I'm about to be 18, and out of high school...

Brett

Semi-Pro
See, I'm playing for my high school tennis team as a senior, and I have been playing since I was 12 years old. My plan for college is that I want to go to this private university based off my religion but it is $20,000 a year. Of course there they don't have a tennis team, but yet tennis intramural team.

I was thinking about going to a community college first for maybe 1 or 2 years to save up money, and the community college I want to go to used to have a team, but doesn't have one now. I really want to keep playing tennis once I get out of high school. Badly. I wish I could have been good enough to get a scholarship somewhere. Couldn't I still play D-3 somewhere? The bad thing is, because of my religion I don't play on Saturdays.

So could I play for some USTA league or tournaments? How exactly do they work? I guess I am a 3.0-3.5.

Thanks so much for the feedback. You people rule here.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Twenty grand a year is a realllly good price for college. Embrace it. I'd just stick with that college and play intramural. Do USTA stuff on weekends. I see your issue though. Most, not all but most tournaments take place on saturdays and continue through sunday. However - I'm pretty sure USTA Team Tennis is during the week. It may be different by section but I'd suggest looking into that.
 

Capt. Willie

Hall of Fame
Brett said:
I guess I am a 3.0-3.5.
I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but at 3.5 I seriously doubt you could make a college team. Unless you're in a cold climate (short playing season) in the middle of nowhere, with a small population...and even in that situation it could be tough. Just worry about getting in a school of your choice with academics being the most important factor and then look for someplace to play tennis.
 

MegacedU

Professional
I think that was inappropriate. The kid probably doesn't play much USTA judging by how he spoke of it and most likely has no one influencing what he ranks himself. He could be the best damn player you've ever seen - who knows, it's a self determined titel.
 

Prince_of_Tennis

Professional
USTA you can find a team to play on which has a lot of games. Or go individually and jus play tournaments. Find a local club thats around your level the only thing that sucks about that is you gotta be a memeber but if you can afford 20gs a year then you can afford a club. =)
 
20,000 a year, good price for a college?? I dont know where you live meg, but I attend a state school where the in-state tuition is like $6,000 a year, not counting scholorships. $20,000 might be good if you are like going to a private school or something. My ex-girlfriend went to a damn good private college and the tuition there was like 25,000 a year.
 

goober

Legend
USTA tournaments start either friday or Saturday and all the ones I have seen are always on the weekend. If you can't play on Saturday I would probably say you would have to play some other way competively. You could always join a local club and play league and ladder matches.
 

Dopke

Semi-Pro
Find another community college? The two nearest cc's near where I live- one of which has a team, the other doesn't. Just look around maybe, though that may mean you have to drive a bit further for school, but you get a team.
 

Morpheus

Professional
Brett, your plan is a good one, but it is based on the premise that you want to attend this particular school. If you aren't going to school to study religion, then perhaps you can expand your options some. You can still practice your religion and go to a non-affiliated college. And there are some D3 schools that have a wide variety of talent and you don't have to be great to play. Look around some; its a big world out there. What the heck, you're almost 18 and about to go to college.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Superior_Forehand said:
20,000 a year, good price for a college?? I dont know where you live meg, but I attend a state school where the in-state tuition is like $6,000 a year, not counting scholorships. $20,000 might be good if you are like going to a private school or something. My ex-girlfriend went to a damn good private college and the tuition there was like 25,000 a year.

Are you kidding?!!!! I live in New York and State schools are 30 grand a year nevermind private ones. If I get into my first choice, or even my second both will be 40 grand a year. Basically everywhere I've looked in fourty grand.
 

Capt. Willie

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
I think that was inappropriate. The kid probably doesn't play much USTA judging by how he spoke of it and most likely has no one influencing what he ranks himself. He could be the best damn player you've ever seen - who knows, it's a self determined titel.
You can call it inappropriate, I call it being brutally honest. I'm sure Brett will agree that he is not going to be playing on the ATP Tour anytime soon. And as such his education must come first and foremost. While I'm sure he enjoys tennis as much as the rest of us, it should not be the number one priority in his life.
 

