Why D1 if the school is only so so?

[Anonymous]

Because if you are playing D1 soccer you are in the exclusive 1-2% of HS soccer players in the country. Because playing soccer is fun and a good counterbalance to academics. Because some kids wouldn’t go to college unless they can also play soccer.

[Anonymous]

DP, but it seems quite obvious to me that “better stigma” is meant to be synonymous with “higher status.” There is no question that playing D1 is going to be more impressive to most people who love sports than D2, D3, Juco, or not playing in college, because to play D1 in any sport, you have to have very high level baseline athletic ability compared to the average US population, plus talent, drive, and discipline.

In my particular corner of the world, there are far more parents who are primarily or solely focused on the potential admissions boost at a high level academic school vs sports prestige. These parents would be thrilled if soccer helped with an acceptance at an Ivy with a so-so soccer team or a D3 like Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, etc. and they would pick one of those schools over say, University of Maryland, every day of the week even if their kid could play for Sasho with a full athletic scholarship. I think the OP must be coming from a community like mine to not understand that kids pick off-the-radar schools all the time for all kinds of perfectly legit reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what the draw is for soccer players to play D1 when the school itself may not be all that challenging for them. I could see doing that for football, because that sport has more potential money if you have the skills.

What’s the allure with accepting a recruited spot at a tiny school in a rural area just to play D1?

Tiny school. Allure - less people. Better teacher to student ratio. Not a small fish in a big sea
Rural area. Allure - scenic. Quiet. Peaceful. Less crime. Fresh air. Outdoor activities.
D1. Allure - better competition. Possible TV games. Better stigma.
As far as challenging … college is what you make of it, regardless of the school. Go to a better rated school for Grad school if you’re that into academics.

What is "better stigma"?

I love posters like you. Arguing to argue. You know what it means. You just don’t like it because you and/or your kid didn’t play at a D1 school.

Flashforward to 2 years post-college. "I played soccer at "insert poor academic university'" to "I went to 'insert Ivy or highly selective Univ' here. 99.9% of the US population will not even know the relatively unknown university was D1 or had a good soccer program or what that even means, nor will prospective employers.

So the 'prestige' angle is weird to me. But, I also am on the side that you don't need to pay $$$$$ and go to the 'top' universities to do well in life.

[Anonymous]

Please....2 years after college no one is talking about what they did in college sports anymore. Unless that is all they have i suppose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious what the draw is for soccer players to play D1 when the school itself may not be all that challenging for them. I could see doing that for football, because that sport has more potential money if you have the skills.

What’s the allure with accepting a recruited spot at a tiny school in a rural area just to play D1?

Tiny school. Allure - less people. Better teacher to student ratio. Not a small fish in a big sea
Rural area. Allure - scenic. Quiet. Peaceful. Less crime. Fresh air. Outdoor activities.
D1. Allure - better competition. Possible TV games. Better stigma.
As far as challenging … college is what you make of it, regardless of the school. Go to a better rated school for Grad school if you’re that into academics.

What is "better stigma"?

I love posters like you. Arguing to argue. You know what it means. You just don’t like it because you and/or your kid didn’t play at a D1 school.

Flashforward to 2 years post-college. "I played soccer at "insert poor academic university'" to "I went to 'insert Ivy or highly selective Univ' here. 99.9% of the US population will not even know the relatively unknown university was D1 or had a good soccer program or what that even means, nor will prospective employers.

So the 'prestige' angle is weird to me. But, I also am on the side that you don't need to pay $$$$$ and go to the 'top' universities to do well in life.

Flash forward 5 years post college and nobody ever asks where you went to college.

[Anonymous]

Flash forward 10 years and you’re still paying off college loans from the private elite college that got you the same place as the VT grad.

[Anonymous]

Well, not everything is about the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, not everything is about the money.

If in ten years post college nobody asked what school you went to then what was it about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, not everything is about the money.

If in ten years post college nobody asked what school you went to then what was it about?

The Instagram post makes the 200,000 loan worth it. Duh

[Anonymous]

I am getting confused. Is the better stigma from the no name D1 college or from the fancy elite private college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am getting confused. Is the better stigma from the no name D1 college or from the fancy elite private college?

The reality is all this bluster is about nothing more than puffing up ones chest on the sideline with other parents.

When the sideline is gone the comparisons end and folks simply tend to focus on their kids and nothing more. This is just one last opportunity for parents to claim how special their kid is to other soccer parents.

By this time next year the reality of their star watching games for the first time as well as the realities of college life just tend to sink in, as they should.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, not everything is about the money.

If in ten years post college nobody asked what school you went to then what was it about?

The college experience you have has a definite influence on the adult that you become. You are shaped by it, your circle is determined by it, and so on. The effects are massive on your life. That's what its about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP, but it seems quite obvious to me that “better stigma” is meant to be synonymous with “higher status.”

What has our world come to when "it seems quite obvious" that a thing is meant to mean its opposite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, not everything is about the money.

If in ten years post college nobody asked what school you went to then what was it about?

The college experience you have has a definite influence on the adult that you become. You are shaped by it, your circle is determined by it, and so on. The effects are massive on your life. That's what its about.

Grad school it matters and generally limited to certain majors, Law, Business.

Undergrad? Not really so much. Do you really think Captains of Industry are keeping tabs with old drinking buddies from undergrad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am getting confused. Is the better stigma from the no name D1 college or from the fancy elite private college?

The reality is all this bluster is about nothing more than puffing up ones chest on the sideline with other parents.

When the sideline is gone the comparisons end and folks simply tend to focus on their kids and nothing more. This is just one last opportunity for parents to claim how special their kid is to other soccer parents.

By this time next year the reality of their star watching games for the first time as well as the realities of college life just tend to sink in, as they should.

🙏 Preach.