<p>Hey everyone,
This post may be a little sport-specific but any feedback is greatly appreciated.
I am currently trying to get recruited for men's lightweight crew. Here is some of my background info:</p>
<p>2k: 6:56
GPA: 3.90
ACT: 34
SAT II: 750 in math II, taking two more in june
-will have taken 10 APs by graduation</p>
<p>I have been talking to some lightweight programs and the general consensus is that academically I am definitely qualified. But similar to most recruits for the class of 2014, the times need to drop to around sub-6:40 to be in the range of "official visits" and "likely letters". What I am wondering though is if I pull around a 6:45ish on the 2k by the end of Summer, and I wasn't able to pull off official visits or likely letters, could a coach still support my application, with a strong academic profile? And if so, how influential would the support be in the admissions office?</p>
<p>Thanks, any feedback would be great. If you know some people who underwent similar circumstances in different sports feel free to share!</p>
<p>I am a rising freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. I was recruited as a lightweight rower this past year, and I’d like to give you guys some insight on what it’s like. I was being pursued by almost all the D1 lightweight rowing schools, HYP included. I can give you a bit of my stats (these are when I was a Junior/first semester senior): </p>
<p>2k: 6:32.1
6k: 20:58.2
GPA (unweighted): 3.67
ACT: 33 (I didn’t take any SAT II’s)</p>
<p>I can tell you right now you are on the right track to being recruited by an Ivy League school. Harvard is definitely one of the most competitive in terms of recruiting, and they require a lot from their prospective recruits. I would definitely recommend you try to lower your 2k as much as possible, and get great race results as well (I won the ML2x at Youth National Championships in 2012). As far as academics go, your ACT/SAT will probably have to be at least a 30/31 or 2000+, but the higher it is, the easier it will be for coaches to recruit you, especially for HYP.</p>
<p>I recommend that you get in contact with the coaches of lightweight rowing schools as soon as the Winter of your junior year in high school. They will have limited contact with you before July 1st (due to some kind of NCAA rule), but you definitely want to get your name out there. Don’t be scared to email the coaches.</p>
<p>As for you, all I can say is your academics look really good. You’d certainly be a candidate for all the ivies if you can get your 2k under 6:40, preferably 6:35 or under. If your erg scores aren’t sufficient, however, there’s very little a coach can (or may want) to do. Coaches certainly do care about academics, but they handle the prospective recruits’ athletic abilities. Even if you have good academics, if your erg scores are not good enough, they will use the spot for another recruit who is more athletically qualified. In the ivy league, lightweight rowing schools are generally given 7-9 spots for recruits a year. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if coaches give likely letters for men’s lightweight rowing, you’ll have to consult someone else. I was never given one, but I ended up getting into UPenn with the coach’s support. If they give you their word that they will support you, you just have to trust that they will do everything they can on their end to get you in.</p>
<p>At the ivies, the coach support IS the OV and LL process.
If your stats aren’t what the coach wants, then regardless of your academics, the coach won’t “support” you. That said, if you get in on your own - you could try walking on.</p>