Difficult College Majors

A few ideas, the 5-year plan helps. Don't even try to hold a job. Try to schedule labs in the off season. It is very hard to reschedule labs. Take the more difficult courses in the off season when possible. Get all of your general ed courses out of the way before hitting the courses in your major. General ed courses tend to be a breeze for students in the difficult majors. Find out which professors will allow you some leeway on homework and assignments. I had a professor who counted homework assignments very heavily and he refused to allow any leeway for sports. As I was walking out of his office he asked what sport it was. I told him I was heading up to qualify for the California Open (tennis) and he allowed me to slip an assignment but he wouldn't have done it for any other sport. Find out what the baseball coach feels about kids with a difficult major. Some will help, some figure you're there to play baseball and should take basket weaving.

My son is majoring in economics with a minor in business. Some professors have been more understanding than others about missing classes. "Time management" and "self descipline" are the keys to success when playing a college sport and trying to get a degree, too. I think that AP and honors' classes in high school did help him to develop good study habits. He has never had a job because baseball is a job in itself. Overall he has a GPA of 3.54. I think he has done extremely well in the classroom considering the demands that a college athlete is under.

123kmon...Catchmom has given you some sound advice. I think you and your son need to decide if baseball comes first or an education and degree comes first. If your son attends a highly competitive D1 program..there will be alot of expectations from him, especially if he takes a major that is demanding. Both my son and daughter have choosen to compete. But they did so knowing that they wanted their degree to come first. The discipline is critical. Taking AP courses will help, however, college is at a higher scale and pace. My advice after you answer my first question of baseball vs degree, prepare now with great study habits and discipline to work hard in both. He will succeed.

My son is going to take engineering at UT Martin. His choice was the first thing we asked the coach about on our visit. It was nice to hear him tell us of his top player from the year before who had finshed his engineering degree and had started at georgia tech for further studies.
Coach Cates told us that he would put us in touch with the player and that he could give John advice on how to schedule classes and how to balance baseball, schoool and college life.
UTM is a D1 school but not a top contender or any thing, so the coach told John he was planing for john to play as a freshman.
Well that left only one consern I had and that was the cost, I was and still am convinced a young man has enough on his hands with ball and a hard major that it would not work if he had to have a job. The offer that John got from the coach was great and it made it possiable for John to attend school and play with out haveing to work, now dad will be worked into the ground to keep him free to do these things but what the heck, my wife tells me that I should be so happy that I will just spring out of bed each morning, lol we will see.

Mom,
I understand your concerns. I come from a family with engineering background and always thought that this would be my son's major or he would go into the medical field.
My understanding through asking lots of questions is that most baseball players seem to lean toward business, bit easier and not as demanding. I guess when the time comes when he has to declare his major, my son will be faced with yet another life decision.

I would have to think that the university setting in which the player undertakes the particular major would likewise have a bearing on the player's prospects for success...being pre-med at Stanford, for example, might be more arduous than pre-med at "State U." I know the curriculum (course content) might be the same, but the caliber of student competing with you, the manner of presentation by the professors, and the expectations might be way different from one school to the next....

Both of our son's former college roommates will graduate this spring with tough degrees ...Civil Engineering and Bilology/PreMed. Both needed 5 years to graduate while playing D1 baseball, even though they had AP credits coming out of HS. Both used one medical red shirt year due to injuries. Both transfered at some point...one from a JUCO and the other to another D1 program for more play time. Neither took summer classes ...played in top wood bat leagues instead.
Both still hope to play pro ball next year.

The key to their success was persistance...they just kept working towards their goal.

Thank you all for your responses. Our son is still deciding on his major...but leaning towards mechanical engineering with minor in math. He was fortunate enough to have 30 units in credit from HS AP courses. He completed 16 units (including Calculus II) in the first quarter and is taking 15 units this quarter. So far ... so good...