^^Or D2. D2 schools give scholarships too.
Yes, there’s one D2 coach who she’s been talking to for a year it seems. That coach told her she can make it affordable to attend, but no scholarship $.
On my son’s HS team there are two male coxswains who were being recruited but there was no $$$ attached to offers, just application support. My understanding is many of the coxs at collegiate level are walk-ons but as someone previously mentioned, if your kiddo has some notable regattas/results to show that could certainly help.
Not sure how a female cox being recruited to a male D1 team works with Title IX?..it may be advantageous 
Good luck!
Since the female on the male team wouldn’t be an NCAA athlete (and if there is a scholarship, it wouldn’t be an NCAA scholarship), it shouldn’t matter at all. The men’s team doesn’t figure in the count. The men don’t count either!
Interesting that many/most of the coxes are still walk-ons; there is a bit of a learning curve, after all. But I guess they learn with the lower boats.
I owe the coaches an apology: DS’ college counselor just told the 11th graders that out of a class of 80, “maybe one or two of you will get an SAT/ACT score on your first sitting that is sufficient for the college of your choice. The rest of you will take the test two or three times, maybe even four times.”
So apparently it’s just part for the course to re-take the test (or, if you took one of them, take the other one), unless you got a perfect score, or you’re planning on going to State U and you know you’re getting in.
Yeesh.
Your kid almost certainly know about the CRASH-Bs are coming up - a big showcase for HS rowing talent, with lots of coaches in attendance. Especially for kids from smaller programs, this is a great way to get noticed.
Your kids may know that there are a number of “satellite” indoor rowing competitions between now and the CRASH-Bs, and Concept2 will pay for up to four winners at each of those regattas to travel to the CRASH-Bs in Boston.
We haven’t done this ourselves, so I can’t say with certainty what is and isn’t covered, but if you live outside the Northeast and are thinking, “we can’t afford to fly to Boston just to compete on an erg”, you should at least consider competing in the satellite regatta, and see how you do, then look into what they cover. (Also, for everyone who is going, the event has a very low group rate at a good local hotel, which everyone can use.)
According to this web page, there are satellite regattas in 19 different cities across North America: http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/racing/calendar (Note, not all of these are official “satellite” regattas; their status is on the right hand side of the page.)
More information on the whole process can be found here (and don’t be dismayed by the “qualifying” times - you do not need to meet those scores in order to compete and do well):
http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/racing/world-irc/qualifying-times#races
Good luck, and hope to see you all in Boston!
As we slog through the winter doldrums, some comments from coaches about their programs has prompted the following question:
Is a school’s Academic Index affected when a recruit drops their sport?
I understand that AI is calculated based on the recruits who are admitted, not the walk-ons (at least that’s what I’m told, someone let me know if that’s wrong). But since AI is calculated based on a four-year rolling average (again, that’s what one reads), does that calculation reflect recruits who are on the roster, or just the past four years of freshmen recruits?
Of course this is not just a rowing question, but as the OP I hope I have some latitude here.
I don’t think they can just count the recruits since Ivy recruits don’t sign NLI, so there are a lot more ‘walk ons’ than at other schools. Not all students get likely letters
It’s muddy, and I think the answer is yes and no–the AI of the recruited class, the team as a whole, the sports teams as a whole, and the school as a whole all play a part. Here’s a useful document:
https://www.mka.org/uploaded/college_counseling/Publications/AI_Guidelines_Worksheet.pdf
@classicalmama - thanks for the reference.
Winter “regattas” are now in full swing, and some very impressive numbers are being posted - particularly in the Mid-Atlantic Erg Sprints and Connecticut Indoors. The top rowers, in particular, seem to be getting faster each year.
Kids who have the drive and focus to compete at this level, while also keeping up good grades, are seriously impressive. Kudos to them all.
