Rowing: Strong AI/Borderline Athletic Resume

Athletic Recruits
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<p>Thanks for all of your posts...it has been very informative. I apologize in advance for the long post, but we are in a unique situation and I need advice. </p>

<p>We live in Europe and D has been rowing crew for a year. She is in very small elite club, where all of the other girls on her team are also on the National Team and went to the World Championships last summer. They have all been rowing 4+ years, go to a national sport school, and are looking toward the Olympics. D goes to a small international school. D is the 5th girl (they only row in 1x, 2x and 4x), an alternate, so she has seen very little competition. She went to Stanford Rowing camp last summer and trained at a nationally recognized club on the West Coast. At that point, based on feedback from coaches and rowing with other girls, she realized she has excellent technique and good potential to row at the top collegiate level. She just doesn't have much experience, and is only 5'9" 132 lbs.</p>

<p>At that point, she made the decision to apply to colleges (with rowing programs) based on where she wants to go, rather than on where she is recruited. She was very independent/stubborn about this, and didn't want her decision to be driven by recruiting.</p>

<p>She contacted the coach at her first choice school, an Ivy, with top ranked crew program, and they arranged a pre-read. She is a legacy, 32 ACT, 690/690 SAT II, 4.3 GPA, Most rigorous IB secondary curriculum, excellent leadership EC's/awards. 3 sport varsity athlete/captain... They told her she is in the ball park academically but needs a sub-7:40 2k erg test. She has a 7:47 and won't do another one until mid-December. The coach did not offer her a likely letter, but said they would track her application through admissions, so she applied ED.</p>

<p>Q1: what does "tracking her application through admissions" mean?
Q2: is she supposed to tell the coaches at RD schools that she applied ED to first choice? should she tell them what school?</p>

<p>She never contacted any other coaches before yesterday, because she had her heart set on her ED school. Yesterday, she wrote to coaches at 5 other schools she visited (before she realized she had the opportunity to row) that she will apply RD to. She could be happy at any of these schools if things don't work out for 1st choice. 3 (non-Ivy, 2 ACC schools and 1 NECAC) out of 5 were very enthusiastic and want her to send her transcripts for a pre-read. One even talked about scholarship money. She plans to continue to correspond with these coaches and intends to be clear that she has already applied to her ED school. Any advice?</p>

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<p>Hi</p>

<p>Your daughter need not discuss her ED app with any other coaches/school right now.
She should follow up with all schools/coaches and provide all academic info etc they request. Cast a wide net and keep and open mind about what school/team will be a good fit. </p>

<p>At this time her apps are complete or close to complete? Correct? She has the month of Dec to finish up and all of the infor, letters of rec and school guidance stuff needs to be sent so I suspect your D’s high school guidance counselor needs the list of final apps etc.</p>

<p>Your D should work to get that ERG score down. So whatever training she can do now before the next test will be worth it. There are a few parents on this board who have Ds that row. So they will likely chime in here with more hgelp and information.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your advice. I would absolutely welcome any other suggestions from parents on this forum. D’s apps etc are 95% complete. She is just waiting to hear from ED before she presses the submit button for RD schools. </p>

<p>Does anyone know what “tracking her applications through admissions” means at an Ivy with one of the top rowing programs in the country? I understand it is not a LL.</p>

<p>I agree about the erg score, and I don’t know why D is not doing more tests. Her coach only speaks French, and my French is not good enough to communicate with him. Any advice on how to motivate someone to do more erg tests? They are not a big part of the program here. They do 2 official ones per winter.</p>

<p>We have never lived in the US, and our school guidance counselor is in his first year in the job only knows about British and European schools. Therefore your advice is most appreciated.</p>

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<p>Long response…</p>

<p>My DD is in a similar situation with an Ivy……different sport. Her Academic Index is around a 230 but her athletic level was not high enough to receive a “slot”. The coach, as with your daughter, said she would give a “tip” to the adcom. Now, what does that truly mean?</p>

<p>Many Ivies have fewer slots available than they need to replace outgoing team members, e.g. seniors, injured, etc. The coaches reserve their slots for those athletes that they absolutely do not want to lose in the recruiting process. Such athletes include both the outstanding scholar-outstanding athlete (national merit finalist-national/international competitor) and the mediocre scholar-outstanding/strong athlete. </p>

