<p>Okay heres what happened. This might be the same old cliche story by all the other loser/lazy/desprete high school students out there. My Overall GPA is 3.03. That is extemely terrible. Despite the college I want to go to ever since i I knew about colleges has an average of 3.75 for all the students who go there. Yeah so my amazing 3.03 is going to get me no where. Lets just say Im a lazy guy with a big dream. Also for your information the College in UW Madison(Wisconsin). Butttt here is the thing, Im a talented track and field athlete, I got the genes I can go big. The are of expertise for Track would be Long Jump. By next year my goal is to get 23ft. Yes I am good. I havent been able to to excell last year because of an injury but now im fully recovered and even better. Im currantly a junior and with enough training I could seem my self hitting 23's next year. So say I did get 23ft. I emailed there coach and he said for a 23ft jump it would get there attention, a 24ft a parcial scholarship and a 24'9 for a full. Couple years ago there was a student that had 22"8 his junior year and he was accepted into UW Madison. But anyway I get this 23ft jump my junior year and the college is intrested. Would they look away just because if my 3.03 grade point average. Im saying I have a pretty low GPA but being good in the Track and Field will get me admitted anyway? Does that happen? I would love to run college track or in other words jump. Anndd sorry for the long post haha.</p>
<p>Well, I wouldn’t say they will “look away” but even the best athletes have to be able to maintain the necessary GPA and you’re going to have to really be worth it in order to get them to notice. Also, I wouldn’t bring the “I got the genes I can go big” attitude to the table when you’re dealing with the coaches, I hope you know that already! </p>
<p>As for GPAs and acceptance of star athletes while it is true they can be lower (and remember an ‘average’ GPA is just that, an average, so you would expect to have half the class below, and half above, not everyone in the school with a 3.75.), the coaches still have to get them through admissions, who has the final say on whether or not you’re accepted.</p>
<p>If I were you I’d focus on bringing up the GPA as well as improving athletically. You said it yourself - you were hurt. And you can get hurt again.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>track0145,</p>
<p>I know very little about track but I do know the athletic recruiting process. You need to put yourself in the coaches shoes. If you were a college track coach would you take a chance on an underachieving student with unproven athletic ability? The answer is “maybe”. I’m being straight with you. You need to sway that coach that you are the right recruit for his program. The coach is probably getting many emails and letters from other potential recruits that can jump just as far as you. You can only sway him with your actions in the classroom and on the track. </p>
<p>You have to really want to be a college athlete, because it is a lot of work to get there and even harder to stay there. You can quote me on that.</p>
<p>There are 4 things you can do right now to help your chances. </p>
<p>1) You can start by getting your grades up, and refocusing in the classroom. 3.03 is okay, and you’ll probably get by NCAA requirements (depends on SAT). Get the GPA up, and show the coaches you really want it and are mature enough to handle college athletics. </p>
<p>2) Improve your athletic performances through training and working hard. This is the main aspect to getting athletically recruited. </p>
<p>3) Begin contacting college coaches for schools that interest you, and are a good fit for you. You need to get on their radar. </p>
<p>4) Prepare for the SAT now. You need to perform well on this test. The higher the score, the more college options you have. THe SAT is your opportunity to make up for the okay GPA.</p>
<p>Recruited = skill + exposure + persistence + luck. There are no guarantees here, but you can better position yourself to become a college student athlete. Good luck, and let us know if you have other questions. There are many people on this site with incredible wisdom and perspective. Take advantage of it.</p>
<p>It depends on the schools you are looking at as well. Here on CC, people tend to be focusing on some of the most selective schools (Ivies, top LAC’s). Bottom line is, athletics do help and yes, you can get in with somewhat lower stats (sometimes a lot lower if you play a helmet sport at say, a Big 10 school). I don’t think they are so lenient with track and field athletes. You should have somewhat of an academic attitude, though, so like another poster advised, don’t go in with the “I’m all athlete” attitude. Care about school.</p>
