Loyola College '02 - Women's Lacrosse
I decided my freshman year that I wanted to play lacrosse in college and worked hard on achieving that goal for the next four years. So, when my junior year rolled around I was ready to start the process and achieve my goal of signing at a D-1 school to play lacrosse. To my delight I received letters and phone calls from several college coaches and eventually ended up going on several official visits.

My first trip was to Penn State University, which was my first choice because my sister went there and I loved the idea of going to a big school. The recruiting trip was a great time and I left feeling like I had found my school, but I wanted to go on other visits to make sure. Next, I visited James Madison University. It was a great school and the girls on the team were really great to me. However, I knew it was not the right fit for me. For my final trip I went to Loyola College, which was really the opposite of what I was looking for in a college. I was attracted to big schools with big name football teams and large fraternities and Loyola College was a small, private, liberal arts school and not really where I pictured myself going. However, they were ranked top five in the nation for lacrosse at the time and that really appealed to me so I went on the trip with an open mind. When I arrived, I met the team and coaches and I immediately noticed that they had an amazing bond with each other. The team went beyond the lacrosse field and the girls were true friends that looked out for each other. Also, they were serious about winning a National Championship which I was all about, so I left Loyola College with a bittersweet feeling. I was buzzing from the vibe of the trip but now I was facing a really tough decision.

I found myself truly torn between Penn State University and Loyola College. I needed to give Loyola College my answer by the next weekend and I was in a constant tug of war between the two schools. Even worse, my parents were away that weekend so I was left to make the decision alone. After hours of making pro and con lists, pacing in my room and pulling my hair out I knew exactly what to do to finally make my decision. I went to the phone and called the psychic hot line. Yes, I turned to a higher power to find my college destiny. Well, after an hour on the phone and a $59.95 bill, all the stars told me was I was still stuck with a major decision.

Finally, I decided that the vibe I got from the coaches and team at Loyola College was exactly what I was looking for in a lacrosse program and that was more important than going to a big football school. So, I went to Loyola and it was the best four years of my life. I guess the moral of my story is to always keep an open mind when choosing your college because you never know what college is going to work for you until you meet the team, coaches and college personally. Also, psychic hot lines are for the birds.

Good luck!

Dana

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