Did you skip over the part in the OP where they said they did not have the money for even 1 year at a regular school? It is not a sad tale of sports over academics. It is a question of how does this young lady get an education.
JUCO academics - help
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Did you skip over the part in the OP where they said they did not have the money for even 1 year at a regular school? It is not a sad tale of sports over academics. It is a question of how does this young lady get an education.
She will take her basics at a JUCO - basics being the courses that all universities (JUCO and 4 year schools) require for any 4 year degree plan - of course she will take her core courses (for her major) at the more academically rigorous school but she needs to find the money first. Right now, she wants to pay for the first two years, and if playing softball helps that, then so be it. I am not at all worried about her choice of courses at JUCO - just didn't know if the level of the basic courses vary across universities. I mean does a freshman level English course at a JUCO really vary that much from a freshman level English course at a traditional 4 year school? I think not.
Generally, your DD is acting out. She is disappointed she can't go to a big name school. So, she is "pushing your buttons". It is what teenage HS seniors do.
Your DD's goal is to go med school. That is a great goal. You want to help her achieve her goal.
SO: Take your DD to a junior college and ask them about it. Go to juco's guidance counselor and sit down and talk about it. Take 2 or 3 hours out of your day, take her out of school, and go do it. Trust me...your DD is not the first person to ask about jucos and med school. Or, go to a med school and ask for advice.
Getting into medical school isn't what you and your DD think it is. Go ask someone who really knows.
As to the difference between jucos and 4 year schools...she'll get a better education in the basic courses at a juco than she would at a 4 year school. For the intro courses, classes are smaller at jucos and the teachers are better. In many intro courses at 4 years schools, she would end up with a teaching assistant or a professor who doesn't care.
In any event, the world is what she makes it. If she doesn't work at the juco or a 4 year school, she'll fail.
As an FYI, I had the same problem your DD has. I went to a juco. After juco, I went to a mid-major. I graduated #1 in engineering, and later graduated #10 in my law school class.
Your DD's goal is to go med school. That is a great goal. You want to help her achieve her goal.
SO: Take your DD to a junior college and ask them about it. Go to juco's guidance counselor and sit down and talk about it. Take 2 or 3 hours out of your day, take her out of school, and go do it. Trust me...your DD is not the first person to ask about jucos and med school. Or, go to a med school and ask for advice.
Getting into medical school isn't what you and your DD think it is. Go ask someone who really knows.
As to the difference between jucos and 4 year schools...she'll get a better education in the basic courses at a juco than she would at a 4 year school. For the intro courses, classes are smaller at jucos and the teachers are better. In many intro courses at 4 years schools, she would end up with a teaching assistant or a professor who doesn't care.
In any event, the world is what she makes it. If she doesn't work at the juco or a 4 year school, she'll fail.
As an FYI, I had the same problem your DD has. I went to a juco. After juco, I went to a mid-major. I graduated #1 in engineering, and later graduated #10 in my law school class.
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- Mar 3, 2016
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I didn't say she couldn't, or shouldn't go to a JUCO...I said she should be careful. Of course everyone has the potential to get the education they need at a JUCO-if it is rigorous enough. But make sure it is possible.
Also if she is a great student, many D3s give merit aid-she could get a free ride without athletics at many small, excellent schools with no classes taught by TAs or with too many students to get attention. And she could quit softball or play club if it turned out to be too much to balance both things and still keep her merit scholarship...
Also if she is a great student, many D3s give merit aid-she could get a free ride without athletics at many small, excellent schools with no classes taught by TAs or with too many students to get attention. And she could quit softball or play club if it turned out to be too much to balance both things and still keep her merit scholarship...
My kids went to different colleges and there were significant differences in their General Ed requirements. The school I attended had different "freshman level English" courses depending on your major and I expect there were differences in the transfer classes they'd accept. It's well worth the time to look at the curriculum for the intended 4-year school(s) and acceptable transfer classes before choosing JUCO classes.
- Feb 15, 2016
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That is a valid question. Each family/player is in a different situation based on athletic ability, academic ability, income, family size, etc... Riseball's daughter went one route and it has worked out for her. Others might try that same route and fall flat on their faces. Others might start at BigNameU as a freshman and after four years believe it is the best decision they ever made even if they hardly ever got a chance to play. There are freshmen who play a lot and start at BigNameU if they are good enough so to say that you are destined to chase foul balls and chart pitches at BigNameU is a little bit overboard. Do you need to be ready for that possibility? Absolutely.
This thread is about JUCO academics. The OP said they didn't have the money and a JUCO was probably necessary financially. That is a choice they have to make. Maybe it will work out and maybe it won't. Is it possible that their DD can start at a JUCO and come out a doctor in the end. That is truly the American dream. Slappin and Stealin made a good point. If only half of those who apply for medical school are accepted, there is a significant chance that she won't be accepted regardless of where she does her first two years of undergrad. It might be wise to forego softball and focus on academics.
Maybe, maybe not.
I used to be one of the many gate keepers. I taught Organic Chemistry for a while, first as a TA, later as a professor. I helped destroy the dreams of more pre-meds than I could possibly count.
My DD 1 is a freshman pre-med at Wisconsin, and she basically has no life. She does hit the gym every day, so props to her. People said she was an extremely talented softball player, but she hates organized sports. She would rather run or hit the gym alone, or maybe with a friend, then study her butt off to get the good grades. For her, a college sport would be a complete disaster. She is the most organized person I know, and she still wouldn't have time for it. She wouldn't even have time for club softball, even if she wanted to play.
OTOH, my DS is a junior mechanical engineering student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Not as organized as my DD 1, and his grades are not nearly as high. But, for him, he really needs his college sport. (His school has one of the very best D-III rowing programs in the US, and he has beaten some good D-I boats at times. For example, in Nationals his boat was in between Yale and Drexel). I don't think DS could function without rowing. The 5-7 AM practices, plus some afternoons at the gym, burn off his energy and help him focus. His roommates are both juniors, both rowers, and both ME majors, just like DS, so his sport IS is social life. He needs his sport.
There are a few, rare, people who can do everything. One guy from Madison who did everything --
Eric Heiden, M.D.
BUT
HERE IS THE IMPORTANT THING
For a pre-med, the school work is the first, second and third priority.
Many, probably MOST pre-meds cannot handle school sports AND a pre-med curriculum. Some can. A few actually do BETTER with sports. It's all up to the kid.
There seems to be a myth that it is one or the other. It does not work that way. If you cannot handle both it is most likely due to a lack of skills and/or discipline.
- Feb 15, 2016
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Does anyone know what the word "might" means?
Sure. I will even use it in a sentence.
If over the long term you must focus only one thing to be successful, you might be in over your head.
