<p>I am wondering when is the appropriate time to contact college rowing coaches. I am currently a junior (female, 5'6'') with a 7:59 2k. I have been rowing for less than a year, but have played many sports (swimming and soccer competitively) and know that I can lower my 2k. I go back and forth between heavyweight and lightweight. I do not yet have a SAT score (I am taking it in May, and expecting to do very well) and am wondering if it is worth it to contact coaches without a SAT score (although I do have SATII and APs scores that are impressive available) and without an impressive 2k. Should I just wait until May, when I will have my SAT score as well as a lower 2k? I am planning on attending one or two crew camps this summer (probably Sparks and maybe a college camp). I go to a well know private school, and my grades are pretty good. I am looking at some Ivys, as well as other liberal arts schools, Georgetown, etc.
Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Tough one, but here are some thoughts for starters:
I’d probably start contacting coaches with a short email that has some information about yourself, i.e. academics and athletics, and ask what it takes to be a successful rower-scholar at their institution.
I don’t think the SAT scores are a major problem if your AP scores and SATIIs are impressive. What about your PSATs? Also, assuming that your grades are good, you could mention what the average SAT scores are at your school.
The 2K time won’t create any immediate interest, but it also depends on your program, e.g. did your coach focus on longer distances? What’s your 6K or 4K?
How impressive was your soccer and especially your swimming?
How good is the program you’re rowing for?
There are a lot fewer LW teams, and they recruit fewer rowers (between 3 and 5), except for Wisconsin.
You should probably cast a wider net and also include OWs (e.g. Penn, Cornell) as well as colleges like Colgate, the 7 sisters, Williams, Wesleyan, Trinity, Bates, etc. in your list of coaches to contact.</p>
<p>Wait until you have more to tell with regard to rowing. The coaches are interested in your rowing skills - what you can offer to their team. Your good academics will be interesting only if they are interested in you as an athlete. Your 2K time of 7:59 is unremarkable. Don’t be discouraged though - it is possible to bring your time down this spring! Work hard and try to get some extra time on the erg. The only objective measure is your erg time. Every second you can carve off makes you more appealing. For top schools HW recruits should aim for sub 7:30 and LW’s should aim for sub 7:40.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>I would contact them now. You are at the end of your junior year. Just email them, let them know you are planning on applying and are interested in being on the team and tell them your history. Let them know you are doing whatever camp and send them updates after camp. If you go visit the schools, set up a time to meet with them.</p>
<p>Beach4222; There are different ways to pursue rowing in college; each has it’s own objective.
- rowing can give you an admissions boost into a school for which your scores/grades are not enough. You may not need or receive scholarship, but look to ensure acceptance.
- rowing can offer you scholarship money, but determinations are made (mostly) on great 2k scores and academics are (somewhat) secondary. The better caliber the team (search top 20 NCAA programs) the lower the required 2k for scholarship money. However, even the better teams can offer admissions assistance for higher 2k times to girls with higher gpa/scores. In this case, however, scholarship money could be reduced.
2a) it is possible to get scholarship money at tier 2 or tier 3 d1 programs with mid-level 2k scores and great grades.
3)rowing is one of the best walk-on options for student athletes who have already been admitted to the school of their choice.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d outline for you a few scenarios. As you contact coaches, you might want to be realistic as to where you fit in their scheme.</p>
<p>As most know here, I’m still relatively new in the rowing game but I will offer my two cents if the O/P is interested . . .</p>
<p>No DI college coach is going to be interested in a 5’6’’ female with a 7:59 2k ERG time.
Sorry for the bad news.
But it’s not gonna happen.</p>
<p>OP, Are you a LW ?</p>
<p>And then there’s this . . .</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14278713-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14278713-post3.html</a></p>
<p>. . . which makes no sense to me.</p>
<p>Mark, I’m pretty sure stalker mama’s daughter is a LW - so those times are LW times. Remember, she says that the rower was recruited, not given a scholarship. There are very, very few scholarships available for LWs. So, although it seems unlikely, it’s not unreasonable to think that a 8:00 would be “recruited” for a spot where there is no $.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Well, S’mama said it was her was her daughter’s friend not her daughter.
So, no indication about whether LW or not.</p>
<p>Even so, 8:00 in college is not anything special, even for a Lightweight female.</p>
<p>And, S’mama now posts that at least half of the story was not correct after all:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14283593-post7.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14283593-post7.html</a></p>
<p>I feel somewhat vindicated.</p>
<p>Yes I made a mistake the Penn girl had a much better erg score.My daughter informed me after she found my post here. My daughter is a LW so that is what we know about and she is not looking into an IVY school so we dont know about that either. We are writing coaches.They are all emailing back.It is pretty simple. We are going to see a few in early June and more after development camp.</p>
<p>Well, I am very familiar with the stats of a lighter open weight rower with a “just under 8 minute erg time” who received a major admission boost at a large midwestern university. I don’t want to give away details, but the school was most certainly a reach without rowing. Keep in mind that ‘recruiting’ can mean anything from a full ride with NLI signed in the fall of senior year to the coach flagging an application of a student who may get in on her/his own but definitely gets in with the coach’s help.</p>
<p>A tall novice with a higher erg time will likely garner more interest than a short novice with a similar time. You can’t teach height.</p>