@tonymom sorry to disagree, but don’t Washington and Cal have athletic scholarships for the men as well? I think Northeastern may as well.
@wykehamist
More than happy to be proven wrong. The world of rowing is certainly a big one. I’ve never heard of any guys being offered $$$ and we had a big recruit for HW on our team last year being heavily courted by Stanford, Cal and Yale. I’m sure you will hear about a small amount being offered here and there but it’s no where near the $$$ that a competitive woman rower can garner. If Cal and W do offer I’d be surprised if it’s a significant amount.
It’s certainly something male rowers must deal with in choosing which programs and schools to focus on.
There are men’s scholarships, they just aren’t NCAA scholarships and I think the reporting of NCAA scholarships and the budgets for the teams are handled separately. I don’t know which department supervises them at my daughter’s school, but the male rowers do get some money (also merit money, but my daughter gets both athletic money and merit money)
Since it is outside NCAA rules, clubs can provide scholarships based on athletic performance only, and those would not be counted against the program as they would be for NCAA athletic limits.
@twoinanddone
Thanks for the info. I suspect they aren’t as lucrative as the women’s tho…I’d be curious to see the stats/$$$ side by side. Perhaps an unintended consequence of Title IX
Every time I come across friends with athletic daughters I always suggest they have their daughter give rowing a go. It really is an amazing opportunity for junior women rowers and provides much in the way of positive self confidence and leadership…not to mention a strong sense of community.
Which reminds me…need to get on the Fasfa for my collegiate rower 
thanks @twoinanddone
@tonymom to be specific, I’ve read various reports to the effect that Cal and Washington, at least, have been offering mens’ rowing scholarships for some time - how much, I don’t know, but it seems to be above and beyond what the Ivies offer their ‘recruits.’ Here’s the background:
This article, steeped in the glow of Husky Pride, mentions that Washington introduced rowing scholarships in 2001, supposedly in response to Cal’s having done so a few years before - but in any event, it has some actual numbers about the number of scholarships they offer:
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-huskies/inside-the-pride-and-tradition-of-uw-crew/
According to this university press release, however, Washington first offered offered rowing scholarships two years earlier, in 1999:
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208009194
Perhaps not coincidentally, this happened soon after Cal (coached by Steve Gladstone) began a run of PAC-10 conference championships (from 1998 through 2002) and national championships (from 1999-2002). A couple of years later, after expanding its own scholarship program, Washington began its recent era of dominance.
As for Northeastern, I have some anecdotal evidence that they offered at least some scholarships for mens’ crew in recent years, but I can’t say for sure, and there’s some recent chatter that their recruiting budget has been reduced.
There was a lively discussion last summer at Rowing Illustrated - a good place to read coaches’ chatter - about how Cal and Washington have used their scholarship money (including for international candidates) to pull away from the Ivies and the rest of the competition at the IRAs. How long that will last, who knows, but of course for the last five years Washington has run the table - for men’s heavyweights, that is.
If anyone needs links to these discussions or articles, let me know, but the gist is pretty simple.
@wykehamist
Thanks for info. Again if a rower is being courted by these two top tier programs they may be able to get some money…any $$ is great but for the majority of male rowers there is no significant money available. If you are speaking to 45k tuition for private universities there just isn’t the same support for men’s rowing (aside from the merit scholarship and need based previously mentioned) Believe me I wish there was but I’ve had too many HS coaches and college coaches attest to the lower level of $$$ for men’s rowing. I think Cal and W are the exceptions because they have the national spotlight to get some pull… Perhaps the public versus private figures into the mix? Who knows…
I hope it changes as the sport of rowing seems to be expanding its draw. That would be wonderful for all rowers; men and women alike. Would love to see rowing get the type of support football or basketball gets…
Oh wait, we don’t fill stadiums 
Yes, scholarships for men’s rowing are few and far between. Based on the recruits from our club for the past couple years, there are scholarships offered at:
UW, Cal, BU, Northeastern, GW, and Stanford. Stanford’s scholarships are extremely limited, 1.5 full scholarships for the entire team. Not sure how many scholarships available at the others.
@susannahH I think it’s too early to have scholarship discussions with any coaches (I believe you said you’ll fall outside the perimeters of financial aid) Coaches are only just starting to identify potential recruits, at the very beginning of the process. They are not in a position to extend/discuss financial offers before they begin to know the composition and makeup of their team and won’t be for some time. Much will change over the winter season and even the summer. My suggestion would be to reach out to a number of schools that interest your daughter to establish a relationship. She should work like crazy to get that erg score as low as possible between now and the end of her junior year. The better the erg score, the better scholarship potential.
Thanks @Lovesrowing for the precise data on women’s and men’s times and scholarships - most informative. Interesting about Stanford - wonder how much that scholarship has helped them snag top domestic HW rowing recruits like Brennan Wertz this year and Austin Hack in 2010. Do you have any insight into why the support is so limited?
