What motivates you to run?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Now before you ask “What does this have to do with prep school admissions?”, I throw this out as a metaphor to be considered when asked “Why do you want to attend our school?” at an interview.</p>

<p>Here are some possible answers and their possible correlation to prep school applicants (feel free to supply more):</p>

<p>“I see this empty trail/track and its a beautiful morning and I just can’t pass up the opportunity.” This person runs as a personal pleasure and views running as a private endeavor not something shared with others. As a prep student this applicant is self motivated to participate, but not necessarily community oriented.</p>

<p>“There are a lot of great runners out on this trail/track. I’m a great runner, so this is where I will run.” This person runs because s/he is good at running and feels entitled to run with his/her peers. As a prep student this applicant may be seen as confident.</p>

<p>“I run only in the Boston Marathon, because its no fun running in rinky-dink races.” This person runs for the glory. As a prep student this applicant is the Andover, Exeter, or bust type. If his/her talent is good, s/he is a competitor, otherwise a wannabe.</p>

<p>“I run only when large, carnivorous animals are chasing me. However, last week I managed to out run 3 cheetas and a couple of packs of wolves.” This person runs out of fear of failure. As a prep school student this applicant seems to take pride in how many irons s/he can keep in the fire and still keep up his/her studies.</p>

<p>“I run because I’ve got these really expensive shoes and just the right outfit that makes me look faster than I am.” Similar to the Boston Marathon runner, this person runs for something other than exercise. As a prep school student, this applicant has a wonderful resume and figures that will be enough for admission.</p>

<p>“I run because my parents watch me at track meets. If I win, we go out for dinner. If I lose, it is a long ride home. Fortunately, I win most of the time.” This person is like the person running from the animals, but in this case doesn’t necessarily take pride in the accomplishment, but more plays the game. As a prep school student this applicant is playing all the angles because s/he doesn’t want the long year back at their home school.</p>

<p>I’m sure there are other runner types out there. Do any of you see yourself here or do you run for a different reason?</p>

2

<p>Wow, I’m a parent, but I see me when i was a student as a combo of two of those #2 and #4. I see D#1 who is already in prep school, but I haven’t quite figured out which relates to D#2 who’s currently applying to prep school.</p>

3

<p>I see myself a little bit as #3, but more along the lines of looking for a challenging race more than not liking smaller/less competitive races.</p>

4

<p>Good post, sent it to my S. Forces one to take an introspective look at one self.</p>

5

<p>I am a runner (was quite competitive- the older I get, the better I WAS), and am a combination of 1 and 2. Also- I had to run in “lesser” races in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon!</p>

6

<p>I am constantly running from what I was an instant before.</p>

7

<p>it sounds like your life is chaotic…lol Maybe we should drop the Theory portion and just stick with chaos…lol I hope you have a sense of humor</p>

8

<p>I’ve run since I was about 8, so I have a few reasons:</p>

<p>-The last one about parents is why I used to run. My mom always talked for hours about my “Natural Talent”, and how I should make use of it…whatever…</p>

<ul>
<li>Also, many coaches are really agressive and would like murder you if you didn’t go. They want their team to win and would do anything to make it happen. I know it sounds extreme but my xc coach was my gym teacher, and she hated me when I told her I was going to quit after i’d qualified for the finals.</li>
</ul>

<p>-Actual reason I run is because I love the feeling of pushing myself, and being good
(It’s hard to love something you’re really ggod at:))</p>

9

<p>Ah, but who is to say Chaos Theory has only one meaning? ;)</p>

10

<p>In high school I ran xcountry because the dean was fascinating and she ran distance. I fell in with her while running for a gym class one day, ran 3 or 4 miles by her side, and was on varsity xcountry by the following autumn. She went on to win a Pulitzer, so I guess I have good taste.</p>

<p>As far as personality goes, though, I’m the one being chased by cheetahs.</p>

11

<p>I run for brownies, pasta and all the other things I love to eat but couldn’t if I didn’t work out!</p>

12

<p>hmm, im not sure. prolly both #1 and #3, lol i am definitely a bit of a wannabe- but arent we all? ^_^</p>

13

<p>The first answer to why I ran back in high school was “Why not?”</p>

<p>I also ran because I wanted to be part of a team, and then I found that racing was really really fun. XC because you could run with your teammates and push each other, and track (I ran 400s) because even though the event itself was all about personal execution, when I ran well, I was proud of my effort and so was everyone else.</p>

<p>I guess the prep applicant description would be a student who wants to be a part of a close-knit community that works with each other, but still values and enjoys personal achievement.</p>

14

<p>I’ll translate this into fencing, because I don’t care for running.</p>

<p>I fence because it is the most bloody brilliant sport in the world. :)</p>

15

<p>hmm this confused me when I first read it.
but Ill do what prettyckitty did.
I play tennis because I love the competitiveness, the agility it requires, the partnership (if doubles) and the thrill that it brings, even if I lose. I guess I just enjoy everything about it. also, I feel like I’m in power when I have the ball.</p>