<p>As keylyme said, a lot of the recruiting advice here on CC is geared toward Ivy athletes who have to hit certain academic marks to be recruitable. Big 10 is a different animal. If you jump far enough, your 3.0 gpa will not be a problem. I actually know a few track athletes at UW Madison. High level, state champion caliber athletes with fair to good HS grades. </p>
<p>The problem is, even if you uncork a 23+ jump and you get in, you may get eaten alive academically at a place like Madison unless you get that laziness thing figured out. One of the above referenced athletes has been struggling with his academic elgibility since he’s been there. Coaches don’t like that.</p>
<p>Also, a side note - one of the games they (not just UW, I’ve heard this about several scholarship schools) like to play with track athletes is to bring you on board without any scholarship money with the promise that if you can score points in a meet, they’ll talk scholarship. Of course, once you’re into your sophomore or jr. year, you don’t have a lot of leverage, but that’s a thread for another day.</p>
<p>I was not always like this, through my middle school years, I went to a private middle that was far harder then the public. This was in reason to help us make high school a breeze. In order to get an A you needed a 98. Being that I scored the perfect 4.0 several times. I was a very bright student and was going into high school into the most difficult set of classes possible. Problem was when I hit high school it was suuuuuuper easy, and there was a study hall. It was super easy. So easy that I did not need to try. I got into a habit of not doing work and becoming more and more lazy. I got soo lazy and got bad study habits real quick. I waited for the last possible second to complete anything. However never fixing this habit kind of killed me. I was in the most rigourus classes avaible in my school and as the year went on and being lazy when taking alot of hard classes does not help. So there I was with a very low GPA kind of depressed thinking if I just tried I could have been muchh better. So currantly I have a 3.03 with the hardest possible classes. Im not sure if that class difficulty is significant or not. Thing is my bud takes very easy classes and has an overall 3.87. Lot of the classes you can sleep in and still pass. However he will have a super good chance of getting in compared to me.</p>
<p>Okay all that was irrelevant to what im really asking. Yes its some kind of sorrow story saying all these things but I just want to let people know that I am capable of being smart and will get the GPA up but I still think im screwed. Also im not all athlete and no school. I care about school I just wait to the last possible nano second to do things and it does not work aswell. </p>
<p>Okay so I did some research and found this link:
[Men’s</a> Track Recruiting Guidelines](<a href=“http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools/College-Track-Recruiting/mens-track-recruiting-guidelines]Men’s”>Men’s College Track and Field Scholarship Standards | Recruiting Times)</p>
<p>What its a guideline of what times you need to be recruited and what times you need for a walk on in several types of schools and Tier 1 and Tier 2 schools aswell. The school I want to go to is Tier 1 and D1. It says the walk on jump is 23ft, and to be recruited 24’6.
Thing is I emaild wisconsin and for Long Jump they said,
23ft They are intrested
24ft Partial Aid
24ft 9inch Full Aid</p>
<p>So what if I get the interested amount(23ft) as a junior? Will that up my chances? Its the walk on distance but Im getting it as a junior. And is the junior year the most important in the college recruiting proccess? Say I jump 22’5 as a junior but did not get any college calls but as a senior I hit the 24’5in mark? Would hitting that much at that late be a problem? </p>
<p>Honestly I dont care about scholarships, I just want to get in and compete. After I get points then I will talk about scholarships. </p>
<p>I just need to get in thats the main problem. </p>
<p>Again sorry for the super long posts that have alot of useless junk haha. But it seems know one can answer my questions.</p>
<p>Hi track,
Two things:
First, rigor matters. Your lower GPA in harder classes will be understood by admissions officers. Your friend who takes easy classes and gets better grades is not better off than you when it comes to college applications. Hang in there with your harder classes and get some A’s. You know you can!</p>
<p>Second, your junior year track stats are really the only ones that matter. You’re going to go through recruiting in the fall of your senior year, so your last chance to post any numbers are during the track post season in the summer at something like JOs. The numbers you’re seeing for recruiting are numbers that junior athletes have achieved. You might have time to post a good jump during the winter indoor season of your senior year, but that’s cutting it too close. Lots of D1 rosters will be full by then. Some kids hit PRs in the senior track season, and that’s great for the record books, but is just icing on the cake for recruiting purposes.</p>
