<p>hi all. i'm a rising senior and i'm faced with a dilemma.
ive done three years of cross country (JV 9, 10 and V 11th) and i was looking forward to my senior season. but i am also very interested in biomedicine and somehow i got into a research team at columbia university and i will probably have to invest some time heavily into that during the school year. honestly i don't think i can handle both and i'm considering not doing xc this year. do you think that's a smart thing to do? i feel passionately about both. i dont want to miss this opportunity at columbia but then again i wry that colleges might frown upon the fact that i quit xc after three years and didnt stick thru with it. any advices?? thanks in advance</p>
<p>Speak to your coach. If your team is anything like the one at my school there are too many people on it to go to each meet, so people who are very busy and have other commitments just don't go as often.</p>
<p>If you're really worried about colleges looking down on you for dropping cross country, include the reason why you felt you could no longer continue in your EC essay. I highly doubt a school will fault you for not passing up such an excellent opportunity.</p>
<p>I'd do the research, but yeah, I agree that you should mention that you sacrificed the cross country for it. It would look more impressive listing the research on your application than cross country, especially if you don't hold a leadership position in the sport.</p>
<p>I hate it when people treat sports like they are an extracurricular activity. Sports are a way of life. If you are seriously passionate about it, cross-country consumes much of your daily life.</p>
<p>As a runner, I believe that even the thought of quitting cross-country for a research opportunity shows a lack of dedication and proves that you are not passionate about it, but are interested in getting things on your app. However, I think that it is possible to do other things besides cross-country, and to "prove" your passion, you should try to balance both.</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback guys. right now i'm leaning towards doing research because i'm a more serious tennis player i was captain last year and i do xc mainly for staying in shape. i also play basketball during the winter and i was just feeling weird about not doing a sport for a season. oh well. i'll just talk to my xc coach next week i guess</p>
<p>Ahh sorry, you're not a three season runner. You can ignore the offensive statements I made then. It just really annoys me when people say that they are passionate about something and aren't at all.</p>