r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Last-Emu-1449 • 4h ago

College Questions The Daily Lives of Student Athletes.

I’ll be attending a T10 as a recruited athlete. Can anyone here speak to their experience and quality of life? I would love any insights or advice as I prepare for my freshman year. I plan on majoring in math or CS.
FWIW, I averaged about 5 hours of sleep during the season in my junior year of high school. As an IB student taking 4 APs, I nearly burned out. Am I cooked in the same way when I start college?

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9

u/paige_420 4h ago

You should speak with your future teammates.

4

u/Last-Emu-1449 4h ago

I have. I get the sense I’m getting a glossier than normal perspective at this point in the process.

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u/QuickSafety8100 3h ago

the sport you play and what level makes a big difference

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u/Teddie_P4 3h ago

Hey, fellow class of 27 student athlete here, I looked into some T20s like WashU and Emory but decided against them due to price, so I have some insights. I’ve heard from athletes from UChicago and WashU that said athletes typically do better than average students academically, despite their athletic obligations, and stated that the discipline + habits learnt from their sport is what likely causes this. However I only talked to D3 colleges, so if you’re going D1 then the added athletic burden may offset this. I will say you definitely need to learn to protect and get more sleep. 5 hours a night is pretty trash for a athlete like you, you need to do better so that you don’t get injured and can perform. I know it can be difficult when balancing rigorous academics, but sleep is not a waste of time and will allow you to be more productive academically. Btw I’m a distance runner and my sources are from distance runners, so what I heard may differ if you do a different sport

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u/finewalecorduroy PhD 1h ago

You have to be really good at time management to be an athlete and get top grades. You can do it, but you have to be efficient and organized. Athletic department will provide a lot of resources (tutoring, specialized advising), most likely, but my experience from the professor side is that this will get you enough to pass/get Bs, not enough to get As. The teams all recruit some players who are very strong academically with the idea that these kids will balance out the ones who are weak academically but have been recruited for their athletics. The athletes in my classes who get As are very smart and also EXTREMELY disciplined and well-organized.

The advisors will also know which classes and professors to take and which to avoid, but again the focus is on easy classes with understanding/flexible professors. I busted an athlete once for plagiarism and didn't have any athletes from that team in my class for five years!