When choosing to be a college student athlete, everyone thinks D1 is the only way to go or it is not worth it. Well, that is not true. I am a Division 3 NCAA student athlete and it is no easier than a Division 1 sports team. You still get summer packets and you still have to do the same exercises that they do; it just comes down to a few different things. There are three main points of going either D1 or D3. Whichever one you choose to go to, there are still similarities, too. One is not easier, but one does offer scholarships, which is the most relevant one. So let us get started by realizing that just because you play a division three sport does not mean you are worth any less than a division one athlete.

Point one: Knowing that the role of the student athlete differs between D1, D2 and D3.

At a division one level, you are more likely to be an athlete than a student, meaning you can get passes for being an athlete and get offered more leniency. At division three, you get none of that; it is student then athlete for a reason. You are expected to excel in your studies in order to play the sport you wish. If you look at it in prospective, a division one athlete still has to attend classes and take tests just like division three athletes. In division three, the studies become more important.

Point two: Distance traveled

Some advantages of being a division one athlete is you get to travel farther, but that can also be a downfall because it means you spend more time on a bus. Spending so much time on a bus means you will have to do all your work on a bus. Not saying that in division three we do not travel, because we do, but not as extremely. We still have to do our studies on our bus trips and depending on what time you play, you might have to miss classes too.

Point three: Scholarships

The biggest point of them all has to deal with money, because we all know that paying for college is not cheap. With division one, you can get full rides and such, but when you go division three, it all comes from academics. This is what makes up the difference between division one and three athletics the most.

Do not get me wrong, the better the athlete is, usually the better division that they will go. But some athletes turn down the money because at any time, they can get it taken away from them. For example, with a major injury, the scholarship will be pulled. Or, if the sports are getting in the way of the academics and you have to stop, there goes most, if not all of your funding.

So just remember the importance of everything is that you love what you are doing… athletics.