My S is being recruited by the Ivies and other D1 schools for rowing. He has already been told that due to his current 2k (6.20) that he qualifies for athletic scholarship $ at three of the non-Ivy schools (one mentioned 50%). The topic of financial support has not come into the conversation yet with the Ivy coaches and my S is reluctant to ask, being that everyone says the Ivies don’t give scholarships. Although, I know of recruits that have been given “merit $” to sweeten the deal. My S would prefer to row at one of the Ivies only because they have the best rowing teams and are on the east coast but when other coaches start offering you a lot of money, it is hard not to consider these other schools.
I wanted my S to start letting his top pick coaches know that he is very interested in their school, but that he will need some sort of financial support other than financial aid. We don’t qualify for any financial aid and already have two kids in college. Does anyone know of any other rowing recruits who had received some sort of merit $ at an Ivy?
There are no merit scholarships in the Ivys. All aid is based upon family need. Depending on family finances, the aid can be quite substantial. You might try the financial aid estimators found on some of the school sites to estimate what your son/family might receive should he get admitted.
^Agree. Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no financial ‘sweetening of the pot’ for Ivy athletes. Straight up need-based aid. But with 2 kids already in college, you might be pleasantly surprised at the FA offer you could get.
We had heard the same “rumors”… That even though schools didnt offer scholarships or merit, the coaches found a way to get you help. But we quickly understood that was a bad rumor. We had an ivy coach offer to have a financial pre-read for us to give us an idea what we could expect. Another ivy coach just shrugged when my daughter suggested needing aid, saying “Thats not my territory”. Most non-ivy schools refused to talk aid/scholarship seriously until we were ready to commit.
My nephew is on Columbia’s 1st boat and was recruited by several Ivies so I’m talking from my sister’s experience. Have any coaches screened him (ie. SAT>2100, Decent GPA). If coach can’t get him through Admissions department’s minimum requirement then you are wasting your time. But if his academics are up to par with ivies and he really can compete D1 then he should look at Stanford who does give sports scholarships. And of course U Washington has one of the best rowing programs in the country (read ‘Boys in the Boat’ to find out why) and I believe gives sports scholarships. But your son is right that besides the Ivies there aren’t many top programs on the east coast. But if you are looking for a bit lower level of academics then either Virginia, Boston College, Boston U or Syracuse U might fit the bill. I tried looking at NCAA.org website for other division 1 rowing schools but the listing page was missing Men’s rowing (but they did have Women’s rowing). There is a ranking page which is found at http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/rowing/d1/regional-rankings. Good luck!
Hi KathleenA-Yes, he has already had his test scores and transcript reviewed by admissions and was told as long as he keeps his grades up he would be admitted. He thought that Stanford was even harder to get in than the Ivies and didn’t consider it. Yes, know about UW but didn’t really want to go that far. Syracuse and BU are both good options but not as strong teams. He is looking Georgetown too.
Thanks.
Men’s rowing is not an NCAA sport, and the scholarships are handled in a different way. You’d have to ask at each school what their policies are, what the maximum scholarship is, if scholarships are split between several team members.
Did you check the HPY calculator? Their financial is the most generous as they don’t take into account your principal in your house and will consider mortgage payments.
Now, as far as recruiting, I’m actually surprised that a 6:20 would merit an athletic scholarship, unless we’re talking lightweight. (Like I don’t see UWash recruiting at that erg time level)