I should also clarify about Northeastern - I read some chatter about them reducing their international recruiting budget, but the university has committed to the rowing and hockey teams as their “banner” programs (no football!), so they have a solid base of institutional support.
On the other hand, Florida Institute of Technology seems to have increased their international recruiting, as they work to build a top team. Have to think there are some scholarships there. It’s great to see the sport growing in areas of the country beyond its traditional strongholds.
Also, Drexel offers scholarships for men’s rowing. It is not a big name school, but they are right next to UPenn, along the Schuylkill. Like Northeastern, they have a strong co-op educational program, which can be very helpful for getting a job after all that rowing in college.
Florida Tech definitately has scholarships, and not only for internationals. I know there were at least two from local florida high schools that received athletic money, and Florida Tech also gives merit money. I’m not sure if the rowers can get need based financial aid too since it is not NCAA regulated.
Florida Tech does a nice job balancing merit and athletic money to make it affordable. And the men’s team wears those nice Where’s Waldo shirts!
@twoinanddone wow, I see what you mean! Very retro. There are so many good junior rowing programs in Florida, it only makes sense for the sport growing at the collegiate level there as well.
Going back to @tonymom 's post No. 66, and the comment about filling stadiums: if by any chance any parents out there have not read “The Boys in the Boat”, you really should - and try to get your kids to read it as well, since it is quite inspiring. The book describes how tens of thousands of spectators used to turn out to watch the big races between Washington and Cal, and between all the top crews on the Hudson, in Poughkeepsie. All in the days before television, of course.
@SusannahH, our experience with scholarships (swimming), was not to talk about specific amounts, but instead to let the coach have a sense of our financial picture (multiple kids in college), and that “money is a significant issue for us”. My daughter repeated that a couple of times with each coach, via email and later as conversations got more serious. It seemed to work well and didn’t alienate any of the coaches.
Another daunting aspect of the accelerated recruiting timeline is the effect it has on the standardized test-taking schedule. Coaches naturally want to see fall junior year test results: they need to know if the candidate is in their recruitable range. If the kid is in that range, the coach then wants to know if the candidate is one of those who will help pull up the team’s AI. (In fact, it’s not just the Ivies who care about these numbers.)
What have people’s experiences been in terms of the timing of these tests - dive in during fall of Junior year, or wait until Spring? If the first test score is good (say, within the 25% to 75% score range for the kids’ dream school), how much pressure is there to re-take it? Do most of them re-take in the Spring (and miss regattas), or wait until fall of senior year - or is that too late?
I know many athletes who started taking the SATs and ACTs as sophomores. They might take them many times to get the scores up there.
One student I know who did this had 2 older sisters, so her mother knew what was needed. Her sophomores scores weren’t that good, so she had to take them a few more times. Her sisters went to top schools, not on athletic scholarships, and she ended up at a lower academic and sports level D1.
Thanks @twoinanddone - makes sense to start every part of the process a little early if you want an early commitment. Am I showing my age when I express surprise that so many kids (athletes and non-athletes) take the test multiple times?
Of course, that was back when the SAT folks still insisted with a straight face that it measured “innate” ability, and there was no way to “prepare” for the test. I don’t think anyone really believed it, but then again I don’t remember anyone taking it more than twice, and lots of us took it just once.
I’d suggest taking the ACT and/or SAT winter of junior year and not taking them again unless the results aren’t to the student’s satisfaction…
AND unless it’s absolutely necessary DO NOT. take the ACT fall of senior year. As is documented in many threads, ACT completely screwed up this past fall leaving many students in a panic wondering if they would be able to submit scores on time for ED/EA.
Also I’ve been told (don’t know for certain) but admissions folks don’t like to see kids taking these tests over and over again. I’m speaking to the serial testing where students have taken a given test 3+ times.
Coaches are fairly straightforward and will let a recruit know if a score needs to be raised.
Do you know of any cox being recruited this year? DD was invited to two over night visits, one D1 and one D3. They both said they could help only with financial aid and the $$ was reserved for rowers. A few of the other schools that we visited were more interested in bringing on a cox through their walk-on process.
In response to when to take the SAT/ACT, definitely take these tests the fall of your junior year. This leaves you free to retake them in the spring of your junior year if you were not satisfied with the fall results. In terms of recruiting, senior fall testing dates are definitely on the late side. Not to say that it can’t make a difference, and that is still not too late to pick up more interest if your scores really improve, but the recruit will be much better served if testing is out of the way by 1st July before the start of senior year.
@KimberleesDad yes we do know one cox who is very serious about it. Have no idea about scholarships for coxes, however. Can discuss more over PM.
Hi @kimberleesdad,
Coxswain recruiting is different than rower recruiting. It is more difficult, but I do know of coxswains who were recruited with scholarships (from 10,000 to a full ride). D3 does not offer athletic scholarship so you have to look D1. Coxswains (more than rowers) must build a relationship with the coach. I think major race experience (HOCR, Youth Nats. ) and a well known team helps a lot. Yes, some schools will rely on walk-ons.