Thank you for your response. I appreciate your different perspective…it’s more realistic and it is probably what I am going to need to hold tightly since waitlists are difficult and unpredictable.
I do want to mention, though, although I cannot estimate the depth of what a D1 + hard college courses schedule would genuinely be like, I honestly feel like I have a pretty close prediction. My best friend (one year older) who coxed with me last year ended up continuing as a D1 coxswain (on a very highly ranked collegiate women’s team), which of course adheres to a D1 practice & travel schedule, and her schedule actually seems pretty identical to my current HS one. My current schedule consists of 4:45AM-7:15AM daily weekday practices before school and on 3/5 of the weekdays a second PM practice afterschool from 4-6:30. We usually travel pretty far for race days on Saturday, and if we don’t, we practice from 6 AM until 10 AM. Fall, winter, and spring schedules are all pretty much identical to that. I also take a full schedule of college courses (I understand a full schedule of APs and DEs in HS is different from a college-level courseload at an actual university, however, I at least am getting a taste of the rigor) and my parents make me work a part-time job whenever I can. So that means squeezing in a couple of shifts a week, whether that’s the 2 afternoons where I don’t have practice or on Sunday. This schedule was pretty challenging at first but I think my ability to balance it all will work in my favor IF I am miraculously given a chance to get off of a waitlist.
I truly do believe that everything will happen as it is meant to but even with all of the rough morning wakeups and some of the devastating losses and occasional questioning of “is this really what I want to do for 4 more years”, I’ve still always known that I don’t want to let this sport go just yet. I’ve gotten a taste of racing at a high level and I’m just not ready to let it go. I love the collegiate rowing cultures at the schools I’m considering and I feel like I can handle it. It may put me into an initial unexpected challenge but I feel like I know how to adjust and I know how to work to handle it.
Thank you again. It’s just unexplainable how much I love this sport and it sometimes feels like I’m addicted to racing. I really don’t want to stop.