Amongst all the considerations a student athlete makes when choosing a university or college, one of the big questions is whether or not to cross the border. The American and Canadian education systems offer student athletes a different experience, each with their own pros, cons and preconceptions. Canadian record-holding marathon runner Lanni Marchant had the experience of attending schools in both the United States and Canada. Marchant answered some questions about her experiences both north and south of the border and has advice for any high school students making a similar decision.
Which school did you attend for your post-secondary education?
I competed at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I was there for five years for my undergrad. Then, I transferred to the University of Ottawa for law school. I was there for two years and that was when I started running more on the roads. And then I went to Michigan State for the second part of my law degree from 2009-2011. I wasn’t able to compete for any universities in Canada because I was out of eligibility. However, I would line up and compete in any open races I was able to.
Why did you choose to go to an American school for your undergrad?
I’m one of seven kids, so to get school paid for was a huge bonus. And at the time – I was at the end of the huge rush for it – but at the time [going south was] what a lot of Canadian athletes did, especially runners. They’d get scholarships to the U.S. and go.
It was right around my age group and the people graduating high school after me when staying in Canada for school became a more popular choice. At the time I was running at Chattanooga, the entire men’s team was Canadian. There were five or six of us down there and two years later we had two more Canadian girls come down… but by the time I left, there was only one other Canadian girl on the team. So you definitely saw a transition in the trend. I think the bursary system and the level of competition became better in Canada in those later years. But for me, at the time, going to the United States was what most people were doing and to get school fully paid for was a huge motivating factor.
