Northwestern "Hard Times"

[Relax77]

What a load of nit picking elitist crap this thread is, a classic example of what a cesspool social media is and why these student athletes should stay from it. A dad who appears to have some sort of bone to pick with Northwestern and its way of operating, and a couple of daughters (who don't cuss) who have to find something negative/derogatory to say. I crossed those kind of people off my list many decades ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi84maqHgxg
Now the top talent is turning KAH down.
Those second rate student athletes who wander around aimlessly not knowing what they want to do with the rest of their lives seem to be doing mighty fine to me. Just imagine what a powerhouse Northwestern would be if KAH could get top talent to go there.
What program is ranked number one in the pre season polls?
What team won the title last year?
What team came within a gnat's asz of winning it the year before?
Any chance this half-aszed program will win back to back titles?

Yeah, while i was surprised by the answers on that question at a school like NU, I don't put much stock in it.

And to say KAH doesn't attract top talent is laughable. If you are basing it solely on rankings by IL and Lax Magazine(which doesn't even evaluate players) then perhaps she doesn't get top ranked classes. On the other hand, maybe KAH just has a much better eye than the people that do those rankings? Also, maybe she's looking for specific traits from players. There are things about that program I'm not a huge fan of, but to question the talent KAH brings in is a joke.

Izzy Scane was ranked #27 by IL. Who was right? IL or KAH?
Coykendall was ranked #22 by IL. Who was right? IL or KAH?
Dylan Amonte was ranked #29 by IL. Who was right? IL or KAH?
Samantha Smith was ranked #23 by IL. Who was right? IL or KAH?
Kendall Halpern was ranked #44. Who was right? IL or KAH?
Madison Taylor wasn't in the top 50. Who was right? IL or KAH?

A lot of posters here still put a lot of stock in those rankings. Maybe because their daughters are still in HS and they mean a lot at that point. You quickly find out when your daughter gets on campus that the coaches don't give a darn and they don't matter at all. And this isn't sour grapes as my daughter was very highly ranked by IL. Every day is a tryout in college.

She's the best innovator in the history of the sport as well. No one has adjusted better to the ever changing rules than she has.

I think the point someone made was that she actually does take runs at the people rated in IL and Lax where other people, as I did, felt she never did and had an eye for people not listed on those ridiculous rankings.

She's never really put a lot of effort into recruiting Maryland. Last year, Sammy White was the only player on the roster from MD. Yes, she went after some MD girls in the years prior that she didn't get, but it's definitely not her focus. Until somewhat recently a lot of coaches didn't recruit MD as hard because most of the top girls went to MD so it was a waste of time and resources. Sure, I have no doubt she missed on players ranked highly in those publications. Every coach has. There were things about NU that my daughter wasn't crazy about. Everyone is looking for different things. But to say that she recruits a "type" of player can come off as condescending to the fantastic women that are on that team.

Northwestern has recruited 19 top 100 players over the past four years, which is the 8th most in the sport. Any other sport that kind of consistent recruiting means you bring in enough talent to compete for championships. I've always thought the whole narrative that she recruits athletes, not lacrosse players is overrated. If you commit to Northwestern, you're really good at lacrosse. Even a player like Madison Taylor who wasn't ranked top 50 she's still seen as one of the 100 best lacrosse players in her class out of thousands across the country. Pretty good if you ask me. Sometimes I feel like on this board we think the recruiting list ends at the top 100 when that's a small group projected to be the best of the best in their class. Obviously when you get to college you still have to put the talent you have in the best position to succeed. Clearly Northwestern has done that.

I would say the majority of the board agrees that that 50 list is nonsense. There are just as good if not better girls listed outside of that list looking in. But then people who don’t like the list will pull it out to support an argument they are making.

[WLaxdad]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

[MolonLaxe]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

If those kids stay in Chicagoland, they will have zero issues landing a great job. Z.E.R.O.

It's a great area, but the traffic can be horrific.

[njbill]

Sometimes I feel like on this board we think the recruiting list ends at the top 100

No, no, no. It ends at the top 10. Haven’t you been paying attention to the posts?

[ultravisitor]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

[MolonLaxe]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

[hmmm]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

When the actual truth is, hiring companies don’t care what you major in from an Ivy, NU, Hopkins, Duke, etc. Lot of Public Health majors working as VPs at BOA, Google, etc. Amazing what alumni networks can do.

[ultravisitor]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

People say the same thing about Johns Hopkins, but from my experience at Hopkins, most of that stress and competition was self-imposed. I had a great experience there, but it was also frustrating to be surrounded by people who would sit around and constantly complain about how horrible the social life was at the school instead of actually going out and having a social life.

