Questions for lightweight rowers!!!

Athletic Recruits
1

<p>Hi,
I am currently a sophomore and a guys lightweight rower in high school and am wondering...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>what is a solid 2k time for lightweight guys at HYP?</p></li>
<li><p>What is a time that makes it so that even if you are slacking in academics, you can still slide by admissions without trouble? </p></li>
<li><p>Is it true that if you have better grades, your erg times don't have to be extraordinary?</p></li>
<li><p>Do erg times fluctuate between HYP and the other ivies(Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia)?</p></li>
<li><p>What are good 6k times for HYP/ other ivies?</p></li>
<li><p>Approximately how many rowers do coaches have on their "lists"?</p></li>
<li><p>How many coches should you contact after July 1 of your senior year?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Id appreciate answers to any of the questions,
thanks</p>

2

<p>Okay well I will try and answer your questions one by one

  1. I solid 2k time for HYP for a lightweight rower is anywhere from 6:25-6:40. The differences in time is directly related to your SAT score and GPA meaning that if you aren’t very strong academically then you will have to be faster than the guy who has a perfect score on his SAT. That being said, if your grades and test scores are very bad (SAT <1900 GPA<3.5) then you don’t have much of a chance either way.</p>

<p>2)See answer to Q1</p>

<p>3)Yes if you have good academics your athletics don’t have to be quite as good.</p>

<p>4)The times between the Ivies fluctuates but not by much. For instance, the average 2k entering Princeon last year for their lights was 6:40 and the average 2k entering Columbia was 6:43. So yes it is slightly slower for the non HYP lightweights but not by much.</p>

<p>5)I am not positive but I would say a sub 1:50 split for a 6k would be very good.</p>

<p>6)Each of the Ivies that I have talked to are allowed to recruit 8 rowers and 1 coxswain.</p>

<p>7) You should contact as many coaches as possible because that will increase the likelihood of you getting recruited to one of your top choice programs.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>

3

<p>To add a few things:

  1. For the ivy league, your test score count double the grades, so if they are high, they will compensate for lower grades.
  2. For the GPA, it also depends on the rigor of your school and your classes, so if you go to a school that admissions knows is challenging and/or take tough classes, there will be concessions made for your GPA. There are schools where a GPA of 3.5 would be excellent, and admissions knows that.
  3. Don’t wait until July 1 after your junior year to contact coaches. Contact them fall/winter of your junior year.</p>
4

<p>To start out I’ll give you my stats.</p>

<p>2k: (end of junior spring) 6:31
10k (Sophomore summer) 1:47.9 split.
SAT’s 1800
GPA 3.2</p>

<p>I was told that I wouldn’t be very recruitable because of my low academics, as I also had additional “baggage” to go along with the poor academic stats. </p>

<p>That being said, I was actively recruited by every single Ivy League lightweight team, as well as Georgetown and Navy. Not only was I recruited to row lightweight in college, the heavyweight teams at Brown, Columbia, Yale, Wisconsin and Washington all recruited me (I’m only 5’10 and 155 lbs)! </p>

<p>My athletic stats did not merit such attention, but a key thing in the recruiting process is race results and personality. I didn’t fill out any recruiting forms, yet I heard from all these teams. In the end, my C in sophomore year English took away the HYP scene, but I wasn’t too upset. I ended up narrowing my decision down to three schools (out of around 7 that were still in the mix) and I’ve now received a LL from the school I chose. </p>

<p>If I were to give you any tips I’d say </p>

<p>1) Get your SAT above 1800. That may not seem too hard, but most school’s bare minimum baseline is 1800. They also like to see 600 or better in each section (they’d rather have two 600’s than a 620 and a 580). </p>

<p>2) Be upfront with coaches. I told many coaches that I would choose any school that offered support first, and I played the cards. One coach said they would support me, so I went to another school and saw where I stood with them. After I informed the other school of my support, they quickly jumped ship and said they would support me (previously they were hesitant). </p>

<p>3) Row for a good club in the summer. The coaches love going to summer races and if you are a part of a good club (medal contention at club nats and canadian henley) that will gain some much needed respect. </p>

<p>4) Respond to their emails on time, and always call back. Don’t assume they want you and are itching to get you, if you don’t show any interest or respect, they will drop you from their list in an instant. </p>

<p>5) Get your 2k as low as fricking possible! I knew a kid who was only 2 seconds slower than me, and had SAT’s in the mid 1900’s. He wasn’t given support by any school because they found “faster” kids. Its a dog eat dog world out there, and you do not want to be left out. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>

5

<p>Are you sure you did a 10k at 1:47.9(as a sophomore)?!?!?!
That’s insane…
Anyways…

  1. Did you, yourself row at a prestigous summer club? and if so, which one?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you don’t mind me asking, what school did you decide to row at, and for heavyweight or lightweight?</p></li>
<li><p>What do you mean by “support”, as in financial aid/scholarships?</p></li>
<li><p>Doesn’t the ivy league not offer athletic scholarships?</p></li>
</ol>

6

<p>Yeah, that was my time. I did alot of cardio that summer, I pulled it my sophomore summer right before junior year. </p>

<p>Ivy coaches can’t give scholarships or financial aid, they give you “support” which is basically earmarking your application with admissions and saying “I want this kid at my school.”</p>