Nathan Chen and University: A Yalie? | Golden Skate

Nathan Chen and University: A Yalie?

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Hello Golden Skaters,

Apparently Nathan Chen, 2018 Men's World Champion, will be attending Yale University. This is a huge accomplishment.
Please feel free to discuss it here along with news on the academic careers of your favourite skaters.
 
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oatmella

陈巍
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Looks like Nathan is going to Yale (almost 3000 miles away from Lakewood), so Marin won't be able to train alongside him very often once school starts.
Raf's top skaters will be Marin, Mariah Bell, Michal Brezina (I think he said he's not quitting?), and Romain Ponsart.
 

kimi492

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 11, 2015
Looks like Nathan is going to Yale (almost 3000 miles away from Lakewood), so Marin won't be able to train alongside him very often once school starts.
Raf's top skaters will be Marin, Mariah Bell, Michal Brezina (I think he said he's not quitting?), and Romain Ponsart.
Edit: I see the Instagram thing - but what I said stands - if Nathan is going to school full-time At YALE he isn’t going to be able to skate - it’s not exactly a walk in the park.
 

oatmella

陈巍
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
He liked a post I don’t know that means he’s actually going - if he’s going to Yale he’s probably not skating.

Nathan already put Yale '22 in his IG profile.
And Yale has an ice rink right on campus (which the New York Times named as the rink with the 'Best Design' across the entire US).
 

oatmella

陈巍
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Edit: I see the Instagram thing - but what I said stands - if Nathan is going to school full-time At YALE he isn’t going to be able to skate - it’s not exactly a walk in the park.

well, whether or not Nathan can balance everything doesn't seem very relevant to this thread on Marin's move.
I was only pointing out that the added bonus of this move for Marin of training alongside Nathan (and Ashley) might not be there.
 

yyyskate

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Good thins for Marin tho is that if nathan will go Yale for full-time college. Considering Ash will very possibly retire if not already. Marin will be Rar's No.1 lady and Rumor has it Raf has his priorities in terms of training. Therefore, it might be good for Marin to get Raf's full attention.
 

ribbit

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Nathan already put Yale '22 in his IG profile.
And Yale has an ice rink right on campus (which the New York Times named as the rink with the 'Best Design' across the entire US).

The "Yale Whale" is where I learned to skate. It's a wonderful space, architecturally speaking. It is also quite heavily scheduled, given that it exists primarily to serve as the base for Yale's (excellent) men's and women's varsity, club, and intramural ice hockey teams. On top of this, it hosts classes for students, at least two figure skating clubs, and youth hockey programs for local kids. And it's closed from April-September. It's unlikely to be a viable base for serious training. I believe there are other rinks in southern Connecticut that are geared toward serious figure skaters, but Nathan will probably have to do some commuting if he wants to keep training seriously.

Yale does not allow students to attend part-time. If Nathan enrolls at Yale, he will a) have to enroll as a full-time student and b) accumulate enough credits to graduate in a minimum of six or a maximum of eight terms of enrollment. He won't be able to transfer in more than two courses from another university, or to take more than four online summer courses. And if he wants to graduate in six or seven semesters, he'll have to carry a full-time courseload at Yale in each of those semesters. It's really not easy to combine the pursuit of a Yale degree with any other serious pursuit. When Sarah Hughes (also a Yalie) decided to pursue a comeback, she ended up taking a year off.

All that said, I'm thrilled that Nathan has decided to become a Bulldog. Boola boola!
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
I posted in Nathan's fan fest about the spousal unit's experiences as a Yale undergrad (albeit many many many years ago;) ), and the Whale.

That said, at least in the 60s, Olympic athletes studied at Yale, trained at Yale and managed to medal at the Games. Frank Shorter and Don Schollander come to mind.

Since this is way OT from poor Marin, but folks are obviously interested, I wonder if we should have a separate thread of something like "Nathan Chen and Yale: next steps?"

Just a thought......:)
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
I posted in Nathan's fan fest about the spousal unit's experiences as a Yale undergrad (albeit many many many years ago;) ), and the Whale.

That said, at least in the 60s, Olympic athletes studied at Yale, trained at Yale and managed to medal at the Games. Frank Shorter and Don Schollander come to mind.

Since this is way OT from poor Marin, but folks are obviously interested, I wonder if we should have a separate thread of something like "Nathan Chen and Yale: next steps?"

Just a thought......:)

Great thought but unless he's said he's going to Yale for sure maybe Nathan Chen and University:next steps?
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
A fan sent him a message to congratulate him on being accepted into Yale on IG and he said thanks. I would guess that's confirmation enough. Though I can understand waiting for an official statement.

ah.. okay. Then I guess Nathan Chen and Yale would be fine.
 

epicdreamer

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 25, 2016
I'd be interested in a discussion of how skaters in general have manged with university, be it in tandem with figure skating or doing it before/after their figure skating career l. Do many manage to do it full time like what Nathan (seems) to intend?
 

xeyra

Constant state
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 10, 2017
I'd be interested in a discussion of how skaters in general have manged with university, be it in tandem with figure skating or doing it before/after their figure skating career l. Do many manage to do it full time like what Nathan (seems) to intend?

I think it depends on the field of study. Some may allow for more free time, others may have heavier course loads. Nathan's going to have to deal with a heavy STEM path if he's still planning on biomedical engineering/medical school. Then there's also whether the university allows for online study.
 

cruzceleste

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
I'd be interested in a discussion of how skaters in general have manged with university, be it in tandem with figure skating or doing it before/after their figure skating career l. Do many manage to do it full time like what Nathan (seems) to intend?

I think Polina Edmunds is full time, but at least for her Instagram account look more concentrated on university life than FS now.

Meryl / Charlie took online courses in Michigan U. still not graduated.

Rachel Flat gave up skating.

Shizuka graduated in bachelor's degree in social sciences from Waseda, but I think she studied online. (Waseda it seen very prestigeus)

I think Bates also graduated from Michigan U.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
If Nathan is planning attend Yale, I guess it means no more medals. Good news for Shoma, Yuzu and Boyang.
 

WineHerUp

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Sorry but Shoma, Yuzuru, and Boyang are more than good enough to challenge Nathan even if he didn't choose Yale ;).
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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Mar 3, 2014
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Ryan Donato was a current student at Harvard and was one of the stars for the US hockey team this year in PyeongChang. I say "was" because I think he may have since left in the past few weeks to turn pro? I don't follow hockey as much as I should.

It's not easy, but it can be done. I applaud Nathan's commitment to higher education at the school of his choice, if this is true. :clap:
 
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