Fighting academic snobbery with athletic snobbery?
Academic snobbery
- Thread starter Nimrod
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The scientist I was referring to has the initials CC
And if anyone in Maryland wonders which congressman I knew in college it was CvH
Stupidity and ill manners know no bounds.
Does the college fits your DD's plans for her future? If so, then don't worry about it.
Kids who play college sports have an advantage over kids who don't. The first question out of an interviewer's mouth is, "Wow. You played XYZ at ABC U? How was that experience?"
At the beginning of the recession, my DD#3 (college hoops player) was hired 30 days before her graduation after a 15 minute telephone interview (not even an in-person interview) based upon her her grades and her recommendations (one from the college president). The recommendations all said, "Ellen did a great job of balancing her athletic career with her academics."
Successful athletes at college:
1) Understand that work = success
2) Understand that team = success
3) Know that there is a boss/customer who they have to please. Happy boss/customer = success
4) Know how to get along with lots of different types of people.
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Fair comment. Maybe so.
But remember the context. I was not pointing out this player's limitations out of the blue for the sake of looking down at her or feeling superior. I was explaining why a parent's comments were annoying, or even insulting. It was a response to that.
It takes a certain ability and work ethic to play college softball. There is no reason to feel superior for having greater ability than someone else.
But if someone then belittles that accomplishment by saying they could've done it too but had better things to do, then I think it's only human to observe that maybe no, they could not have done it, that they didn't have the ability or work ethic.
Many careers require a master's degree or beyond. I would think that a student's performance and success in that master's program will be more important than where she got her undergraduate degree. I realize that the undergraduate program, if strong, will help, but I would think that the recommendation of a college softball coach might also help in the application to grad school.
I think employers and graduate admissions officers are impressed by college athletes (D1, D2, or D3), because of the discipline and mastery of one's time that is required to perform well academically with a major time commitment to a non-academic pursuit. I think the respect for that goes up with D1 schools because the time commitment is greater. But no one is really asking what was your W-L record and did you make it to the WCWS- most people (present company excluded) don't know that the WCWS exists. So it does not really matter if your team was #20 or #98 in the ranking IMO. So what?
My DD is junior in HS now, from freshman year it was reasonably clear she was not D1 material (except maybe Ivies)- but she wanted to play in college and has worked hard at it - now (can't help but brag and give a 65mph fastball academic equivalent) she has M/V 1560/1600 SATs
, and more college doors are open. Hard choice is to try for top choice academic school (no softball) or VG academic D3 (like NESCAC) where she can likely play softball- not sure about that yet- need to visit and see what feels right to her.
There is a place for anyone who wants to play, but DDs should make choice for good fit for them personally AND academically. Many DI softball programs are at VG universities with much to offer.
My DD is junior in HS now, from freshman year it was reasonably clear she was not D1 material (except maybe Ivies)- but she wanted to play in college and has worked hard at it - now (can't help but brag and give a 65mph fastball academic equivalent) she has M/V 1560/1600 SATs
, and more college doors are open. Hard choice is to try for top choice academic school (no softball) or VG academic D3 (like NESCAC) where she can likely play softball- not sure about that yet- need to visit and see what feels right to her.There is a place for anyone who wants to play, but DDs should make choice for good fit for them personally AND academically. Many DI softball programs are at VG universities with much to offer.
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To the OP, I'd just say, "don't worry about it". Snobbishness comes in all forms. There are many, many pathways to success. College is about finding the right fit. If you fit, you'll be successful. If you don't fit, it just won't feel right, and you may not succeed, even if it is the "best" college in the universe with an admissions rate of 0.00001%.
Being a parent is hard enough without worrying about what others think. All you can do is do your best, give your kids the best opportunities you can and hope they make the right decisions. As long as you are happy with them, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
Here is why I love college sports: they provide a balance to academic life. Once a student gets to college, especially a "top academic", they will find that EVERYONE there did just as well as they did in high school. Many, maybe most, did better. And when it comes to college classes, many, maybe most, will do better than you. It is important to not only find the right fit, but to join the greater college community. This can be varsity sports, club sports, theater, dance, the school paper, clubs, anything that makes you feel happy as a contributing member of the university. Never, ever apologize for wanting to play sports in college - even, as the OP's friend feels, it is at a place that nobody has ever heard of. School is what the student makes of it, and a successful person will find ways to succeed, with or without the "big name U" tattoo.
Agree that school is what you make of it. A useful degree from No Name U is far and away better than a feel good degree from an Ivy. That is unless your goal is to spout tidbits of obscure academic drivel as you serve coffee at Starbucks.