<p>Junior year is the year to show what you’ve got, both academically and on the field. You’ve probably heard of the “upward trend” in academics. This refers to kids who have lower GPAs in 9th or 10th grade, but who show a noticable improvement in 11th and 12th. This is looked upon very favorably by admissions, because they interpret this as a kid who is showing growing maturity and putting the right amount of time and energy into studying. If you can do it, this will help you tremendously as you apply to colleges next fall.</p>
<p>Senior year just hold it together long enough to graduate and don’t blow it, either in the classroom, or on Friday night.</p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>Yes, as a track athlete you’ll be recruited off your junior year performance. 23’3" is what it took to get a national ranking last year. If you hit your 23’ - no wind - and the coach at UW says he’d be ‘interested’, he’ll probably look at your potential, character and academic record to see if he wants you on the team. Consistency is important - you need to have a few jumps in that range. </p>
<p>Also, if English isn’t your first language you might want someone to check your grammar/spelling before emailing the coach</p>
<p>You might also want to start a serious conversation with your current High School track coach… they can serve as wonderful advocates… they can speak to your upward trends in athletic and academic results from focused efforts… they can guide you to schools that might be a good match for you… one nugget that one reads here on CC and is good as gold is the advice to all students to have several schools you are interested in…not just one… have a couple of safeties you want to go to, then add some matches, and finally choose your REACH schools. Putting all your eggs in 1 reach school basket is foolish, at best. </p>
<p>one 23 or 24 ft jump does not open doors…consistent performances, improved performances over time are very important…leadership on your own HS team… helping others, running practices for jumpers while distance folks are out logging miles… there are a lot of competitors that are not lazy… so start talking with some knowledgeable folks… some proven performers and identify what makes them special and why they have the attention of a coach… every day do something to improve yourself academically and athletically. Even 30 extra minutes every night (Mon - Thursdays) studying instead of using the computer (or watching TV or whatever) is a great investment in YOU… the only person you hurt being lazy is YOU…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the great advice, It was really helpfull. And yes english is not my first language haha. Finally some information that is useful. </p>
<p>I could get my GPA up to a 3.3 if you count this semester, next semester, and first semester next year. Idk if the first semester senior year would be any help in terms of GPA.</p>
<p>ACT and SAT I will prepare the best I can and I got plenty of clubs and volunteer hours. I also have a job. I was also thinking of going for being a cna. Just experience in the health field. </p>
<p>As for track, yes I will be aiming for that 23ft. I want to hit it at a couple of my favorite meets and set some records. Most importantly I want to hit it at State. The state record for D2 in wisconsin is 23ft 1in. That jump is just waiting to be broken. Also in wisconsin a 23ft jump would win you a State Championship. Also with a 23ft jump you could always compete at AAU or Nike Nationals. I think hitting that 23ft mark at those events would be very helpful. That would be in the summer after state. Also where do they get national rankings from? If anyone knows.</p>
<p>You’ll find National rankings at this site
[DyeStat</a> TFX - ESPN RISE | HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS RANKINGS, RESULTS, TRAINING, PERFORMANCE, COLLEGE RECRUITING | HOW TO WIN](<a href=“ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.”>ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.)</p>
<p>Nike Nats (Its New Balance Nats now) is a great time time shine. I recall sitting in the stands next to coaches from Penn and Stanford. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>track0145, college coaches definitely use the Dyestat site to spot talent. If you break 23’3" and your stats don’t show up there, talk with your high school coach about how to submit your jumps. Not all meet directors and coaches know how to do this. The submission process is dead simple, but it would be nice if your coach would start doing this for athletes, if he isn’t already.</p>
<p>If i get 23’3 as a junior that would get me a school record, state record for D2 if I jump that at state and a state championship. Will all this give me a good chance if i do all this by junior year?</p>