Power Game

Professional
$25K is about average for good schools without housing, just tuition. With housing they come up to around 35-40K.
 
MegacedU said:
Are you kidding?!!!! I live in New York and State schools are 30 grand a year nevermind private ones. If I get into my first choice, or even my second both will be 40 grand a year. Basically everywhere I've looked in fourty grand.

Damn! It must be because I live in New Mexico. I must be getting a huge deal and I dont even know it. UNM is the biggest school in New Mexico, with over 25 thousand students, and the tuition is literally under 10 grand a year for in state under grads. Its not like its a crappy school either. They have a good law school, med school, everything.

Even state schools in Arizona and Colorado are only slightly more costly.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Morpheus, my brother goes to a SUNY and it's NOT under five grand. Multiply that by five and that's our figure.
 

Morpheus

Professional
MegacedU said:
Morpheus, my brother goes to a SUNY and it's NOT under five grand. Multiply that by five and that's our figure.

Meg, you may find the following article from the Daily Star interesting then (I pulled out a quote for you):

http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2005/03/24/sun3.html

"A higher-education subcommittee has haggled for the past couple days about tuition at State University of New York campuses, but decided not to raise it. The governor had proposed a $500 increase to the $4,350 that resident undergraduates pay. Both houses rejected the governor’s increase, but the Senate wanted to institute incremental annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. That could have meant an increase of about $120 next fall."
 

AndrewD

Legend
Brett, pretty hard for us to advise you without knowing what your priority is. Do you want to go to a college or university based around your religion or do you want to get the best education possible and play some tennis at the same time? Might also be an idea to let folk know what state you are in as some might have first-hand knowledge of the colleges in your area. There are a lot of educational options and you really should explore all of them before choosing. Also, while it would be great to continue playing tennis at college, is it really that important? You can just hook up with a good quality club and play local league and tournaments without needing the college to have their own team.

That being said, I had a friend who played for Hunter college in New York system and he was only around a 3.0-3.5 standard. The team was pretty ordinary but they did get to play. Of course it was anything but fancy, however, it does show there are places to play if you're willing to look. Why not check out the NAIA web site and see what colleges have teams, are in your area and might appeal to you. Dont limit yourself to just strict NCAA Division III schools, there might be something in the NAIA that is more applicable to you.
 

Brett

Semi-Pro
First off, thank you guys so much for all the replies. It really means a lot to me. Seriously.

The $20,000 university I'm talking about is a private university and my brother is going there now for 4 years. He said he wish he would have gone to a community college first for maybe 1-2 years to save money. He will have to pay back $500 a month for 12 years once he gets out. I would love to continue to talk to you guys in this thread. Keep posting, please! It really helps out! And what is the NAIA, AndrewD? Also what division is Hunter College? D3?

Also, I live in Mississippi, just about 30 minutes outside of Memphis.
 

goober

Legend
Brett said:
First off, thank you guys so much for all the replies. It really means a lot to me. Seriously.

The $20,000 university I'm talking about is a private university and my brother is going there now for 4 years. He said he wish he would have gone to a community college first for maybe 1-2 years to save money. He will have to pay back $500 a month for 12 years once he gets out. I would love to continue to talk to you guys in this thread. Keep posting, please! It really helps out! And what is the NAIA, AndrewD? Also what division is Hunter College? D3?

Also, I live in Mississippi, just about 30 minutes outside of Memphis.

My personal feeling is that unless you are going to a big name school like an Ivy league, Stanford, ect, going to a state school or community college then to a state school is just fine. I went to a University of California school when it was $1,500 a year ( I think it is somewhere around 6-7K now) and I had friends that went to private schools that graduated with $80,000 worth of debt.

NAIA= National Association of Intercollegiate athletics. They are generally small schools. Here's their website.

http://www.naia.org/index.html
 

forehander

New User
20 grand a year is expensive, but it is probably the low end of tuition costs for a private school. Check out some more Community Colleges that have tennis. They can be fun and it is easier to make the tennis team. They tend to be more personal with their students than a large institution. Also check out the state universities and look at playing intramurals there.