<p>Kids like mine are in a whole other category, outstanding scholar-mediocre athlete. The coach will not use a slot on them as the coach may feel that they can get into the university on their own merits. Such student-athletes have value to the Ivy coaches because their AI score may allow the coach to bring in (a) new team member(s) with stronger athletics but a lower AI AND still meet the average AI team score required by the Ivy league for their university. In other words, an Ivy coach must balance the Academic Index and athletics when building his team. </p>

<p>Remember that the average Academic Index is calculated by admissions for each class. However, the AI score is not used for general admissions determinations but rather for athletic recruits and team building. The average AI varies for each school. I recently read in an unsubstantiated secondary source a 208-209 average AI for Harvard, Yale and Princeton athletic teams, and between 200-205 for the remainder of the Ivies. Thus, an average athlete with a 230 AI allows the coach to bring in two strong athletes with a 197 AI or even a single outstanding athlete with a 186 AI.</p>

<p>From what I understand, the Ivy coach works with a liaison in the Admission’s office. By November 1st, s/he submits a list of names of possible athletes in ranked order. The top names are the “slots” who generally will have had a pre-read and –unless things are really “off”- receive a “likely letter” with guaranteed admission. The rest of the names are basically reviewed with the remainder of the general applications with the notation that they are wanted (or in terms of balancing the team AI are needed) by a coach. Given the competitive nature of Ivy admissions, the submitted list and the admitted list may differ after the adcom finishes their review.</p>

<p>So with regards to Q1: Will the fact that a coach “will see them through the process” help? Quick frankly, that is difficult to say. I’ve read everything from “the coach doesn’t have any influence” to “the coach’s recommendation will tip the balance in the athlete’s favor”. I’m guessing [personal opinion here] that the degree of “influence” may be tied to AI index of the athlete and the need to balance the Athletic Department’s AI. In general, it is best to assume that the coach has basically no influence in the admission’s process and that these student-athletes must get into the Ivy on their own academic and athletic merits. Once in, however, it is clear the coach wants them on the team</p>

<p>As for Q2: Tell your DD to send a quick “hi” and “here’s what I’m doing” light update to the RD coaches. Don’t mention the ED. There are only a couple of weeks left before she knows the ED decision. Then she can either ramp up or break-off the RD coach contacts.</p>

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<p>Thank you. That really helps clarify things. I haven’t personally talked to the coach, and my daughter doesn’t want me to get involved, however, I do my best to stay informed. I guess we will have a better idea in mid-November. If she is lucky, she may be joining the daughter of another parent on this forum :)</p>

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<p>*I meant mid-December in the previous post</p>

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<p>She should also contact lightweight coaches (unless that’s what she’s been doing) and work on her 2K erg time. If the coach does not help, she can do it on her own. Honestly, at this point, that’s what counts. Does she have any 4K that’s competitive? The good news with crew is that there are at least 8 recruited athletes each year. Some school will go up to 15.</p>

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<p>Actually, tracking also means that if at any point her erg time is in the range that the coach wants her on the team, s/he can communicate this to admission. For example, if she is deferred, or even later, if she is waitlisted.</p>

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<p>Thank you. This is very helpful. She considered LW rowing, but as I mentioned, she didn’t want her choices to be driven by recruiting. In Europe, the kids must choose academic, technical or, if they are incredibly talented, sports track by age 16. They can’t have it all. D has chosen academic, but she has also been able to keep up with the sports.
I really appreciate everyone’s input.Thanks.</p>

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<p>I sent you a PM</p>

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<p>Concerning this rower’s contacting LW coaches: in LW collegiate rowing, is 130 lbs the max for women? If rower is 132, cutting weight, and keeping her weight down could be very stressful.</p>

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<p>We agree LW could be a problem because D is 5’9" and I don’t want to send her off to college worrying about her weight. She also plays volleyball and the season just finished, so she will have time to do some weight training, and I would expect increased muscle weight. She’ll do another erg test in the next week or so, and will find out from ED school too. That should help clarify next steps. Any advice on erg test prep? I went to a parent meeting, but my French skills aren’t good enough to understand the detail.
Thanks.</p>