<p>You can tell by my name that our family doesn't really row :)</p>
<p>I'm asking on behalf of a friend. Really. I don't know much about rowing, so please excuse me if I can't speak "crew" very well.</p>
<p>Is there anyone out there who is a current or recent Ivy athlete in lightweight crew who can tell us what it really took to be admitted? This is a male, by the way. </p>
<p>What do you guys call it? erg score? Are there other performance benchmarks an Ivy coach would be particularly impressed by? Certain competitions entered successfully, and so on?</p>
<p>And they're especially interested in knowing the GPA, weighted and unweighted, and any details on course rigor (number of AP classes, especially), as well as the SAT, ACT and SAT II scores. I guess it would also be good to know stats for those who either weren't admitted, or who chose to go to non-Ivy schools. </p>
<p>Kid is trying to figure out how wide a net to cast and where. </p>
<p>Hi riverrunner:
Not a student or a male but a Mom of a current LW high school rower and a current collegiate HW rower. I’ve added a bunch on info about this in various threads already but the short version is:<br>
Erg score is most important factor. From HYP coach, most LW recruits will be on or around 6:35 for a 2K by the Spring of their Junior year.</p>
<p>Yes, it matters how competitive your Team is but not as much as your erg score. If you do well on the erg, go to CRASH Bs in Boston in February. Input your times at US Rowing. Use Concept 2’s high school recruiting page.</p>
<p>Stats: This falls in the all depends on the erg score category. From what I have heard, for HYP 2100+, hardest possible courseload (# of APs not as important as college counselor checking that “hardest possible courseload” box), GPA over 3.7 UW. </p>
<p>Above constitutes likely letter territory. There may be much more play in the numbers when you are not looking for a likely but crew is famous for being home to very smart athletes. Less certain about lower tier Ivies, Georgetown, etc.</p>
<p>Problem with LW rowing is that there are very few schools that have it on a Varsity level and they are almost all exceptionally difficult to get into. That said, a LW rower with a very good erg score could probably be recruited onto a HW team that is not top-tier. </p>
<p>Interesting…
does this translate across all sports…or maybe the non-helmet ones?</p>
<p>Is the 3.7 UW an across the board thing for all sports?
Does that mean there is no weight for honors and AP?
What kids wants to take all Honors and AP and not get a bump for it?</p>
<p>I thought the AI asked for weighted GPA…</p>
<p>Can you tell we have no clue about this kind of thing regardless of sport…We find even the different NCAA guidelines confusing! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>3xboys…I just asked my daughter who is a freshman in crew. She thinks that 6:35 is almost impossible. Is that score for boys?
I hope we hear from some more people and we can learn from this thread.
Thanks!</p>
<p>fogfog- Weighted GPA is usually important for class ranking (in high schools that weight AP and honors). However in admissions to Ivies, unweighted GPA is used, as the assumption is the student took the most challenging curriculum, and is being compared to others with similar courses. Also, the college wants to see how successful the student did in the tough classes, as that is an indication of how likely they will be able to succeed at the Ivy.</p>
<p>So, yes, the 3.7 Unweighted is the target GPA.</p>
<p>I agree that unweighted GPA is what the Ivies are looking for. Ivy League coaches my daughter spoke with asked specifically for her unweighted GPA, while a couple of other schools asked for her highest reported GPA. As far as 3.7 being the mark, this is in line with what we were told, although one Ivy school said they were looking for 3.8.</p>
<p>OK- so I am going to guess this is for
ivies,
non helmet sports, </p>
<p>? yes?</p>
<p>I need to take apart the transcript then…</p>
<p>do I assign a 4 for A- A and A+
3 for B- B and B+ </p>
<p>etc?</p>
<p>What does this do for the AI calculator–since that clearly asks for weighted GPA…?
