Don't you think the advice should be to find a school where you can achieve your academic goals?
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- May 27, 2013
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My advice would be find a school that has your major of interest and a softball program that doesn‘t restrict you from your academic goals. Also, play for a school where if you wind up getting hurt or decide softball is no longer on the table, you still want to be at and thrive. Choosing a school based on sport alone is seldomly a good idea.
- Apr 8, 2019
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I can't agree more. What are going to do with that degree once college softball is over? There is nothing after that unless you go overseas and then you a rolling the dices.
This isn't necessarily directed at you Vertigo as I have seen and heard this piece of advice countless times on this forum and elsewhere. Maybe I am just a contrarian but I totally disagree.
Most kids are making this decision at 16 or 17 years old and started building their colleges lists a couple of years before that. The idea of placing so much emphasis on first expecting them to know what they want to major in at that point and then basing their college decision on that seems foolhardy to me. I'm not saying it shouldn't be a consideration but just like I advise kids to choose a school they would still want to attend if they no longer played a sport I also advise them to consider whether they would still want to go to that school if they changed their major. Personally I was 100% convinced I knew what I wanted to major in and pursue as a career, 3 majors later I wound up in a completely different field.
I 100 percent agree with this. DD was completely clueless about her life goals as we approached the key years of her recruiting journey. All we could evaluate academically about a school was do they have class lol. It got a little better junior year but I think somewhere years ago I saw a stat that said more than 50 percent of college freshmen change their major at least once. Choose a school with a wide variety of academic programs, a social/geographic atmosphere you will enjoy, and that’s financially feasible and if you are an athlete a level of play you are comfortable with. For some that will mean under recruiting because they want to basically guarantee playing all the time, for others they might be okay being a good teammate at a big time program because of all the other things that made the school the right fit. Each decision is valid.
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When I talk about college to the older girls I coach I usually make sure to tell them that it's not about what they want to do with their life, I ask them "What would you like to study, what interests you?"
- May 27, 2013
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For all the kids who have no idea what they want to do or major in, there is also a large group that does. They have a calling to be nurses, teachers, engineers, etc. These are the kids I’m referring to. If they know for a fact (and many of them do) that this is the career they want after college - then they need to find the school and softball program that will allow them to do both (if they want to graduate on time and start working in their field immediately).
Sure, you can become a nursing major after you obtain that initial bachelor’s degree in business, but then you still will have the cost of a second degree.
If they have no clue what they want, then most college choices would be fine, as most have a variety of the common majors.
If it wasn’t something to consider, why does every college coach ask what the potential recruit wants to major in? Every coach I had talked to as a recruiting coordinator asked that question. If it were certain majors that a kid was interested, I’ve heard, “Then we’re not the school for them,” even if the school had that major.
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- May 27, 2013
- 2,387
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The other issue is some colleges require students to apply to a certain “school” within the college, so having a general idea of what one might want to study might be needed. It can be difficult to transfer between these “schools” at some colleges.
This thread is as good a spot as any....
*On a side note here - I have to take a moment and say that I find myself agreeing with Vertigo very often, her responses are always reasonable, well thought out and expressed clearly and concisely. No this is not a paid advertisement and I have no affiliation with Vertigo other than we are frequently on the same page.
- May 13, 2023
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Good read!
Then there are the group that don't specifically know what they want to do and select a major that has a much broader General use. Which also could be what they want to do.
Think that potentially the reason why college coaches ask about major. Is because they get a glimpse on whether or not the prospect player has thoroughly thought through some sort of answer. And in some cases the response is not available at the college. Like people who want to be in nursing but that does not fit in with some colleges Athletics and the college schedule.
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