A discussion on Reddit led to someone circulating a list of male HS rowers with 2ks under 6:20 that appears to be quite comprehensive. There are 54 on the list, and one guy just added himself to the list tonight. Of those 55, 47 are seniors, 7 are juniors, and one is a sophomore. Two points to add:
- Underclassmen (and women) should not be too dismayed by seeing the very fast times posted by the winners of these indoor erg races; by and large, they are seniors.
- At the same time, prospective recruits should realize that college coaches are looking for kids who are driven to get faster and faster each year - and faster still in college.
^^^. “ergs don’t float” to quote too many coaches. Keep in mind “coachability”, leadership, and boat feel go a long way in making a rower worth their weight…literally 
Coaches don’t want guys who spend all their time Erging.
Another question about Div 1 Women’s programs: Do all Div 1 women’s programs award athletic scholarships (I am not speaking of Ivies here-I know they do not) or is it just that they can but do not necessarily do it? My daughter is interested in about 10 schools at this point and these include Georgetown, Boston College and Villanova. Since we do not expect to receive any need-based aid she would need some scholarship $$ to attend these very expensive schools. A rowing coach told me that he would be very surprised if Georgetown offered any scholarships for rowing. So I am wondering if we should even look at some of these programs if this is true. I know it’s early in the recruiting process but my daughter latest 2K was 7:37 and she has been improving rapidly. She has excellent academics and she is 5"10’ and 168lbs. She has been in touch with coaches at several of the schools that she is interested in but no one has mentioned athletic scholarships at this point. I do not wish to bring it up this early in the process but am concerned that she may be looking at some programs that do not award anything. Can anyone offer any comments on this?
No D1 school has to offer any scholarship, but if they do (and they all do) they have to be in compliance with Title IX. Many schools added women’s sports heavy in scholarships (rowing) to balance the number or amount of scholarships it offers in men’s sports.
I would be very surprised if Georgetown doesn’t offer scholarships. The team might not be fully funded, but I bet there are scholarships. Ask. I asked at one school at the initial meeting and was told by the coach she didn’t give scholarships to freshmen. That was it for us as we couldn’t afford the school without one. It actually saves time if everyone is honest. If Georgetown has no scholarships, and you can’t attend without one, why not get that out in the open?
I’m interested in women’s rowing at Fordham university, Fordham has a Division 1 team rather than a club. I haven’t been on a rowing team in the past but I’m very eager to learn and compete. However, being that it is a Division 1 team does that mean they don’t accept novices and prefer people with previous rowing experience? Also should I express interest before of after I get accepted into the school?
Hi @thegrapesofbath I don’t know about Fordham specifically, but unless they’re somehow different from most every other crew, they’ll welcome a walk-on. However, while it’s fine to express interest, you should not expect that interest to make much of a difference unless you have some support from the coaches. So if you are interested, no reason not to reach out to the coaches, and start a conversation?
I’m reading your question differently that wykehamist is, I think. Given that you’re a novice and not looking for support in admissions, I’d wait until you are in and definitely matriculating to reach out to the coaches. At that time, you might ask the coach for the email of someone on the team who you could talk to–then ask that student athlete (rather than the coach) about the time commitment.
I agree with wykehamist that rowing teams generally welcome walk-ons, especially if you’re a good high school athlete. Lots of people start rowing in college.
@wykehamist @classicalmama Thanks for the responses. It seemed like a lot of the roster were people who rowed in high school or in other organizations so that’s why I was asking.
Most, but not all! Every coach I’ve met has a story of the football player or nordic skier (or other athletic type) who decided to walk on to the crew team and ended up on a varsity boat. Rowing may be the only sport where this kind of crossover can happen at the college level.
On a different thread you asked about commitment. It’s true that any collegiate sport is a significant commitment, but rowing can be better than others, at least on the East Coast, because the competitive season is limited by weather to early spring and late fall, so for most of the year, you’re going to daily practices but not constantly off to competitions as you might be in other sports. That said, the timing of workouts (early morning vs. afternoon), off-season workouts, and the number of extra “captain’s” practices can vary widely by team, which is why I suggested talking to someone on the team before you commit yourself.