Some Div III schools can be VERY competitive in tennis. If you are truly a 3.5, you probably could not make the team there. Plus, Div III tend to be very nice, intimate private schools that are very expensive. And, don't forget, Div III does not give athletic scholarships.

Another option is to just join a local club near your school that has an active tennis program. There is plenty of competion there.
 

TommyGun

Semi-Pro
Brett,

I'm guessing you are 7th Day Adventist, based on the no Saturday rule.

That would make playing tennis on an organized tennis team in college absolutely un-doable. As a college coach, I will tell you that the majority of tennis matches, due to the 3-5 hour length, are on Saturdays and Sundays. Tennis scholarships are hard to come by, and even though it is one of the cheapest sports a college can have they stricly limit team membership (the largest I have seen is 12, most are 8-10 players). So carrying a player who cannot play most of the time isn't feasible. Sorry.

Intramurals is your best bet.

Coach Tommy Gun
 

Capt. Willie

Hall of Fame
TommyGun said:
I'm guessing you are 7th Day Adventist, based on the no Saturday rule.

That would make playing tennis on an organized tennis team in college absolutely un-doable.
This is very true. And also, as I think was mentioned in an earlier post by someone, USTA tournaments are out of the question too for the very same reason. I don't know what religion Brett is (I think you're probably right with 7DA) but if he is an Orthodox Jew the problem is even more complicated as he couldn't play on Friday nights (after sundown) either. Of course he could always convert. :)
 

Brett

Semi-Pro
I am a 7th Day Adventist. I hate this :(

So my only option after high school is to do what to continue playing tennis?

And I wish I knew what to major in, too.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
Are you kidding?!!!! I live in New York and State schools are 30 grand a year nevermind private ones. If I get into my first choice, or even my second both will be 40 grand a year. Basically everywhere I've looked in fourty grand.

No state or public university costs "30 grand a year" even in overpriced NY. Morpheus did the basic research. He is correct. Do some research before you make such ill informed statements.

New York University, despite the name SOUNDING like a state or city school, is not a public school. Perhaps this confused you. NYU is private and is quite expensive.
 

New Balls

New User
Thanks Phil for pointing this out. Most state schools are actually quite a value. Regarding in-state tuition, and tuition costs alone: the University of Texas schools (except Austin) are also about $4k a yr. Also consider the aforementioned UC schools. I'm just guessing they're about $6k a yr. They consistently rank among the top public schools in the country (all 7 were in the top 50). Note also SUNY schools rank among the better public schools.
 

atatu

Legend
Well, I think Meg is going to Columbia, so her frame of reference may be a little off. Still, I know people in Austin who are paying $15K a year to send their kids to private high schools, that, I cannot believe....
 

TommyGun

Semi-Pro
Brett,

Start your own 7th Day Adventist league! There are a lot of you guys and gals out there, and you could be the first to really bring these tennis players into the fold.

I'm not kidding. Contact the USTA in NY, and ask for the "special populations and community relations people. Explain to them your religious restrictions and that you want to begin a league or association for people like you. They will send you good information and should work with you to get it going. In addition, there might be grant money available to help you get it started.

If you start a league, or organize your own tournaments not only will you get to play forever, but you will have a great time and make a lot of new friends.

Give it a try, and I bet many of the posters here will give you help as well.

tommy gun
 

TommyGun

Semi-Pro
Oh, and Brett I'm guessing you are in Texas. If you are, and you love tennis, you can take courses at Tyler in tennis management.
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
Brett - There's a thread on here about scholarships to Div III or NAIA schools. It has some commentary you might find useful.

Many CC teams are actually pretty good. (The one in Meg's area I remember, HVCC, had a team that could regularly "take" Div II teams.)

Look around. There are a lot of options.

- KK
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
Brett - Tommy makes a great suggestion. Dont "give up." Figure out a way to fit tennis into your life ... and the lives of many 7DA tennis players.

