Anonymous wrote:OP here. That’s the hard part, she has no idea where she wants to go to college. She’s very smart and gets very good grades, but it’s not super into academics, and dare I say it her dream would be to running in college and then to get married and be a mom. (I am ready for all of the hate that is good to bring on).
We live in the DC area and she would like to be drivable, and would love to be only a few hours away, but I also know that she can’t have it all.

I was trying to do voice to text, sorry for all of the typos.

OP here. That’s the hard part, she has no idea where she wants to go to college. She’s very smart and gets very good grades, but it’s not super into academics, and dare I say it her dream would be to running in college and then to get married and be a mom. (I am ready for all of the hate that is good to bring on).
We live in the DC area and she would like to be drivable, and would love to be only a few hours away, but I also know that she can’t have it all.

Anonymous wrote:Remember there are some key criteria for choosing a college: academic fit, cost, social fit, and where can they run or have a spot on the team. It is TOUGH to find all 4.

I would also add in coaching and team dynamics.

Remember there are some key criteria for choosing a college: academic fit, cost, social fit, and where can they run or have a spot on the team. It is TOUGH to find all 4.

Also, pay for milesplit pro

Look at Tfrrs and runcruit for guidance.

son is 4:32 for 1600 9:43 3200 as a sophomore this year. what time to get as a junior next year for great academic schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick 8-10 schools based on NOT being an athlete, aka the “break your leg” test.

Then, as part of the decision criteria, decide if you can get a spot on the team or run club.

My kid loved track and it was their whole personality in high school. They would have run on a D3 team but wanted a big state school college experience. They are at an SEC/ACC D1 school now but running club track. It is the best of both worlds.

SEC is an entirely different universe from the ACC.

Go look at the times of the ACC schools on TFRRS. Or look up the names of the kids on the team roster on mile split, And look up their high school times. I guarantee you those girls were running at a sub 5 mile in high schools distance runners.

My kids’ D1 school has only 2-3 spots for each event (example, 3 guys who run middle distance per season) and most were state champions or the very top person in their district. It’s not like it’s easy to walk on at Wake Forest or UVA or even William & Mary just cuz they’re D1 but not SEC or Top 25 ranked in running.

Also, running D1 is like a full time job, you run 60-70 miles a week, and then academics and EVERY other aspect of life at college comes second.

When was the last time an ACC team won nationals?

seriously? NC STATE Women have won XC 4 of last 5 years, most recently in Nov. 2025.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick 8-10 schools based on NOT being an athlete, aka the “break your leg” test.

Then, as part of the decision criteria, decide if you can get a spot on the team or run club.

My kid loved track and it was their whole personality in high school. They would have run on a D3 team but wanted a big state school college experience. They are at an SEC/ACC D1 school now but running club track. It is the best of both worlds.

SEC is an entirely different universe from the ACC.

Go look at the times of the ACC schools on TFRRS. Or look up the names of the kids on the team roster on mile split, And look up their high school times. I guarantee you those girls were running at a sub 5 mile in high schools distance runners.

My kids’ D1 school has only 2-3 spots for each event (example, 3 guys who run middle distance per season) and most were state champions or the very top person in their district. It’s not like it’s easy to walk on at Wake Forest or UVA or even William & Mary just cuz they’re D1 but not SEC or Top 25 ranked in running.

Also, running D1 is like a full time job, you run 60-70 miles a week, and then academics and EVERY other aspect of life at college comes second.

Because XC/track typically involves XC, then indoor track, then outdoor track, it is one of the few sports that may be as time intensive in D3 as it is D1. At least that was my DĆs experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick 8-10 schools based on NOT being an athlete, aka the “break your leg” test.

Then, as part of the decision criteria, decide if you can get a spot on the team or run club.

My kid loved track and it was their whole personality in high school. They would have run on a D3 team but wanted a big state school college experience. They are at an SEC/ACC D1 school now but running club track. It is the best of both worlds.

SEC is an entirely different universe from the ACC.

Go look at the times of the ACC schools on TFRRS. Or look up the names of the kids on the team roster on mile split, And look up their high school times. I guarantee you those girls were running at a sub 5 mile in high schools distance runners.

My kids’ D1 school has only 2-3 spots for each event (example, 3 guys who run middle distance per season) and most were state champions or the very top person in their district. It’s not like it’s easy to walk on at Wake Forest or UVA or even William & Mary just cuz they’re D1 but not SEC or Top 25 ranked in running.

Also, running D1 is like a full time job, you run 60-70 miles a week, and then academics and EVERY other aspect of life at college comes second.

When was the last time an ACC team won nationals?

