<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>