Our hs does not rank…
the transcript provides a 4 pt and 12 gpa by yr and cumulative…
designating courses as regular, honors, AP or mandatory
and shows it by semester (calculation includes 2 qtrs and exam and only shows semester grade) and then yr avg.</p>
<p>I am guessing so many AdComs do it differently…this is very confusing…
too bad there isn’t an “industry standard”</p>
<p>As far as the EGR–the OP asked about boys scores so 6:35 must be fore boys not girls just like running times etc would differ by gender.</p>
<p>If you’re worried about presenting an accurate GPA on the recruited athlete forms, or in a cover letter to coaches, just use the unweighted GPA and label it as such. It sounds like your child’s transcript has a weighted 4.0 scale GPA. You can include that, labeled as a weighted GPA. It’s not really your responsibility to calculate the GPA each school is looking for. Their admissions department will take care of that, using whatever process they like. Some drop classes like PE and Health from the calculation, others give bonus points for honors classes, others only for APs. And then there’s the elusive bonus for attending a more rigorous high school. Don’t spend time trying to come up with a completely accurate GPA. It’s not possible.</p>
<p>Admissions will calculate the AI, also, so you will need to provide the class rank. They don’t expect you to present them with an AI number.
If your child is a junior, just wait until the spring semester grades are on the transcript, then go to the GC office at your school and get an unofficial copy. Scan this and email it to coaches. Do the GPA calculations you mention show up on the transcript? If so, any GPA number you use should exactly match what is written on the transcript.</p>
<p>Your child should write a new email cover letter with new PRs and any other relevant news- academic stats as above, SAT/ACT/SATII scores and any other leadership/activity updates. Attach the unofficial transcript and you’re good to go.</p>
<p>Back in Dec a several ivies asked for transcripts and SATs…
–they see the transcript and GPA as calculated, the Honors APs etc, As Bs and it is clearly labeled as weighted.</p>
<p>None have said “don’t call us, we’ll call you…” when they saw it…</p>
<p>In fact they were pleased with the transcript (heavy rigor) Our student will finish with 8 yrs of math, 6 of lab sciences, 5 of history, 4 of for lang etc etc</p>
<p>I just worry when there are plenty of Bs in the freshman yr…and thats a 3.0 if its completely unweighted…which pulls it down…</p>
<p>We have no rank for the class–On the AI calculator–there are several methodologies–one does calculate from weighted GPA and doesn’t use class rank (does include # in class)</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Ivy rowing coaches even think much about AI? I’m going to guess rowers are kind of like distance runners: If they’re applying to the Ivies, they’ve got the grades and scores, and the AI isn’t going to be a factor in whether they’re a recruit. AI was never part of the conversation when D was going through this two years ago- her stats were strong.</p>
<p>Riverrunner, I think you are correct about this. I’m pretty sure that most of the recruits they are looking at for rowing have the grades and the test scores. At least, that is the impression I got.</p>
<p>riverrunner: we have heard of an ivy coach referring to the AI - fortunately in a positive manner - phew! However, yes, it was acknowledged - not directly to us, but to our student’s college counsellor. Other coaches have openly discussed what they need on a transcript, for admissions sake. No surprises there - strong GPA, SATs with a high 600 minimum per section, and the athletic stats that are the prerequisites too.</p>
<p>My son is interested in being recruited for crew – this is all new to us and I am learning fast, but still don’t really know how to go about helping him.</p>
<p>He is a sophomore this year – so next year he will be a junior. He is 6’ 1", ~190# with an erg score of 7:02. this is his first season rowing – he had an injury last year that prevented all sports for Spring season.</p>
<p>He will be attending the northeast rowing camp this summer and plans to do crash=B’s next spring - -but what else do we do? He knows he needs to bring down his erg score, and is confident that he can do that (he is aiming for 6:30 next spring). He will be working on technique and physical fitness this summer.</p>
<p>When should he fill out those online recruiting forms? Since he started so late, it seems that he should wait until he has the scores to interest a coach. </p>
<p>Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated! In particular, he wants to row for a school that has crew as a varsity sport rather than club sport; he is interested in service academies as well as other schools. right now, he is looking at Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, USNA, USMMA, CGA among others.</p>
<p>Hi hsmomstef,
The single most important thing he can do is bring down his erg score. I’d say start with the recruiting forms when he has an enticing erg score to report. </p>
<p>I have a LW rower heading into Junior year so we can hold hands as this all plays out without worrying that our boys are competing with each other!</p>
<p>Hi 3xboys!! Glad to hear you are going through the same thing – it sounds like you really have some knowledge. One of my hurdles is that my son goes to a boarding school across the country – so I don’t even get a chance to see him row or talk to his coach.</p>
<p>We are planning college visits for next year – a couple in the fall over long weekend and lots over spring break. Hopefully, he has a solid erg score and a good placement at Crash B’s before we visit schools over spring break. He should have a good idea of test scores and GPA then, too.</p>