Matt Duffy makes college decision (in his own words).

I have verbally committed and have also been granted admission to Brown University for the fall of 2008. The choice to move away from home and attend school on the east coast involved many factors. The main thing I looked for was a place that I would feel comfortable without running. I know I will spend a lot of time and energy studying in addition to pursuing my athletic dreams. Before I committed, I ensured that I could be successful athletically there and that academically I wouldn't fall through the cracks, the 97% graduation rate cleared me of any second thoughts I may have had. Another thing I had to clear was financial aid, in the beginning of the process I received a pre-read of my financial aid and they estimated that I would have to pay about 50% of the projected cost of college(tuition, room and board, books, fees, travel and personal). At that point I had almost given up on attending an Ivy League school but I decided to write an appeal letter which resulted in me only having to pay about 25% of the projected cost of college. When I realized I had this unique and rare opportunity I had to make the decision between Columbia and Brown. This decision weighed heavily on my shoulders for a few weeks until I decided on where I would truly be happy, and that was Brown University. As my final track season approaches I am excited to look at it as a launching pad into collegiate running and I wish everyone in the NCS good luck, may there be many PR's! GO BROWN BEARS!

-Matt Duffy (Photo courtesy of Joe Hartman and www.dyestatcal.com)

If you would like to announce your college of choice for next year, please email me at albertjcaruana@gmail.com