Seeking advice for D1 Official Visits - Rowing

My daughter is going to four universities on official visits for crew this month (September). The schools pay all the expenses and we (my husband and I) are not going with her. We an urban fairly car-free family and she’s bringing a folding bike and can get around. Still, it would be good to know if she needs to bring professional clothes. Also, what other lessons did you or your kids learn from D1 athletic recruiting?

I’ve never heard of a recruit bringing a bike. Transportation is usually provided to and from airport. Recruit is hosted by a current team member, hangs out with team, attends class (usually with one or more team members), eats in dining hall with host or other members of team, occasionally dinner out with some team members. I think if a bike is needed the host will figure it out. Likely they’ll just walk. Recruits can attend practice but some sports have limits or rules about what a recruit can do with the team. Professional clothes not usually needed but that is something she could ask the coach. Recruits usually receive a detailed agenda/schedule prior to the visit so she’ll be able to see what’s scheduled and can follow up with questions. One suggestion is that if you have particular classes you want to attend, let the coach know—they can try to find a team member with bio rather than lit, for example. Your daughter might be taken to parties and offered drinks. It shouldn’t happen but often does. She should decide in advance how to handle that. Assume anything she does will get back to the coach. She should be prepared to say why she’s interested in the school, have a few questions prepared to help learn more about the program and show interest, and be ready to share her timeline for making a decision and where the school fits in her rankings (not necessarily precise ranking, but saying “I am down to three schools, this is definitely one of them, but I’m trying to keep from narrowing it down more until I complete all the visits”). I don’t know if crew is a high pressure sport but in most sports recruits are given some time after the visit to make a decision. If the coach doesn’t bring it up, I’d just be ready to ask about the process, where she fits in the recruiting pool, what their timeline is. Most of all, tell her to be herself and not feel pressure to conform. The visit is for her to decide if this is the place she wants to spend four years. To that end, I’d try to get as much contact as possible with non team members in addition to the team. In the end it should be a decision about the school more than about the team or program. Also: have fun!

Thanks. Since the Ivy’s don’t give athletic scholarships, if one of these schools she’s going to designates her as a recruit, do you know how long it would take to find out about financial aid? The 2 non-ivy D1 schools have already told her they’’ll have numbers for her on her OV and those OVs are this week and next week (the Ivy visits are the subsequent 2 weeks). Thanks.

The FA pre read usually happens prior to the OV. At least it does in the sport I know, track and field. Sometimes the coaches won’t volunteer to do that and need to be asked by the recruit. It’s possible crew is different. But I’d check with the coach. The FA office can usually turn that around in a few weeks, although that can vary a lot. Perhaps just have your daughter let the coach know that the NPC looked good for your family but you’re wondering if the FA office is able to look at your full FA app to make sure the NPC is accurate. The pre read will provide you with an estimate from the FA office based on the actual FA app.

BTW, your daughter is technically already a recruit if she’s going on an OV. That doesn’t mean the coach has already decided to support her application, but the compliance office and university view her as a recruit (which simply means they have rules they need to follow).