I received LOTS of help from the nearby USTA offices in setting up our Town Ladder. (Turned out, since we have NO available facility in our town with more than two courts, we cannot have a USTA League here. [The school, where I am the HS Coach, has four courts; but the rental fee the District would charge a League is nuts.])

Our ladder isn't "official USTA" anything, but they were really a big help establishing it. They want tennis to be available to everyone and will go out of their way to help you make it happen.

- KK
 

MegacedU

Professional
Phil said:
No state or public university costs "30 grand a year" even in overpriced NY. Morpheus did the basic research. He is correct. Do some research before you make such ill informed statements.

New York University, despite the name SOUNDING like a state or city school, is not a public school. Perhaps this confused you. NYU is private and is quite expensive.

Thank you but I know NYU isn't a state school. I'm applying there - I should know. If I ever get to it, I'll show you all some of the college board's figures - since apparently that's where I got my ILL INFORMED statements.

I'll be going to college in the near future - I've toured and prepared and decided. I have researched.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Kaptain Karl said:
Brett - There's a thread on here about scholarships to Div III or NAIA schools. It has some commentary you might find useful.

Many CC teams are actually pretty good. (The one in Meg's area I remember, HVCC, had a team that could regularly "take" Div II teams.)

Look around. There are a lot of options.

- KK

Good old Harvard on the Hudson.
 

MegacedU

Professional
One more Post : I did just check Collegeboard.com

If you're ever interested - In the college quick finder, type in a SUNY school like Geneseo or Binghampton or even the United State's #1 party school. (SUNY Albany) You'll see that out of state expenses easily reach upwards of at least TWENTY grand.
 

cak

Professional
Look for USTA League play. Often the adult leagues play weeknights and Sundays. You may not be available for a few games, but if you find a team with home games on Sundays or weeknights you would be available for most matches.
 

Capt. Willie

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
the United State's #1 party school. (SUNY Albany)
SUNY Albany is the #1 party school in the US?...or you mean in NY? I always thought U Miami (Florida) AKA Sun Tan U was the #1 party school. And as far as New York, I thought SUNY New Paltz was. Of course I'm a bit out of the loop on these things.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
One more Post : I did just check Collegeboard.com

If you're ever interested - In the college quick finder, type in a SUNY school like Geneseo or Binghampton or even the United State's #1 party school. (SUNY Albany) You'll see that out of state expenses easily reach upwards of at least TWENTY grand.

Okay, but that's not 30 or 40K as you previously said, so obviously, you had to go back and change the figure. Wrong is wrong. The kid asked for information, not b.s. Out of state tuition is a different story, anyway. It might be worth it to go to a fine state school, like UofC Berkeley, UNC or U of Michigan-especially grad school...but SUNY ALBANY? You'd have to be an idiot.
 

atatu

Legend
Back when I was going to UC Santa Barbara we were always ranked as one of the top party schools along with UVA, sad to see that we've been replaced by SUNY and Miami....next you'll tell me we aren't the top rated surfing school in the nation.
 

norcal

Legend
Kaptain Karl said:
Ah-hem.... This *idiot* graduated from SUNY Albany.

I challenge Phil to a DUAL (tennis, of course).

- KK
I think Phil meant you would be an idiot if you paid out of state rates to go to those schools. I'm sure you didn't Kap'n Krunch.
 

MegacedU

Professional
I think calling someone an idiot for going to ANY college is an "ill-informed" statement. I never changed any of my previous posts. I said 40 grand for private institutions and upwards of 20 grand to nearly 30 for state schools. No one ever said anything about in-state out-of-state.

Did you attend all three Universities Phil? Or is that yet another thing you're an expert on and I'm inferior on?

Btw - If you're going on the fact by the "fine universities'" reputations, then that's just as incorrect as going on the reputation of SUNY Albany.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Capt. Willie said:
SUNY Albany is the #1 party school in the US?...or you mean in NY? I always thought U Miami (Florida) AKA Sun Tan U was the #1 party school. And as far as New York, I thought SUNY New Paltz was. Of course I'm a bit out of the loop on these things.

