<p>I'm going to be a junior this fall. I have been rowing for the past 2 years, and I went to nationals this year and placed in the top ten in the men's 8.</p>
<p>I don't think rowing is the right thing for me anymore.</p>
<p>I want to focus my time on things that will help me in the future. I am interested in doing a lot of volunteer work with colleges.</p>
<p>It just seems like I have wasted many hours rowing and not doing anything productive.</p>
<p>I want to get into an excellent school in California or the East Coast. I like a variety of schools: LACs, small Unis, big Unis...</p>
<p>My stats:
*Excellent ACTs 30+ (as a sophomore a few months ago)
*3.93 cumulative GPA
*Rigorous Course load
*NHS hehe
there are other things, but this is all that's important for now</p>
<p>Please advise me on if I should or should not do crew junior and senior year and focus on other things.</p>
<p>I am in a similar boat as you. I am a good student and play tennis fairly competitively (state ranked as a freshman and sophomore). I also so a ton of other things but…
I am quitting tennis so I can focus on this that pertain more to my future. I like tennis, but I am not in love with it and have no interest in playing tennis at college.</p>
<p>Hmm this is tricky. I was a swimmer and was top 16 in the state every year (but that’s still not DI recruitable) so I quit senior year and it was the best decision of my life. However, you are clearly AMAZING at rowing so I think you should really give it some thought. If your ACT is about a 30, you probably can’t get into top schools unhooked. Crew would be a hook that could get you in to some of the most amazing schools in the country. If you don’t aspire to go to uber selective schools then it really shouldn’t matter. It’s a tough call. What colleges are you looking at?</p>
<p>Don’t quit. If you think it could have the slightest chance at helping you get in to college (obviously it could help immensely if you’re that amazing at it) then it’s worth sticking with it. I played hockey awhile ago but I quit after about 7 years and completely regret it. Even though it might not have taken me anywhere, it could have helped. If you’re a top ten ranked athlete in the nation, don’t give it up.</p>
<p>I think your choices are pretty clear in this situation: </p>
<p>If it’s something you love to do, keep rowing. Consider it a bonus that the sport has the potential to help you get into college. </p>
<p>Don’t keep rowing only for the sake of getting into college; you’ll be miserable since it is a big time commitment. If you’re not enjoying it and would rather be volunteering (because you think volunteering is more fun, not because you think volunteering will help you get into college), stop rowing. </p>
<p>Personally, it makes me sad that people think they have to give up everything to get into a good university. I doubt that’s what admissions officers intended…I know this word is thrown around a lot on CC but seriously, you need to have a passion for what you do whether it be rowing or volunteering.</p>
<p>rowing - a really tough sport. Most rowers consider quitting at some point. I just am not sure how to handle all the pressures and the high emphasis on winning.</p>
<p>I love the sport and I think everyone should try it. But, I also want to do other things. I think time management and pain management have been my biggest weaknesses. If anyone could give me tips on that, that would be really nice. </p>
<p>I’m still deciding if I should row. I strive for getting into a highly selective school, but rowing is a super-competitive sport, and one never sure if they will be in the top boat or not. </p>
<p>I dont think colleges would necessarily look down on the fact that you quit rowing after sophomore year. But it could be a bonus if you did stick with it. It shows commitment and a pretty strong talent that you have. I played a lot of sports throughout high school (track, soccer, tennis) and put a lot of time into practices and tournaments to go to districts and state. I was a full IB diploma student and if not for the sports I don’t think i would have done as well in school. Sports make you well rounded and teach you discipline and who knows maybe you will be able to row in college. My advice is to keep rowing if you like it, it sounds like you are really good at it. you can do everything else you want to do as well if you make time for it. If you don’t like it, it wont hurt you to try something else like xc.</p>
<p>I think that excelling/ committing to a sport is a good “piece of the puzzle.” The whole admission process is just that - it looks at the entire student. So committment to a sport, and being really good at it - looks good on your applications. So do other things. Test scores, grades, jobs, community service. In the end, you need to do what you care about, and what makes you happy. If you quit, just make sure that you pick up, start, do other things. You might even be able to use the experience as an essay - why you stayed with crew or why you didn’t - and what you took away from it.</p>