I’m currently a junior doing the IB. I’ve been rowing every day and playing squash weekly for a long time, I’ve been told by my coaches that I’m pretty good. 1510 SAT, 42/45 IB, I’m 6’1" and male. What do I do from now to get recruited or at least have a shot at the Ivies? Thanks in advance.
Pretty good won’t get you recruited.
But I’m moving the thread to the athletic recruit forum where the experts can give you more details on erg times and rankings.
My coach has said that if I keep up with my training I could become a really good world class rower, but I was trying to be modest. Thank you though.
You will need the stats to show you are “pretty good”, as in finishes in top competitions, ergs, etc. Now is the time to reach out to coaches.
Contact coaches via email ASAP, as a junior you are on the later side of the recruiting process for both sports. Also fill out the online recruiting questionnaires on each school’s athletic site.
For squash you will need to have tournament results and national ranking. Level of required squash rating and ranking will vary by quality of college program. Coaches will likely want a highlight video as well.
I know less about rowing but you will need competitive 2K erg times, and ideally be part of team that competes in national level competitions. Good luck.
I’ve got a 6:27:45 2K as my personal best, but I don’t train with a team or any clubs. Just on my own with a coach. Is this a good or bad thing?
That is a good time…but, I don’t know how coaches will assess a 6:27 from a rower with limited event experience…there is a large team component to crew as well. Start by emailing coaches (head and assistants) and see what their response and reactions are to your profile. Fill out the recruiting questionnaires too—those will typically go to an asst coach who may be more responsive than the head coach. Good luck.
Thanks. I’ll try to join a club or something like that this summer.
I don’t see you as having the long term commitment to either sport that is generally needed to get to a level where you will be a recruited athlete. Hopefully someone can give you details on things like erg times but here is some anecdotal information:
–The person I know who is recruited for squash was highly ranked US junior since a very early age, played squash and took lessons for a decade or so, competed successfully in national and international tournaments for years etc. Are you at that level?
–There person I know who was recruited for crew also competed nationally and international as part of the US junior team. He worked incredibly hard training and rowing over a number of years. (I don’t know his erg times.)
Squash is a not an NCAA sport so does not fall within the familiar D1/D2/D3 system. Some of the top college squash programs are Ivies, including Harvard and, historically, Princeton, though Trinity College in Hartford, a small liberal arts college, had dominated the national championship for something like 13 years. Research squash programs through the College Squash Association website and start emailing coaches now with info about your national and international results, ranking etc.
For squash, you need national and international rankings. And for the Ivy League, you also need excellent academics. If you have the rankings but not the high grades and high SAT scores, the Ivies won’t admit you. (Lower-ranked schools may.)
Based on your athletic interests and academic profile, you should also consider appropriate NESCACs.
Squash: No interest unless you have proven tournament success. The top Ivy programs recruit internationally and the players are well known. For US players, continued success in the JCT tournaments and a national top 20 U19 rankings though for Harvard, Princeton and Yale doubtful below top 10 from their recent recruits.
Rowing: without actual on the water experience it would need a big erg score to recruit on potential.
All these sports are so much different from the days you could walk on to Harvard’s squash or crew and be varsity by final year.
As mentioned above, Squash is ultra competitive nowadays. Here is what it will take for some of the top CSA squash teams:
Harvard: won’t even look at you unless you’re currently ranked #1 or #2 in your country
Columbia: top 5 nationally, plus major tournament experience (British Open, US Open, etc)
Penn: top 10 national ranking
Brown: top 20-30 national ranking + AI of 225
MIT: no set ranking, but top tournament experience + strong STEM scores and GPA
Now there are plenty of CSA teams which aren’t nearly as competitive, and always are looking for great athletes. If you don’t have a top ranking but are still a great athlete, consider the following schools:
Franklin & Marshall
Hobart
Colby College
Vassar College
Denison University
Davidson College
Take a look at CSA site for info on squash program rankings. For instance, F&M Men’s Squash is ranked 14 nationally, while Hobart and Colby are in the 20s.
@sgopal2 - very interesting summary of qualifications for schools; do you have any sense for some of the other schools you didn’t mention (P, Y, S, etc)?
My child is a competitive player (JCT, u13s) and I just realized this recently. I would guess hardly any of the squash parents realize how tough it is to get recruited at a top school these days.
@FreeRangeParent Sort of depends on what you mean by “recruited.” If you mean recruited to an Ivy, yes, it’s hard. In part because Ivies have very high academic demands in addition to standings/rankings requirements. And if you mean recruited on a major scholarship, yes, it’s hard because then you’re competing for scholarship money against kids who have international rankings. It’s a lot easier if you have a good squash player and are full pay (or at least don’t need significant sports scholarship.) Then you get an admissions advantage to schools whose teams would welcome your athlete.
You are competing against those kids anyway. A school either has scholarship money to give or it doesn’t, and most don’t. I think more recruited players are using it for an admissions boost rather than for scholarship money.
@FreeRangeParent: yes I do have a sense. My son is a squash player and went through this recently. The stats that I posted were for the mens programs. The womens programs at these colleges have a bit more flexibilty, sorry I should have mentioned that.
Princeton: similar to Penn
Yale: top 5 national ranking, more flexibility with AI depending on how good the kid is
Stanford: does not have a varsity program for boys, only girls. The boys team is club, and does not get any help with admissions. Not sure about the girls
Cornell: coach is more interested in how dedicated the kids are to squash. Recently we know of several kids who were recruited and then dropped out after 1 year. But a top 20-30 ranking plus JCT experience should be good enough.
Playing JCTs up to U19 and doing well in them is an absolute requirement to get the attention of the top colleges. The tippy top colleges recruit almost exclusively internationally (Pakistan, Egypt, Europe) and might take a handful of US players per year.
@twoinanddone At the big non-Ivy squash schools international students dominate the squad. In some, there’s nary an American. In other words, oh there’s scholarship money, all right. But only for the top in international rankings. Everyone else can play club without scholarships.