<p>monster344 – can you share his erg scores, etc?</p>
<p>
They recruit enough people to help the program keep going at the level they want. And they help the recruited people in admission; if you do look it up on this forum or the web, you’ll see that coaches actually get a number of spots each year that they can use to support recruits in admissions, and there’s a dance between coach and recruit over this. Coaches don’t want to burn their spot(s) on recruits that might go somewhere else, so there’s pressure to apply ED or otherwise commit to the school.</p>
<p>If you’re not a recruit, its absurd to believe rowing will get you in on its own (as opposed to being an EC like any other EC). But let me tell you something else. Your friends have convinced themselves it is true, and mere facts and reason are not going to change their minds. Let them get up at 5am for crew practice in HS, secure in their belief this is getting them into top schools. Just don’t let it steer your decision.</p>
<p>
I don’t know anything about crew; for all I know he could be an absolute star, but from talking to other crew members it doesn’t seem that way. Obviously he was good enough to get the attention of Ivy coaches.</p>
<p>Women’s crew is one of the easiest sports to get recruited for if you are a good athlete. 1. supply and demand: there are a lot of spots for college rowers compared to relatively few high school rowers, especially now that the NCAA championships requires an even deeper team (28 rowers). 2. skill level. While it is impossible to become a top tennis/soccer/softball player in a year, if you’re reasonably athletic, it is quite easy to become recruitable rower in one year. Many coaches (including Ivy league) don’t care if you’ve rowed a lot before; they’ll teach you.
So, even if you’re not a top recruit (i.e. scholarship or early likely letter), coaches can give you a bump on their list, which may make the difference in admission.</p>
<p>Many prep schools have crew teams, which may be part of the reason kids think rowing gets you into college.</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread but just in case there are any rowers wondering out there. Crew family here and here it is how it works: What helps with rowers - especially WOMEN - is body size and type. I wont go into specifics on this board but through experience, we have seen tall, muscular women get recruited to IVY schools based on just that. These girls rowed in hs but relied on height and strength to get them in (ie: were NOT national champs/ not varsity) and it worked. If you are close to 6ft for women and over 6’2" for men and have some good muscle development, crew is a very good way to go if you row in HS. </p>
<p>BUT it is VERY HARD on your body and you have to want to get up very early (ie: 4:30-5:00 am). It is brutal on the skeletal system and may require physical therapy of some sort within 2-3 years. You gotta love it - otherwise don’t do it. (And my kid loved it but didn’t do it in college - she was in physical therapy for most of her senior year of high school).
The best way to gauge your chances at crew is to look at the roster of the teams at the schools you are checking out. You can easily get a good idea of where you sit.</p>
<p>My d just received her likely letter to row for an ivy league school. It was a complicated process that required the entire family’s support and involvement. Lots of contact with coaches and official visits can be time consuming and tiring. Academically she is a solid student within the AI standard deviation that ivy league schools require. She is a talented and extremely dedicated rower, with an impressive erg score. However, she is relatively small compared to most recruited rowers. That is where having a collegiate coach that is willing to look at a weight adjusted erg score is helpful. The best way to be recruited to row in college is to put your information in front of the coach and contact them directly. I recommend a wonderful book that we used to guide us through the confusing recruitment process. (<a href=“http://www.northwestrowing.com%5B/url%5D”>www.northwestrowing.com</a> - College Rowing Scholarships) The answer to the question is yes rowing helped her gain acceptance into college.</p>
<p>folks, the OP asked whether a NON-RECRUITABLE rower has an advantage.</p>
<p>Doing any sport or EC helps you get into college,…,.it doesn’t matter of your level of talents…it’s more of DID you get varsity and how long did you participate.</p>
<p>rowing is defintly one of the simplest sports to get recruited for…just need a great 2k /tall…</p>
<p>I was at a conference once and a woman sitting next to me said her daughter did crew in HS. She was at an event down at U Penn, and the coach was looking for a certain body type for crew and her daughter had it. He wanted her very badly for the team. So there is a certain body type and some type of numerical score you get on a rowing machine which really causes coaches eyes to light up, even if you’ve never been in a rowboat before, they will want you. This is what she said. Does this sound right to you?</p>
<p>I agree that crew in college takes extraordinary dedication. Early morning practice, lots of travel etc…
Good luck!!</p>
<p>Top schools recruit good/very good athlete, even if they have never rowed before. Because the level of competition is lower than in sports such as swimming, running, tennis and there are fewer high school rowers than college rowers, it is relatively easy to get recruited or get a boost for crew (plus, colleges usually recruit a boat load, i.e. 8 athletes).</p>
<p>Some people on here are just speaking with no firsthand knowledge of crew.</p>
<p>Football teams have huge numbers of recruits. Basketball, track, etc too. An Ivy/D1 crew team usually has space for 4 or 5 coach supported actual “spots” with Admissions in each year. That’s it. If they’re lucky, they may get 8 “tips” /slots with the AO when the senior turnover is high. Sure, there’s Mens and Women’s crew teams (and at some schools, a lightweight team), but you only “qualify” to be a candiadte for 1 of those teams. And those coaches have very limited full support recruiting spots to give out each year.</p>
