FYI: here is the release for Princeton women;s rowing for last year: https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2024/1/3/womens-rowing-open-ivy-champion-womens-rowing-squad-releases-2024-roster
1 Like
You are a great resource - thanks for posting. Those books were never on my radar - nice to know about them for others. My daughter will be a college senior - final year of crew and I know my husband and I are going to miss it a lot. I hope your daughter loves her new team and school.
1 Like
Thanks again!!! This is so helpful. D will start contacting coaches. she is tall (and strong) which is also the reason why she was soon after starting to row asked to join at the most competitive level of her club. She ofcourse does not know where she stands compared to others her age in the US/internationally but she is very motivated. She does want to combine athletics and sports so she indeed had to figure out whether D1,2 or 3 of club sport suits best.
2 Likes
If sheâs thinking something with labs as a major that could be challenging at a larger school, you may want to consider a smaller D3 school. The example Iâll give is WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) - itâs a D3 STEM school with a solid (for D3, itâs certainly different from D1) womenâs rowing program. My son rowed on the menâs side and really liked the team but the real benefit is because itâs a smaller program, the coaches seem better able to blend the academics with the sports. A large portion of WPI students are engineers which, as someone above mentioned, was an issue when he was looking at schools - other places where he could row it was nearly impossible to also be an engineer.
WPI may not be the right fit for your daughter for whatever reason, but there are a lot of D3 schools where she could row - MIT if she really wants to lean in to the Science/math lane, also Williams, Wesleyan, Bates, Tufts if more of a small liberal arts college feel. If sheâs interested in a womenâs college I think Wellesley and Smith have strong programs. Point being, there are lots of good choices out there were she could get merit aid beyond a D1 school if the D1 programs arenât the right fit for her. (But note - I donât think those D3 schools give athletic recruiting money, just merit or need based aid.)
3 Likes
Correct. D3 schools do not give athletic money for any sport. Just financial aid and merit scholarships.
1 Like
If youâd consider west coast, Lewis and Clark in Portland, OR could be one to look at. Their D3 team is at or near the top of the regional D3 rankings. Itâs a strong school academically, but not so elite that they donât give merit; Iâd expect her to get merit here with her stats. Really nice place to row, and solid academically for life sciences and math.
But I have no sense of how much merit and/or financial aid you would need.
2 Likes
Hi! This was helpful, thank you. I have a 6â0 (148-150 lb) 15 yo female (hs class 2027) with a 7:50 2k/21:00 5k who has been rowing a year. Top boat mover on her club team, 1V8, sweeps both sides and sculls, and has also raced in the 2x and 4x w top placement. She wants Ivy or a top D1 program. Both her parents were top rowers, one who sculled at national team level. Question - how important is GPA and test scores for the Ivys for rower of this caliber, w top ergs and race history? We donât yet have an ACT score. GPA is solid - 3.9 cumulative. I know we need to get her 2k down as well as log a 6k bc she wants to apply for the USRowing U19 camps this summer.
Hi! Quick answers to your questions. (Also, if this is your real name, you might want to consider changing it, to keep your athlete anonymous. I donât think it is, though.)
âThere are three things that matter at the outset: height, weight, 2k erg time. For Ivies and/or other Top D1s (Texas, Stanford, Tennessee, etc.), your daughter is currently about 30 seconds too slow, give or take ~10 seconds. 6â0" helps, but I know 6â+ 2026s with 7:35s who are hearing now that they need to shave at least 15 seconds. There are multiple 2025s who are sub-7 right now (crazy, I know). It sounds like you know this - just highlighting it.
âThe other rowing stuff ranges from less-important-but-still interesting (1V, sweeps and sculls) to not-important (parents, âtop boat moverâ). 6k doesnât matter at all (and it doesnât matter to US Rowing camps either, btw).
âGPA and test scores matter for the Ivies: your child needs to be admissible to the school and the admissions committee (and coaches) need to believe they can be successful. A 3.9 unweighted cumulative GPA with a high level of academic rigor should be just fine (as would a 3.85 or 3.95 - itâs not that close). Test score importance varies between schools and thatâs something your daughter will learn when she starts talking to schools this summer (and she will absolutely get interest). That said, nobody will have expected her to test before this summer. There is a drop of flexibility around these requirements at some schools, but honestly thatâs generally reserved for international athletes who email this summer with national team or similar results and a 7:10.
Good luck!
(Sorry I missed the first round with this thread, though obviously well covered by other knowledgeable people.)
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If youâd like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.