Written by Trackandmemes, May 26, 2022
My name is Maïa. I'm 23 years old and I'm an athlete of the club of Noisy-le-Grand in the 93, in France. I do combined events, 400m hurdles and high jump. I started athletics at 11 years old. I knew for a long time that I wanted to go to the United States to study and practice track and field because my mother went to Arizona for a year, and her stories about the American experience always fascinated me. It took me a little while to decide because I knew that if I went to the United States, I would want to stay there. I was waiting until I was ready. In the end, with COVID, I decided to start the process. I chose Texas because of the coach I talked to. I liked him right away. His name is Rock Light (very American 😂).
What would be the three major reasons why so many French people want to study in the USA?
I would say that the main reason is performance. We already know from American sports results or even movies that the United States emphasizes sports and performance. The results are good and it makes you want to see what their training method is. For me the main reason was the fact that I could study and train without any constraints. In the United States, studies go WITH the sport and not against it. In France, I heard all my teachers tell me that I was going to fail my exams because of athletics. Here, when you have an exam at the same time as a competition, the teachers are warned and it is the competition that comes first. Then, we make up for it afterwards. It's so much more convenient and less stressful.
One last reason? I would say it's for the experience, the trip, "the American dream". It makes you want to go when you watch movies about American universities. A lot of young people want to travel and see the USA with their own eyes. And honestly, it's really like in the movies.
What are the requirements for acceptance into an American university?
So it all depends on the university and your athletic and academic level. There is obviously a difference in terms of criteria, depending on whether the athlete is trying to get into UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) or a community college, for example. It's easier to admit an excellent athlete with a very good track record. However, colleges will still take into account academic performance. A minimum grade point average is required to be accepted. A "normal" athlete will have to evaluate with the coaches if he is interesting in their eyes, and then with the university for the academic part.
And obviously, those with scholarships are more easily admitted.
Once accepted, there is a lot of paperwork to do. You have to take tests like the TOEFL. I also had to take the TSI which is a state specific test for Texas. It determined where I was at in English and math for a college level.
Also, there is the issue of eligibility. The advice I can give to athletes who want to leave is to do it as soon as possible. The younger you are, the more eligibility you have. In other words, in the United States, "college" sports are seen as more important than the "club" sports that we, Belgian or French, are used to.
Every athlete has a certain number of years of eligibility. Generally, at age 25, you can no longer compete while attached to a university. But it depends on the person and it depends on your seasonal participation in competitions. For example, I have one summer and two winters of eligibility left, because because of Covid, I didn't compete the winter of 2020. So this season was added to my eligibility.
Can we link sport and studies, no matter what studies we want to do, like midwifery for example?
Yes, that's what's great about it. Of course, you have to be able to fit the school schedule in with the training. But since there are a lot fewer hours of classes than in France, it's pretty easy. We generally train every day, and twice when we have weight training on the program. So four times a week, we train twice. That's still 3 to 3.5 hours of training per day, but I still have a good part of the day free. We often have one or two classes a day.
My roommate is studying to be a nurse, so she can also combine sports and studies.
What are the performances you need to do to be accepted?
Again, it all depends on the level of the school. There are three different "levels" in the United States, called divisions. Division I (D1), Division II (D2) and Division III (D3). A D1 school will generally have the highest performing athletes. The division level is not only dependent on the sports, but also on the university itself. My university is in Division II and will be moving up to Division I next year.
With 1.72m in height, and 61″04 in the 400m hurdles, I got into Division II easily, but for some D1 schools, it was too close. I had applied to the University of Arizona where my mom went and I would have had to do around 1.75m/1.80m in the high jump to get the full scholarship. The thing is, you can get accepted just about anywhere with any performance, but if you want it all to pay off, i.e. receive a full scholarship, your performances have to interest coaches and colleges. Division III schools don't give scholarships.
The full scholarship includes housing, food, athletic travel, equipment, and tuition and books which are paid for by the university. With a lower performance you may have to pay for your own food, for example, and/or housing. But each university and division varies in its criteria and just because one school denies an athlete a full scholarship does not mean that any other university will.
From your French and now American sports experience, what difference would you like to highlight?
Track and field in the United States is completely different. It is a team sport. In France, when an athlete competes, it's for him or her and the club, but outside of interclubs, the athlete doesn't earn points for the club at a competition. Here, every competition is a team competition. The men's team and the women's team. First place earns 10 points, second place earns 8 points, third place earns 6 points and the next five earn 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. The athletes with the most points move their team up in the rankings. This difference changes everything. Coaches will place athletes in as many events where they can score points. For example, as a combiner, I was entered in the heptathlon, 400m hurdles series and final, and the height.
An anecdote about your stay?
I have so much! First of all, I met great people, everyone is very welcoming.
In the United States, there are storms quite often and stronger than in France, especially in the south like Texas. This winter, there was a rather violent storm, it was midnight. I was in the library and the rain came in through the windows. There were leaks everywhere, but nobody but me looked shocked. As I was leaving the building, I heard a meow coming from the bushes, the meow of a kitten. That night my friend and I rescued a tiny cat that was about two weeks old. We brought him home and went to the pharmacy to get him some kitten food and blankets. We named him Jam. Once Jam was back on his feet, after three days, I took him to an animal shelter where he was adopted in a second. I would have loved to keep him but unfortunately pets are not allowed in campus apartments unless it is a service animal.
If not, I also became the pastry chef at Commerce 😂. For each of my friends' birthdays, I made their favorite cake and learned a lot of dessert recipes, like pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, New York cheesecake... I had a cake order not long ago, it was pretty cool!
If you had to give one piece of advice to a French person before leaving, what would it be?
Not to put too much pressure on yourself. You have to keep in mind that it's a big change, so you'll have to get used to it. New environment, new language, new coaches and trainings... Some people get there faster than others, but everyone has their own rhythm. If it doesn't work the first year, maybe you just have to assimilate and the second year will be much better.
Oh, and don't worry about your English level! Whatever happens, it will come with the immersion. I'm very comfortable with English, but I still progressed a lot because we are in total immersion and we learn expressions, American slang,... And for those who have difficulty, you will still be understood, with time your English will develop by itself.
Oh and also... Don't hesitate to leave as soon as you can, in relation to the eligibility I mentioned above.
This outdoor season, what are you aiming at, professionally and / or athletically speaking?
I came here without putting any pressure on myself because I knew in advance that I would have to digest the American-style training first. It was pretty tough and I didn't really like the performances this winter, but I still scored points for the team and got a conference title, so I'm taking the positives. But my goal this year was to get used to this new life. Next year I want to break my records in the 400m hurdles and high jump ahah.
I am not looking to be a professional athlete. The studies I am doing here (kinesiology and visual communication) are the professional fields I want to pursue. I'm adding to my athletic experience and having a blast, but it's not the "job" I want to do.
To be totally honest, I'm still looking. The experiences I'm creating for myself here are a way for me to find out what I like best. I'm thinking about staying in the US otherwise, but I'll talk about that later 😉
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