<p>Yes, that will give you a good chance to be recruited all over the place. The higher your GPA and test scores, though, the more options you’ll have when it comes to going to more academically selective schools, and also in recieving more financial aid that’s based on academics. The athletic scholarship plus academic aid and a big thumbs up from admissions because of your improving grades might make a school possible that was otherwise just a dream :)</p>
<p>Now of course that is just for D1 schools, There was one D3 school I wanted to go to, so I dont think I would need a 23’3 jump to get there. But that was going to be a safety school anyway. Also people say the college coaches list is filled by october the year before the year they are going to attend the school. Say a kid jumps 22’2 his junior but his senior year he he gets 24’8. Would all colleges just ignore him because he is a senior? I would think a couple colleges would pull some strings</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I imagine if a kid starts jumping consistently in the 24’8 range his senior year, putting him in the top 3 or 4 in the US, some colleges will find a way to get him on board.</p>
<p>^track, you might have already signed a LOI by the time spring comes around and you jump out of the pit. If you haven’t commited anywhere yet and have some big jumps, of course you’d get attention. But coaches also have to commit to athletes. LOIs are contracts between schools and athletes. Coaches can’t take them back and give them to someone else. If you have a dream D1 that you don’t jump well enough for during the fall admissions cycle, you should go ahead and apply. Assuming you’re admitted, if you jump well in the spring, the coach will want you to walk on, then he might find a scholarship for you for the following year. If you’ve already signed an LOI somewhere else, though, you would have to honor that.</p>
<p>Okay I get it. Colleges have a certain amount of spots he can give away to athletes. Im guessing the coach will give you a LOI for a spot. And these are the only students that get admitted no matter what. Am I correct? And this is for every sport? Do any of you have any idea how many spots there are for the mens track team? Does admissions pick how many LOI’s can be handed out? Dispite my Gpa what if I can prove I can achieve great grades and a solid Act? It all comes down to grades doesnt it. Just get that LOI sheet and im good.</p>
<p>Also Im just talking just D1 would jumping 22’8 not get me into Wisconsin but still open doors for Minnsota or even D2 and D3 schools?</p>
<p>track0145, why don’t you take a look at the current roster at the schools you’re interested in. See what their jumpers are doing, and what their HS best jumps were. This will tell you where you might fit, and also which schools might need you as their current jumpers graduate. </p>
<p>Here’s a quick summary of the scholarship count. It came from an article for distance runners, but it might be of interest to you to see how XC impacts track. Generally scholarships are shared so that more kids get a small piece of the pie.</p>
<p>NCAA DIVISION I
How Many Schools: For men, 301 schools sponsor cross country, 244 do indoor track and 269 do outdoor track. Oregon and Colorado are two schools with great distance programs. For women, there are 327 cross country programs, 293 indoor track programs and 306 outdoor track programs. Stanford and Colorado have strong women’s distance programs. </p>
<p>Scholarship Count: At the Division I level, cross country and track and field are generally lumped together for scholarship purposes. In that case, men’s squads are allowed 12.6 total scholarships, while women’s programs get 18 grants. Those scholarships can go toward sprinters, jumpers, throwers, hurdlers and distance runners (who generally run both cross country and track) and are divided up at the coach’s discretion. </p>
<p>Scholarship Breakdown: If a Division I school sponsors cross country but not track and field, the NCAA allows for five men’s scholarships and six women’s scholarships. Cross country and track-and-field scholarships often are partial rides because of large roster sizes. </p>
<p>NCAA DIVISION II
How Many Schools: On the men’s side, 241 schools have cross country, 113 have indoor track and 162 have outdoor track. For women, there are 325 cross country programs, 153 indoor track programs and 199 outdoor track programs. </p>
<p>Scholarship Count: Like Division I, Division II schools lump cross country and track and field together for scholarship purposes. Both men’s and women’s programs at the Division II level have 12.6 total scholarships for all track and cross country. </p>
<p>Scholarship Breakdown: If a Division II school sponsors cross country but not track and field, it is allowed five scholarships for the men’s program and six for the women’s program.</p>