When to contact college rowing coaches

beenthere2
Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:09:41 +0000

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.