College Becoming A College Cheerleader

[Katelyn Flyer]

Please don't take this the wrong way - but to me, it sounds like "cheerleading" is something you want to do for the 'status' more than the actual sport. You want to be able to wear the uniform - and have that as your identity. Again, I could be totally misreading your posts. But I think @njallday really nailed it.

Be honest with yourself as to why you want to cheer. If it is for the 'status' consider something that you will truly love instead - she mentioned Greek Life, or other clubs. College/University is an entirely different experience than high school - especially if you are going to a large school. You make friends who have similar interests and (at least in my experience) nobody cares if you are a cheerleader or if you are in the science club. There is such a diversity in clubs and groups, class sizes, areas of study, teams, etc. You are not going to know everybody's name, and not everybody will know yours or who you are.

I guess my point is - cheerleading isn't going to make you 'popular' or give a status that maybe the movies portray - which is the tone I am reading in your posts. You are going to 'fit in' to what ever your interests are because you are going to meet like-minded individuals.

Again - I am not trying to be disrespectful, because maybe you actually do really love cheer as a sport, and you do want to find the best cheerleading team that fits your needs. But only you know that. Take the advice people have left you in this thread. It is good advice - and it sounds like most of the people commenting have walked this road before you.

Thanks! I really don’t want to do it for status or popularity. I want to do it because I love the experiences cheering at games and the feeling of being part of a close team and I just love tumbling and stunting too. I agree though it might just be time for me to move on and I can probably just join a sorority or something in college.

 

[ScottyB]

Thanks! I really don’t want to do it for status or popularity. I want to do it because I love the experiences cheering at games and the feeling of being part of a close team and I just love tumbling and stunting too. I agree though it might just be time for me to move on and I can probably just join a sorority or something in college.

You could find a tight knit group of friends from cheer too. My close friends from the team (guys and girls) do a yearly trip together (and now with our spouses) all these years later.

Try both, you don't have to do em forever! College is a great chance to discover new things while on your own journey

 

[OnceUponACheerleader]

Thanks! I really don’t want to do it for status or popularity. I want to do it because I love the experiences cheering at games and the feeling of being part of a close team and I just love tumbling and stunting too. I agree though it might just be time for me to move on and I can probably just join a sorority or something in college.

Sorry - I really don't want you to give up on cheer entirely if that is what you truly want. Again, it is really hard to read tone and intent behind message board posts sometimes. I am just trying to express different points of view.

Like @ScottyB said - Going away to school really is about discovering yourself and what you love. Don't let myself or anyone tell you what you can and can't do. We are simply just providing advice based on our experiences and the situations you have presented. Cheer, sorority, or otherwise - try one, try them all, you will know what feels right.

Good luck.

 

[DonnaM]

This probably won’t help you since you want SEC, but I’ve been looking at Canadian universities for a student who has a major interest more available there, and in checking cheer teams just out of curiosity, it looks like a lot more of those schools compete regionally and tend to be very flexible in skills-as in “most cheerleaders selected will have a back handspring or back tuck, but this is not a set requirement”. Admission is pretty much all grades/test scores, and tuition is reasonable. It seems like it might be a nice option for those with level 2-3 skills and high stats.

 

[Kentucky Girl]

This probably won’t help you since you want SEC, but I’ve been looking at Canadian universities for a student who has a major interest more available there, and in checking cheer teams just out of curiosity, it looks like a lot more of those schools compete regionally and tend to be very flexible in skills-as in “most cheerleaders selected will have a back handspring or back tuck, but this is not a set requirement”. Admission is pretty much all grades/test scores, and tuition is reasonable. It seems like it might be a nice option for those with level 2-3 skills and high stats.

Well, there is the University of Western Ontario located in London, Ontario, Canada. The Mustangs have dominated the Canadian University Cheerleading championships for many years and have also competed at the NCA College Nationals in the past.

 

[Katelyn Flyer]

Thanks! I’ll look into it but at this point I have a general idea of my college list, and I’m not really sure how I’d feel about going to college outside of the US.

 

[DonnaM]

Since ypu’re going into education, you really need to get your degree where you want to teach. Usually states accept licensing from neighboring states, but going farther away can lead to needing to take extra classes or tests to clear your credentials, so that’s something you kind of need to have an idea of (says the person who finished a grad degree in Education one week in TX, and then moved to TN the next-no reciprocity there!).

 

[cheer9497]

Putting on guidance counselor hat.

What is your major or majors? My suggestion is to look at smaller academically solid colleges and U’s-a lot of them have great financial aid for high stat kids, often have good research programs and opportunities beyond what is typically offered to undergraduates at larger schools if you want to do them, and also tend to be a little easier to make competitive teams on, particularly the NCAA division III schools. A few that are on CP’s list, along with Purdue and Auburn (where she likely has no prayer of making a squad) are University of Alabama at Huntsville (NCA cheer) and Tennessee Tech (UCA cheer), as well as Sewanee and Davidson (sideline/game day).

my oldest cheered 4 yrs at Purdue -- pm me if I can help