<p>And those 4 or 5 recruits have worked their butts off for YEARS, rowing INTENSELY YEAR ROUND getting their erg scores down to the top in the country (try under 6:30 for a 2K – only a small percetnage of top rowing athletes can get there). They have won medals at the National if not International level. They spend many weekends driving/away in hotels competing in grueling, multi-day regattas and that’s after practicing 20 hours a week around school. In the winter they train extremely hard indoors to be ready for Spring, 1 of 2 critical seasons for the sport – some even row in indoor tanks; those in warmer climes get out on the water sooner (which is why Calif is so strong in crew). And those not in warm climates are out on the water when it is 33 degrees. You better love it and not just be doing it for some skewed perceived Admissions edge.</p>
<p>You DO NOT get genuinely recruited to a D1 or Ivy crew team because you are just > 6’ 5" tall (or > 6’ 1" for women) and have broad shoulders. Even in extremely strong HS team/boathouse programs – and yes, even in the top prep schools – a program of 100+ HS excellent rowers will be lucky to get 2 or 3 recruited to D1s or Ivies in any year. Why would any coach use up one of their very few true “Admissions Office recruit slots” on someone who never rowed – and may never be good at rowing or even like it to dedicate the time needed to it – when these coaches have this plethora of experienced/proven HS rowers available?</p>
<p>Only do a sport if you love it. Your chances of being in that top 1% and being recruited are small – don’t waste 20 - 68 hours a week on something you don’t adore and whose chance of “being worth it for college admissions” is extremely rare. If you don’t get recruited, spending all that time rowing is no stronger an EC in Admission’s eyes than doing yearbook, Student Gov, or any other club. It’s a crapshoot that even if you love the sport and work extremely long and hard at it, that you have that national level athletic ability to be “good enough” to be recruited at an Ivy … try a 2K, 4K or 6K erg and then talk reality.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to be discouraging, but it is misleading for people here to say crew is easy/the easiest to be recruited for in college. It is a highly demanding sport – cardiovascularly, muscle-wise strength, endurance, temperature, balance, coordinatuion, cost, dedication and natural ability. Though yes, it sure doesn’t hurt to have the right build for it as with any sport.</p>
<p>^^^
everything I wanted to say but was too lazy to type out. </p>
<p>Being recruited for rowing is by no means the “easiest”. Scholarships might be readily available, but to get one of them you have to go through hell and back training.</p>
<p>Hi 5 to successful hey_pal who REALLY knows how hard it is to get recruited for crew at a top school!</p>
<p>And while there ARE scholarships for crew out there, <<< i agree wholeheartedly; there are ZERO athletic scholarships in the Ivy League … for crew or any sport. There aren’t even academic MERIT scholarships in the Ivies - no matter how brilliant you are. Everyone there is brilliant – it’s all FAFSA/EFC NEED-based for any financial aid/scholarships/grants/etc…</p>
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<p>Alright, it looks like people are going both ways on this topic. Unfortunately, most people who are saying “crew does/doesn’t help” don’t exactly present their argument on strong ground.</p>
<p>This is coming from experience. Plenty of kids (and several of my friends) from Andover have gotten / will be recruited to Ivies and other great universities for crew.</p>
<p>Yes, crew does help. And it can help a lot. If you’re a dedicated rower and have a good 2K time, you will have an easier time getting recruited to college than most athletes. It makes sense, though; crew is a smaller, specialized sport, therefore more people will find themselves in the position to row competitively in college. Now, on the other hand, baseball, basketball, and running are very difficult for recruitment unless you’re nationally ranked or the absolute best in your school/division. This is because more people play baseball, basketball, and run. You’re up against more and better competition in a more developed sport, therefore you’re going to have a harder time standing out.</p>
<p>You said “plenty” of kids from Andover have gotten / will be recruited to Ivies" … would you please quantify that so as to present your argument on said “strong ground”? Thank you. </p>
<p>For I’m thinking with only 8 Ivy schools and with each coach only getting an average of 4 or 5 REAL recruiting slots/spots a year with their respective Admission Office (that is, 4 or 5 candidates they can actually “tag” for an official acceptance), there are MANY MANY MANY more than “32” excellent HS rowers working their butts off right now. </p>
<p>What I didn’t go into, but I assume was understood, is that on top of being an elite class rower – as in THE best 1% of rowers nationally/internationally – (yes, rowers are also recruited into our Ivies from great international rowing HS and they take up some of these coaches official recruiting slots) – in order to be considered for those few Ivy TRUE “recruited spots”, one also has to pass the Ivy AI hurdles. That is, have Ivy-caliber SATs, SAT2s, GPAs and AP/Honors course loads. </p>
<p>Now those 3 hurdles aren’t easy — roughly only “32” official “recruited” Ivy crew slots, having an Ivy AI ~ Ivy-league SATs/GPA/APS and say under a 6:30 2K. Especially as many other sports have huge, popular, alumni-driven/$upported teams which proffer many more official recruiting slots with their Admissions Offices than crew.</p>
<p>Again, I can state for a fact that if you are not one being brought up to Admsissions by the coach as one of his 4 or 5 official recruits – that is if he is not willing to use up one of his precious few official recruiting slots on you – then having a coach say he “wants” you on his team means nothing in terms of an Admissions advantage. If you are not an elite level rower who IS officially chosen for one of these few recruitng slots (2K erg is key here), then all the hours of crew you do and medals you win are only as important to an Admissions Officer as dedciation to and success in any other EC – yearbook, student gov, Model UN, oboe, community serice leadership, etc.</p>
<p>No matter what sport, only THE best of THE best get genuinely “recruited” at the Ivies ~ as coaches only have a few true “slots/spots” to use with their Admisions Offices each year to help already academically Ivy-qualified caliber rowers get in.</p>