College Cheer Choices

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Oct 25, 2010
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Hi I am new to the boards and I am a senior in HS.
I have done gymnastics, middle and high school cheer (4 years) but mostly competitive cheer (9 of the last 11 years 5yrs @ level 5). I am currently level 5 co-ed and can do kick kick double in baskets, punch front, standing full, double on spring full on foam, 3 to full, 3 toe back & toe full etc...

I am trying to deceide where to go to college and which type of cheer to do. WIth all of the changes happening at the college level it is a hard choice to know which one will be best. I love cheer and want to cheer my way through college (hopefully with cheer paying the way)

1. Requirement a business or sports training (sports medicine) major I am unsure of which one at this point but I am finding most schools offer these. A smaller college town (I dont party or drink)

2. Advanced performance level cheer I love competing so I would like to continue that. I have done tryouts at one college in my state for the new tumbling stunt format and was told that they would love to have me. I also have been asked to join a high level all girl squad more traditional cheer but they do pretty unique stunts for all girl, they are from a small town in the mid west (they do smaller comps and smaller nationals). I will have some scholarship money from both, higher at the latter, but still not full waiver. Both schools consider it a sport.

3. SCHOLARSHIP opportunity this is huge as I will receive some federal grants but will need more to round out the package I will have a 3.0+ but my ACT/ SAT scores are not great (medical test anxiety issues)

What other schools should I look at. I have gotten some suggestions from collegecheerguide.com but wonder if there are coaches or team members out there with other suggestions would be appreicated thanks,
 
I think I may have a great college for you! I don't cheer here (I have friends who do) but I go to Lindenwood University and they seem to fit all of your needs!

1. They have a Sports Management as well as Athletic Training/Medicine majors you can choose from. It's in St. Charles, MO which isn't a tiny town. It's big enough that you have the option of doing things in St. Louis (30 minute drive) but is small enough that you don't feel overwhelmed.

2. Lindenwood competes at NCA in Florida every year. They always have an all girl and either small/large coed teams that both compete. Both teams usually place top 10.

3. I have a friend who did get scholarship money from cheer, it's just something you would have to talk to the coach about. You sound like you are very talented and they are always looking for talent on the mat!

Hope this helps you out!
 
You will want to look at several factors. When I made my college choice, I looked up National Championship finishes, academic programs/majors, and scholarship opportunities. Definitely meet the coaches and your potential teammates- this is what finalized my decision :)

Good luck!
 
Considering the skills you do have, if 90% of that can transfer to hard floor, you should be able to tryout anywhere you want. If you are wanting to stay highly competitive, then I would look into Stephen F. Austin, Hawaii Pacific, Texas Tech, University of Louisville, Oklahoma State, Navarro Junior College, etc. Now the downside to this is that the scholarship idea that many people hope for is not as big as it is made out to be. I know here at Oklahoma State, the Large coed squad gets a few grand a year, but are handed shirts, shorts, shoes, travel fees paid, and nationals paid. OSU's small coed do not get these benefits and we have to fundraise all the money to get the clothes and to pay for nationals. I heard that Hawaii Pacific has cut down a lot of their funding to their cheer program.
In my opinion, if money is a issue, I would look for more on schooling and academic scholarships. If money is not a issue, then I would go for one of the big schools listed. I sacrificed a lot of money by paying out of state to go to OSU and cheer for Small Coed. I would have not changed it for the world. The expectation of skill level is high and pushed me to be better than I thought I could ever achieve. I cheer with people from Cheer Athletics to people who only cheered high school. These people came in with drastically different skills but by the end of the first year, they were all on the same level.
Another thing to keep in mind is how often you think you might want to go home. The farther away you are from home, the less opportunity you get to go home. I have been in Oklahoma since august and Thanksgiving will be my first time going home since then. Ill have christmas home and then after that will not be until Summer.
Just make sure you look at the pros and cons of EVERYTHING. Don't just look at one area and decide from that, make sure many things are going to play in your favor just in case something does not work out and your not stuck at a school doing a major you don't like and not cheering for whatever reason...
 
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