[ultravisitor]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

Here's something to consider: in my field/program, Northwestern has zero problems with their students finding jobs. The Northwestern graduates seem to get picked over first for all the best spots. The advisors were fantastic. There is an enormous network of successful graduates all across the Chicagoland area, so my advisors had good contacts just about everywhere. They knew what the places were like and when spots were opening up and who was a good fit for where and did a very good job in making sure we knew how to be successful in getting hired--and basically all of us in the program got hired for jobs that we were proud and excited to have. After our last class before graduation, a bunch of us were out at a bar and celebrating, and there was one person among us who hadn't yet gotten hired (and she still may have gotten one by the time the ceremony rolled around).

Northwestern has great resources that make it easier for the kids to exit college successfully as long as the kids take advantage of the resources.

It may be different now, but the same kind of support did not exist for me at Johns Hopkins. The attitude there seemed to be much more of "Actually, you're here to study. What you do afterwards is on you. Maybe someone around here can give you some help."

[MolonLaxe]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

People say the same thing about Johns Hopkins, but from my experience at Hopkins, most of that stress and competition was self-imposed. I had a great experience there, but it was also frustrating to be surrounded by people who would sit around and constantly complain about how horrible the social life was at the school instead of actually going out and having a social life.

No, Hopkins and Chicago aren’t really the same.

[fanlaxUN]

Bingo. Bingo DMac, bingo Hmmm and bingo Relax77. For some of us, its hard to put to words how so many viewpoints are formed by an IL or other ranking. There's a poster whose name starts with the letter after J that seems to basically assess the quality of coaching, culture and performance all based on the superficial, limited effort of ranking players (and not ranking players) they really no nothing about. "NU can't attract great players"?!? I don't know what world that observation comes from. Not that it matters in this group, but the doc did land far beyond expectations based on the feedback directly received.

[NULax2]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

UC where fun goes to die” I always thought the quote was funny.

[MolonLaxe]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

UC where fun goes to die” I always thought the quote was funny.

It's pretty accurate. I also knew a few ops managers that worked there. If the University president called you and said he wanted all the flowers pulled up and something else put in, you had your team do it within hours. Yes, this really happened. More. Than. Once. It's a special kind of hell.

[ultravisitor]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

UC where fun goes to die” I always thought the quote was funny.

When I was visiting the University of Chicago campus, the tour guide was very enthusiastic and freaking out because he thought the weather was so gorgeous. He kept screaming about it while showing us the campus. Me? While it was really sunny and clear day, it was also really cold--IN MAY. And I saw a student walking around on campus with a t-shirt that read "University of Chicago: Hell Does Freeze Over." Anyway, I didn't share the tour guide's enthusiasm.

[WLaxdad]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

When the actual truth is, hiring companies don’t care what you major in from an Ivy, NU, Hopkins, Duke, etc. Lot of Public Health majors working as VPs at BOA, Google, etc. Amazing what alumni networks can do.

OK, maybe my viewpoint is skewed. I'm an engineer so if you don't have an ABET accredited Eng degree no job for you. If you have an MBA from Harvard you still can't be an engineer. Sounds like that's different in other fields.

[LaxDadMax]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

When the actual truth is, hiring companies don’t care what you major in from an Ivy, NU, Hopkins, Duke, etc. Lot of Public Health majors working as VPs at BOA, Google, etc. Amazing what alumni networks can do.

OK, maybe my viewpoint is skewed. I'm an engineer so if you don't have an ABET accredited Eng degree no job for you. If you have an MBA from Harvard you still can't be an engineer. Sounds like that's different in other fields.

I think part of the issue is around how programs are marketed by their leadership. Again, this is in ZERO way a criticism of the girls on the team.

If you look at the social media of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn, Stanford (schools which are academically similar to NW) they spend lots of time in the summer bragging about their players' summer internships in banking, consulting, tech, etc. Have you ever seen such a post from NW?

I am not saying that NW girls wouldn't be able to get those jobs. Heck, maybe they get jobs like this. However, I think it says something that the school doesn't promote it.

[LaxDadMax]

Too many people are just over reacting to a few comments from a video. We are seeing edited footage here and the kids aren't always trying to be serious. I think giving different perspectives from players actually helps them on the recruiting trail. If you want your classic over-engaged, stuffy response, focus on Ivy's and not Northwestern.

I remember when I was applying to colleges and my sister and I were watching a video that University of Chicago sent to me. One of the students in it was smiling and said, "I might stay home on Friday night and do homework, but that's because I want to stay home and do homework." My sister was incredulous: "OMG why would anyone want to go there?" We both got in. Neither of us went.

