Nathan Chen and University: A Yalie?

karne · Apr 2, 2018

chapis said:
But Max did not even make the olympic team.

Wow, gosh, I mean jeepers, how could I have forgotten such an insignificant detail? :rolleye:

No, Max did not make the Olympic team, a pain I am sure he will carry for some time, and his fans too. But in the Olympic season Max won a Challenger medal, a GP medal, was 5th at 4CC, and helped get the third spot back at Worlds. It was only his over-desperate, over-focused performance at Nationals that let him down, and I'm sure no-one here is blaming him for being so desperate to make that team?

Max's schooling had nothing to do with it, so what's the problem? Nathan, meanwhile, did make the Olympic team, but I won't stoop to your level to rub in your face what happened there.

LiamForeman · Apr 2, 2018

el henry said:
I always say I'm married to the smartest person I know. I'm not bragging; would you actually want to be *married* to the smartest person you know?

At least I get plus GOE in something..... Now back to Nathan....

HAHA!!! I totally understand. I like being married to someone who is smarter than me for sure. But I'd rather have friends who are the smartest people I know. A close friend who really is the smartest person I know has said the same to me, which was sweet. But totally untrue! lol

Danibellerika · Apr 2, 2018

Big congrats to Nate! Getting in is quite the accomplishment it and of itself! He seems like a really smart and talented kid and I remember in an interview he said that he was planning to still skate and study and he would see how he can balance everything and take it from there. I think for now as long as he can keep skating and getting results he will balance school as well. There are skaters that can juggle both. Didn't Matt Savoie do it? He graduated summa cum laude.

Ic3Rabbit · Apr 2, 2018

Paul Wylie did. At the time he graduated Cum Laude from Harvard with a degree in Government.

Skater Boy · Apr 2, 2018

True true folks. He could miss the GP and be a Yuna or Yuzuru - very focussed and competitive at 4CCS and Worlds. He could always focus on Yale for two years and then train hard for Beijing. We will have to wait and see about rule changes and how that effects him. I also wonder as he is the first ofthe major quadsters what effect it will have on his body and health.

Moxiejan · Apr 2, 2018

ETA: Skater Boy & I were thinking/typing at the same time!

This next year is the perfect place in the skating cycle for Nathan to be a full-time elite student & see how much that affects the time/interest he still has for skating. Pulling back on training a bit will certainly be less demanding on his body. And even if he does have to skip the GP, his Worlds title gives him ample BoW to make the 2019 team.

After that, he can reassess. Doesn't need to ramp up for 2022 until 2020. By then, he'll know how he fits into any ISU rule changes.

Danny T · Apr 2, 2018

Congratulations to Nathan!! I'm happy he got into Yale (and probably will be going if he already put it on his profile). From what my relatives said, college application this year has been literal hell for a lot of people, so I'm glad he can go to a school he likes.

OTOH, I don't think Yale allows online credit so it's very possible he has to move. Raf is never going to relocate, so maybe Nathan plans to take a few years off? Cause from the look of the K&C at Worlds, I think they worked out w/e was the problem at Olys so he likely won't change coach.

labgoat · Apr 2, 2018

Ic3Rabbit said:
Paul Wylie did. At the time he graduated Cum Laude from Harvard with a degree in Government.

Paul took a lot of backlash for being a full time student. He struggled a bit during the internationals and Worlds when exams typically fall. He took the Olympic year off just to skate and ended up with a silver medal. It can be done, but is not easy.

labgoat · Apr 2, 2018

Skater Boy said:
True true folks. He could miss the GP and be a Yuna or Yuzuru - very focussed and competitive at 4CCS and Worlds. He could always focus on Yale for two years and then train hard for Beijing. We will have to wait and see about rule changes and how that effects him. I also wonder as he is the first ofthe major quadsters what effect it will have on his body and health.

Now a shorter program length and fewer quads will be needed...we will see.

LiamForeman · Apr 2, 2018

Moxiejan said:
ETA: Skater Boy & I were thinking/typing at the same time!

This next year is the perfect place in the skating cycle for Nathan to be a full-time elite student & see how much that affects the time/interest he still has for skating. Pulling back on training a bit will certainly be less demanding on his body. And even if he does have to skip the GP, his Worlds title gives him ample BoW to make the 2019 team.

After that, he can reassess. Doesn't need to ramp up for 2022 until 2020. By then, he'll know how he fits into any ISU rule changes.

I think that it is a great idea. However, I don't understand the rush to go to college. It will ALWAYS be there. His level of skating will not. If I were he, I would put off college and 'make hay while the sun shines' so to speak. I never understood why Sarah Hughes immediately went to college and didn't cash in on her OGM. Sure, she came back to tour with SOI, but by then she looked ridiculous and was totally out of shape, barely landing double jumps and single axels. She looked like she was performing in "Fanny Brice on Ice". I wonder if SOI let her skate out her contract or just let her go.

But congratulations to Nathan for getting accepted to Yale. I'm sure he's just as bright a student as he is an exceptional skater.

Fool · Apr 2, 2018

I'm often so impressed by these young skaters (feels old), they're really the anti-child pop stars in this way: (over?)worked since early childhood yet so successful outside of their field as well, both in their personal lives and their schooling. Nathan (and Vincent) being the most recent examples that come to mind, and I'm not worried about their academic levels at all :laugh:

I'm sure Nathan will excel at what ever area he choses.

While part of me is like "defer your admission kid! You won't be able to skate like this forever, while college is always there!", I also think it's a good decision to focus on university now? Maybe he wants to go with his (age) peers, and this is after all something that will shape his life post-skating in a much more fundamental way. He's also already a world champion. I'm sure what ever he's going to do next, it's not being done lightly.

