested in offering you some money to fill a spot. </p>

<p>If you would like to contact me off forum for some more information, feel free to send me a PM. </p>

5

<p>If you really want to go to Cornell Law School, then being an undergraduate is not necessarily going to help you with that. More important will be to get very good grades – at whatever school you attend – and score well on the LSAT.</p>