Hard work pays off. That’s a given. April 15, 2015, marks the last day that an athlete can sign their letter of intent play un NCAA Division I sports. For many seniors at Staples, the recruitment process is an extremely stressful and terrifying one. However, for many athletes who have already committed to college, the stress has been alleviated.

Jake Berman ’15, who committed to Bucknell University for track, finds it relieving that he has already been accepted to a college so early in his senior year.

“Getting recruited relieves so much stress because the college process is basically over. You don’t have to take another SAT, and you don’t need to study for hours and hours each night,” Berman said. “Committing to Bucknell has allowed me to relax and enjoy my senior year.”

There are students who, although they committed, will keep up the same work ethic in the classroom.
One of these athletes is Ian Burns ’15 committed to Columbia University for baseball. He chose Columbia because of the school’s great academics, as well as the appeal of attending a school in New York City.

Burns noted how although it is a huge relief to be accepted into a school, he will continue to work hard throughout his senior year.
“It is relieving in terms of the application process, but I put the same pressure on myself (as I did before I committed) in the classroom,” Burns said.

Jordan McNair ’15, who verbally committed to Dartmouth for soccer, believes that since there are no guarantees in Ivy League committing, the stress is still palpable, although it is less than most seniors are enduring.

“Since I went the Ivy route, they can’t give you a strict guarantee that you will get in. They send you a likely letter after you apply basically saying that you are likely to get in,” McNair said. “So, yeah there’s less stress but I wouldn’t say it’s completely stress free.”

However, the lowered levels of stress for these commits was not earned without pressures and tension during recruitment.
Sam Kratky ’15 said from her freshman year up until her junior year, during which she was being recruited for lacrosse at Lehigh University, she felt, “much of the stress that seniors are feeling now.”

However, Kratky is very relieved that she only has to apply to one school now.

“Being committed has made the application process so much less stressful than it usually would be because I only have to apply to one school,” Kratky said.