Moxiejan · Apr 2, 2018

LiamForeman said:
I think that it is a great idea. However, I don't understand the rush to go to college. It will ALWAYS be there. His level of skating will not. If I were he, I would put off college and 'make hay while the sun shines' so to speak.

There is a good reason for a "rush" to college. In the past, Nathan has expressed a desire for a career in medicine, either as a doctor or as a biomedical researcher. Those fields require advanced degrees & many years of study; really, if he had not been a skater, he likely would have pushed for accelerated high school & an even earlier start to college. And we don't know the conditions of his Yale acceptance, as to whether scholarships are involved and/or special programs tied only to immediate enrollment.

As far as "making hay" with his skating, he already has done that: national & world champion; Olympic team medalist. Really, the only accolade he does not have is individual Olympic medalist. Is it worth putting his lifetime career in science on hold for 4 more years, just for that? After all, he could fall tomorrow in practice & suffer a career-ending injury.

TerpsichoreFS · Apr 2, 2018

Congratulations Nathan! He has a great future ahead of him.

He's probably taking at least the next two seasons off. Which is a shame because I wanted to see him against Yuzuru next worlds but hey, it's his future! I'm sure Yale will accommodate him for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 since he's very high profile. He'll probably take one year off.

MaiKatze · Apr 2, 2018

Moxiejan said:
As far as "making hay" with his skating, he already has done that: national & world champion; Olympic team medalist. Really, the only accolade he does not have is individual Olympic medalist. Is is worth putting his lifetime career in science on hold for 4 more years, just for that? After all, he could fall tomorrow in practice & suffer a career-ending injury.

I agree. Really, Nathan has achieved everything he can achieve in this sport BUT an Olympic Medal, and that with just two senior seasons under his belt, at age 18, in a discipline that usually favours older and experienced skaters as opposed to Ladies. In his debut season he was already in the GPF and went second place. He won 4CC against the top guys, he won the GPF in the following year, he won Worlds, he's National Champion he won the Free at the Olympics. He skated two legendary record breaking long programs with 6 Quads clean. He made a dent in this sport in such a short time. There was talk before the Olympics that Nathan would retire if he won the Gold at PC, because he wanted a career in medicine and become a Doctor. I don't know if the current situation is so much more different. It'll be another 4 years until the next Olympics and he's achieved so much. I don't blame him to go on a different path. While there has been no talk of retirement it'll be hard to keep motivated.

I don't want to see him retire, but that's for selfish reasons, like wanting to see a rivalry between him and Shoma and other skaters. I want this sport to keep being exciting and not knowing who will win before a competition even starts. These last few years with him on the scene were the most exciting in recent memory, because you would never know what would happen. I want to see him grow artistically and challenging that side of his skating. Perhaps we'll get that, perhaps not. I think it'll be hard juggling university and sport at that level, but he seems to have his priorities in life and at that young age I can only look on in awe of what he's achieved so far and definitely will achieve in the future. Good luck, Nathan!

iluvtodd · Apr 2, 2018

Congrats on your acceptance to Yale, Nathan! All the best to you, with whatever decisions you make with your future in skating!

Xen · Apr 2, 2018

Congrats to Nathan for slaying the college admissions process and getting into Yale!

Also, why is this thread so down? I haven't heard any news from Nathan himself about r*****thing or taking time off for skating. On the other hand, it would be more likely that Yale make accomodations towards his skating. But reading this thread, towards the end, it sounds more like Nathan will accomodate than the other way around.

xeyra · Apr 2, 2018

I already congratulated him in his FF but here's again congratulations for enrolling in Yale, which is an awesome university!

I think Nathan will take this first year in college to gauge his ability to handle both studies and practice and it's a perfect season for it, when you don't have the Olympic season rearing its ugly head and demanding a lot more from you. I wish him all the best and the only issue I might see about his training situation is how Raf will be staying in California. But we're in the information age: Skype is as good a way to talk to your coach as any.

plushyfan · Apr 2, 2018

Congrats to Nathan! In my country there is a possibility if anyone can't attend the university every day. They have consultations in every months or 5-6 weeks and they have exams when the other students have.. Many top athletes used this possibility and many others who have jobs already. Is this possibility not in US?

Danny T · Apr 2, 2018

Xen said:
Congrats to Nathan for slaying the college admissions process and getting into Yale!

Also, why is this thread so down? I haven't heard any news from Nathan himself about r*****thing or taking time off for skating. On the other hand, it would be more likely that Yale make accomodations towards his skating. But reading this thread, towards the end, it sounds more like Nathan will accomodate than the other way around.

Will they accomodate him though? I mean when I was in college (granted a different one) school athletes were given some leeway, but not much. They still needed to show up to class enough, quizzes that counted towards the grades were given quite frequently. Not to mention skating season coincides with school term, and from the look of it Nathan wants to go more pre-med route (which means 4.0 GPA basically)

demarinis5 · Apr 2, 2018

Congrats to Nathan! Yale is a wonderful school and Nathan will be an asset to the Yale family!

Nathan Chen and University: A Yalie?

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam

Danibellerika

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

Skater Boy

Moxiejan

Danny T

labgoat

Done updating WJC rewatches!

labgoat

Done updating WJC rewatches!

LiamForeman

William/Uilyam

Fool

Moxiejan

TerpsichoreFS

Marin Honda's skating skills

MaiKatze

iluvtodd

Xen

xeyra

Constant state

plushyfan

Danny T

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!

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