U Chicago caters to a particular type of student. You have to be highly competitive to the point that your classmates basically hate you. It's not a culture of fun and support. Some kids that get in there hate it because they aren't ready for an ultra competitive academic setting that is fairly cut throat.

UC where fun goes to die” I always thought the quote was funny.

They are trying to change that rep as well. A 23 from my daughters' club turned down some Patriot League offers to go to UC. We saw her over Christmas break and for what its worth, she is probably having the time of her life, definitely better than some of her high school and club teammates who went D1.

And she already secured a big time internship with Amazon for the summer.

[laxfan9999]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

When the actual truth is, hiring companies don’t care what you major in from an Ivy, NU, Hopkins, Duke, etc. Lot of Public Health majors working as VPs at BOA, Google, etc. Amazing what alumni networks can do.

OK, maybe my viewpoint is skewed. I'm an engineer so if you don't have an ABET accredited Eng degree no job for you. If you have an MBA from Harvard you still can't be an engineer. Sounds like that's different in other fields.

I think part of the issue is around how programs are marketed by their leadership. Again, this is in ZERO way a criticism of the girls on the team.

If you look at the social media of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn, Stanford (schools which are academically similar to NW) they spend lots of time in the summer bragging about their players' summer internships in banking, consulting, tech, etc. Have you ever seen such a post from NW?

I am not saying that NW girls wouldn't be able to get those jobs. Heck, maybe they get jobs like this. However, I think it says something that the school doesn't promote it.

I wonder if one of the things that hurts Northwestern recruiting is the lack of an undergraduate business major. Was shocking to find out that they only had business certificates for undergrads. That might also affect the internships.

[ultravisitor]

I think part of the issue is around how programs are marketed by their leadership. Again, this is in ZERO way a criticism of the girls on the team.

If you look at the social media of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn, Stanford (schools which are academically similar to NW) they spend lots of time in the summer bragging about their players' summer internships in banking, consulting, tech, etc. Have you ever seen such a post from NW?

I am not saying that NW girls wouldn't be able to get those jobs. Heck, maybe they get jobs like this. However, I think it says something that the school doesn't promote it.

When I've seen KAH speak about recruiting, I've always gotten the impression that she thinks/expects that the parts of Northwestern outside of the lacrosse experience (campus, academics, etc) will sell themselves. Maybe that's a miscalculation on her part, maybe she doesn't care--who knows?

I do think that if a student is interested in a school for more than its lacrosse program, then it should be on the student to be looking at and evaluating the school in terms of how its marketing itself as a whole to all prospective students and not just how the lacrosse program is marketing itself to potential members of the team. I'm not sure how much sense it makes for a student to judge the overall experience they might have at any school by only considering how the lacrosse program markets itself.

Obviously, lacrosse will be an enormous part of a recruit's experience, but they still have to take classes and interact with faculty members and advisors in the various departments in which they'll be studying, so they should probably look into the kinds of resources and opportunities that would be available to them in those departments. That takes a bit more initiative, though.

[MolonLaxe]

Maybe the concern regarding the girls plans after graduation is just part of the anxiety a lot of parents face with the cost of tuition these days, I know I'm anxious.

I'd be very proud if my kid graduates from a school like Northwestern but I also believe a degree in an "unfortunate" major at NW will result in a lower salary then an in-demand degree at a school without a brand name. The degree matters more than the institution in many cases especially if the 2 fields are far apart in salary.

I agree that the comments shouldn't be taken as a serious indication of their future but it's also something to think about if the school is restricting their choice of majors.

When the actual truth is, hiring companies don’t care what you major in from an Ivy, NU, Hopkins, Duke, etc. Lot of Public Health majors working as VPs at BOA, Google, etc. Amazing what alumni networks can do.

OK, maybe my viewpoint is skewed. I'm an engineer so if you don't have an ABET accredited Eng degree no job for you. If you have an MBA from Harvard you still can't be an engineer. Sounds like that's different in other fields.

I think part of the issue is around how programs are marketed by their leadership. Again, this is in ZERO way a criticism of the girls on the team.

If you look at the social media of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn, Stanford (schools which are academically similar to NW) they spend lots of time in the summer bragging about their players' summer internships in banking, consulting, tech, etc. Have you ever seen such a post from NW?

I am not saying that NW girls wouldn't be able to get those jobs. Heck, maybe they get jobs like this. However, I think it says something that the school doesn't promote it.

Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn, and Stanford aren't winning National Championships in Women's Lacrosse.