<p>Mizzou is actually better than Stanford right now.</p>
<p>If you are seriously interested in a particular school, you will need to visit (called an “unofficial visit”) Contact the coach and go get a feel for the program. Be sure to go when the team is there and ask to attend a class or two with a player. You can find out about the majors of the players if you ask. You can also find out if you like larger classes (300+ students) or smaller classes (20 to 50 students). The NCAA publishes average GPAs for each team and sport in Div 1. Think about what is most important to you: high GPA and preparing for grad school,playing your sport at a top 25 school, social life, study abroad, internships, etc. Playing a sport at Div 1 level requires preseason (returning early from summer break in top form), a lot of studying on a bus and in hotels, spending most of your time with your team, missing classes, especially toward the end of the season when you go to the conference and NCAA tournaments. There is so much offered on a college campus but you only have so much free time. Be thoughtful and learn as much as you can about yourself and your priorities. That way you can make the best choices.</p>
<p>A friend of ours plays DI vball at Tennessee. It’s a full time job. I don’t see how you could balance pre-med, a fun social life and the rigors of DI vball. Now, if you wanted to play mid-level DI, that might be different. I’m sure the commitment at Miami of Ohio is quite a bit less than an SEC or BIG 10 school. Also, vball is NOT a fully funded sport. The coach has to divide a handful of scholarships. </p>
<p>Your best option may be DIII. No actual athletic scholarship money, but some amazing schools that truly place student before athlete. </p>
<p>What position do you play? Which club team do you play for? Height?</p>
<p>You might want to stay away from the parties with alcohol. My D tries to avoid as much as possible (to the point of not socializing very much). Even being caught at a party where alcohol is served might be enough to get you suspended here. D is also not allowed to pick up anyone from a party (but I’m happy to pick up any friend that wants/needs ‘out’ of a party where they feel uncomfortable). Not being judgmental but that can go bad on you quick (before you see it coming). You’ve also gotten good advice - don’t let anyone take pictures of you at a party where alcohol is served (and watch your social media).</p>
<p>
The point here isn’t to get a NCAA ring. The OP has expressed an interest in going to med school. Few people would consider Mizzou and Stanford as substitutes academically.</p>
<p>To the OP - there are a number of parents who have gone thru the recruiting process, sometimes several times. I suggest you post your question on the Parents forum.</p>
<p>There is also an athletic recruit forum but I don’t know how active it is. OP, I don’t think you need to worry about your social life. Even very top colleges have plenty of social life and parties that are accessible. I don’t think you will have any problem dropping into parties when you have time. You might avoid colleges known for frequent ragers though. Two of my daughters classmates were ‘recruited’ at Harvard. One ran track the whole time and made school records and was awarded a prestigious Harvard fellowship upon graduation. I didn’t hear about the volleyball player. I have a relative who played football freshman year at Princeton but quit to maintain a high gpa in a tough program - EE. I don’t think premed is as rigorous as that and I do think that you could do it at an Ivy and leverage your skill into a great college and have it all–if you feel one is right for you.</p>