I'm a DP, but I'll bite. In cross country, on the women's side, NC State won four of the past five years. On the men's side the ACC has won more recently than the SEC. Syracuse in 2015.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick 8-10 schools based on NOT being an athlete, aka the “break your leg” test.

Then, as part of the decision criteria, decide if you can get a spot on the team or run club.

My kid loved track and it was their whole personality in high school. They would have run on a D3 team but wanted a big state school college experience. They are at an SEC/ACC D1 school now but running club track. It is the best of both worlds.

SEC is an entirely different universe from the ACC.

Go look at the times of the ACC schools on TFRRS. Or look up the names of the kids on the team roster on mile split, And look up their high school times. I guarantee you those girls were running at a sub 5 mile in high schools distance runners.

My kids’ D1 school has only 2-3 spots for each event (example, 3 guys who run middle distance per season) and most were state champions or the very top person in their district. It’s not like it’s easy to walk on at Wake Forest or UVA or even William & Mary just cuz they’re D1 but not SEC or Top 25 ranked in running.

Also, running D1 is like a full time job, you run 60-70 miles a week, and then academics and EVERY other aspect of life at college comes second.

When was the last time an ACC team won nationals?

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we don’t need money and aren’t expecting it, but I also don’t want to pay 100k a year (we would like to keep it to 60 or so if possible).
Can you all recommend good D3 schools? She is my oldest (a junior) and I went to a big school so this is all very new and overwhelming to me.

Where would she like to be geographically? What are potential majors?

I very much agree with others that she should start her wish list based on academics, then check out their track programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick 8-10 schools based on NOT being an athlete, aka the “break your leg” test.

Then, as part of the decision criteria, decide if you can get a spot on the team or run club.

My kid loved track and it was their whole personality in high school. They would have run on a D3 team but wanted a big state school college experience. They are at an SEC/ACC D1 school now but running club track. It is the best of both worlds.

SEC is an entirely different universe from the ACC.

Go look at the times of the ACC schools on TFRRS. Or look up the names of the kids on the team roster on mile split, And look up their high school times. I guarantee you those girls were running at a sub 5 mile in high schools distance runners.

My kids’ D1 school has only 2-3 spots for each event (example, 3 guys who run middle distance per season) and most were state champions or the very top person in their district. It’s not like it’s easy to walk on at Wake Forest or UVA or even William & Mary just cuz they’re D1 but not SEC or Top 25 ranked in running.

Also, running D1 is like a full time job, you run 60-70 miles a week, and then academics and EVERY other aspect of life at college comes second.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we don’t need money and aren’t expecting it, but I also don’t want to pay 100k a year (we would like to keep it to 60 or so if possible).
Can you all recommend good D3 schools? She is my oldest (a junior) and I went to a big school so this is all very new and overwhelming to me.

Some that will give you merit to get to 60k or less:

Conn College, Trinity, Macalester, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Oberlin, Kenyon, St. Lawrence, Union, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, St. Olaf, several of the SUNYs.

My kid goes to Conn College and loves it. Their women’s XC team has made nationals the past couple of years (though they are losing some of their best runners to graduation). I’m sure they would love to have your daughter with her times.

I would love to hear more about Connecticut College - what does your child love about it? Thank you!!

Positives: It's a really friendly place, and they love the team. Small classes, access to professors, good career services and other advising. Nice Hillel House. Campus is very pretty and has an arboretum and a view of the Thames River and the Long Island Sound. Easy access to a beautiful beach. Hands down the prettiest cross country course in the nation.

Negatives: New London itself is kind of run-down, and it's not a super-pleasant walk from the campus. Some of the facilities are dated (though they recently finished a reno of the student center and resurfacing of the track); Conn is fine financially but doesn't have the huge endowment that some SLACs have. Food and dorms are just OK. The class of 2026 was larger than they're used to (maybe to make up for smaller COVID-era classes), so they've been dealing with some dorm space issues, but that should resolve itself after this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we don’t need money and aren’t expecting it, but I also don’t want to pay 100k a year (we would like to keep it to 60 or so if possible).
Can you all recommend good D3 schools? She is my oldest (a junior) and I went to a big school so this is all very new and overwhelming to me.

Some that will give you merit to get to 60k or less:

Conn College, Trinity, Macalester, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Oberlin, Kenyon, St. Lawrence, Union, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, St. Olaf, several of the SUNYs.

My kid goes to Conn College and loves it. Their women’s XC team has made nationals the past couple of years (though they are losing some of their best runners to graduation). I’m sure they would love to have your daughter with her times.

I would love to hear more about Connecticut College - what does your child love about it? Thank you!!