Nope it's SUNY Albany is in the US according to this year's...figures. I was shocked too.
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
norcal said:
I think Phil meant you would be an idiot if you paid out of state rates to go to those schools. I'm sure you didn't Kap'n Krunch.
Oh. On rereading Phil's post, I see that's probably what he meant. (But it was kind of a thrill, issuing a challenge like that....)

I paid instate tuition ... and it turned-out that SUNYA tuition was just barely more than my costs at the little NAIA school I'd been attending (on half-scholarship). I got a much more rigorous education ... played a tougher tennis schedule ... and made contacts which helped me end up on SUNYA’s faculty as a tennis teacher. (That was a trip!)

- KK
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
Kaptain Karl said:
Oh. On rereading Phil's post, I see that's probably what he meant. (But it was kind of a thrill, issuing a challenge like that....)

I paid instate tuition ... and it turned-out that SUNYA tuition was just barely more than my costs at the little NAIA school I'd been attending (on half-scholarship). I got a much more rigorous education ... played a tougher tennis schedule ... and made contacts which helped me end up on SUNYA’s faculty as a tennis teacher. (That was a trip!)

- KK

Correct, Karl-that's what I meant. I went to a state school too, and I'd say the same thing about an out-of-stater paying 20K to attend my own alma mater. Albany (and the location of the school I attended ) is COLD in winter (and fall and spring), so unless you're a resident, then...WTF??
 

MegacedU

Professional
Ever checked out the night life and surroundings of Alb? I know you're there for "education", but there's more to life.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
I think calling someone an idiot for going to ANY college is an "ill-informed" statement. I never changed any of my previous posts. I said 40 grand for private institutions and upwards of 20 grand to nearly 30 for state schools. No one ever said anything about in-state out-of-state.

Did you attend all three Universities Phil? Or is that yet another thing you're an expert on and I'm inferior on?

Btw - If you're going on the fact by the "fine universities'" reputations, then that's just as incorrect as going on the reputation of SUNY Albany.

No, you said "...I live in New York and State schools are 30 grand a year nevermind private ones. ...Basically everywhere I've looked in fourty grand."!

I don't see anything about "upwards of 20 grand to nearly 30 for state schools..." anywhere. Let me know if I missed that one. You only changed the figure to 20 AFTER I, Morpheus and a couple others pointed out that the figures you claimed were way too high. THEN, you went and looked it up, which you could have done in the first place if you weren't so...lazy?? Oh, let's not raise THAT one again. And now you're downplaying previous comments-now it's not "ARE" 30K a year, but "UPWARDS of 20K to NEARLY 30". C'mon, who you trying to bullshiat here?

It's not a crime or a personal failing to admit that something you said is incorrect, and then own up to it. I've done the same on this board. Instead of ARGUING with the person who takes the time to correct me, I've said, "Oh, my bad. Thanks for pointing that out." That's all. End of story. Otherwise, you look like an ass and it IS a personal failure to try and come off as being in the know in a situation where you just don't have the facts. Better yet, if you're not SURE about something, just don't say ANYTHING-don't run your mouth like you know it. This is just a nice little chat board, but one thing it isn't is your high school, Meg. Unlike your school, people here don't think you're the cat's meow and latch on to everything you say. Mommy and daddy aren't going to pat you on the head and encourage the attitude. If you sprout b.s., someone is going to say, "That's b.s." Get used to it and deal with it-it's a lot closer to the real world than H.S.

Since you THINK you know everything, and cannot be told anything new, I'm not sure why you even need to attend college or have a tennis coach. You know better than the coach or the profs, so why bother? Start your own religious cult, convince people that you are a god and have them give you all their worldly possessions. That's your ticket.
 

New Balls

New User
Phil said:
Start your own religious cult, convince people that you are a god and have them give you all their worldly possessions. That's your ticket.

If anyone should opt for this route, I recommend Waco, TX. Sure they had a little fiasco there, but it's on the upswing, and just think, right next to the Baylor courts and the Dr. Pepper museum!!!
 
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