The college where you get recruited is based on your academic performance, test scores, erg scores  and race performance.  Just because you row does not mean you will get recruited.  The college admissions office is responsible for your admission so you must have the appropriate academic profile for the school.  Make it as easy as possible to get admitted  by doing as well as you can academically.  The rowing piece gets the coach interested in you but you need the academics to get admitted.

Many student athletes make the mistake of sending out e-mails to many coaches stating that they want to row for that college.  Coaches receive hundreds of these e-mails and can often tell fairly quickly whether or not the prospect would fit their profile for a potential recruit. Do your homework about a program and college to get an idea of whether it might be a good fit before telling a coach that you want to row for them.

The strength of willpower and self-control can have an huge impact on every aspect of life from work and school to personal relationships and mental attitude.

http://thedartmouth.com/2012/03/28/news/baumeister

Recruiting involves analysis of a prospect’s academic and athletic qualifications and there can be wide variation among individual colleges and universities.

http://thedartmouth.com/2012/3/5/news/athletics

We have always told student-athletes (and for that matter all students) to be careful about posts on their Facebook page.  Whenever you post on Facebook, you must assume that anyone who wants to see the post, can get to  it.  A recent report finds that some employers and colleges are asking for access to Facebook pages.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2012/03/06/colleges-employers-ask-for-facebook.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article

Many coaches communicate with hundreds of student-athletes when recruiting for their teams. They often have limited time to read e-mails and make an initial determination about their interest in a potential recruit.  In order to help the coach determine if you might be a good fit for them, it is important to provide the coach with the right information about yourself.  The “3 legged stool” of recruiting is:  SAT/SATII/ACT scores; GPA;  Erg score.  Addition critical information is “on the water performance”.

Sometimes, potential recruits don’t want to send a test score or erg time because they do not think it is good enough.  The problem with this is that many coaches will not look seriously at a candidate unless then have information in all of the areas listed above, and sometimes not sending a score is a “red flag”.

Recruiting is very individual.  There is no right or wrong answer that fits everyone. Think long and hard about what information to send and when to send it.  If you think you might improve your scores, you may want to hold off communicating with coaches.  However, it is important to balance when and what to communicate to coaches against the recruiting timeline so that coaches know all about you in time to seriously consider you as a potential recruit.

Dartmouth college admitted 465 students through the early decision process for the class of 2016.  The applicants are exceptionally strong with higher SAT scores than in the past.  While recruiting can be helpful with college admissions, it is critical that the student-athlete stay on top of the process in a focused and organized manner because there is a lot of competition for very few spots.

http://e.thedartmouth.com/2012/1/4/news/admissions

The Academic Index (“A.I.”) is  calculated using a recruit’s high school GPA and scores on standardized tests.  The A.I. (which is a purely academic measurement) is the initial measurement in determining the  admissibility of a student athlete to an Ivy League school.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/sports/before-athletic-recruiting-in-the-ivy-league-some-math.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Increased financial aid within the Ivy League is “leveling the playing field” with schools offering athletics scholarship.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/sports/financial-aid-changes-game-as-sports-teams-in-ivies-rise.html?_r=1

While visiting schools is time consuming, it is critically important to the recruiting process.  We know that it is hard to find the time to make the visits during racing season so we suggest using the non-racing season to make as many visits as you can.  For those of you in the colder climates, winter training is beginning and it is a great time to visit schools.  Be sure when you visit, that you take the time to meet with the rowing coach.  Meeting the coach gives you an opportunity to ask questions about the school and the program.  It also gives the coach a chance to get to know you.  A face to face meeting with the coach will be a huge benefit when you continue your communication with the coach through e-mail or phone.

Check out this video about racing at the Head of the Charles.  It is great to be able to learn about the course since many teams will not have an opportunity to practice. This is a terrific video for coxswains and rowers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yEnO2kU6Hw