Ivy League Aspirations Unleashed (NYT Q&A with Harvard's DofA)

[Anonymous]

Parents' backgrounds?

[Anonymous]

Also, crew practice is in the morning, which leaves the evenings more open and fewer conflicts. This may work well for many families, parents and kids. I ice skated while growing up, and was done with practice and showered by 7:15am. I felt that I had gotten something done early in the day, and was free to participate in after school activities in a way that those involved with after school sports couldn't. Not being a contact sport, crew also may use a different set of skills and development a different mindset than, say, soccer or football. Perhaps some kids are drawn to that aspect as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally think parents who get overly attached to sending a child to one school or a school in a set of schools are setting themselves up for disappointment and borderline bitterness. I barely survived getting my child into Seventh Grade in a DC area independent! At least with colleges and universities that are several dozen (as opposed to less than a dozen) that are exceptional and will be great fits.

We had a harder time getting our kid into a private school in the DC area than we had getting her into a top Ivy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many prestigious colleges and universities need academically capable folk on their crews, squash, swimming and water polo teams. Do not kid yourself, it is strategic to consider these sports to round out one's childhood experiences. These sports traditionally have not been as competitive for young children as many gifted athletes are soon siphoned off by the glamour and glare of football, baseball and basketball. If you start young and stay with it there is probably a much better chance of playing at the collegiate level than with the latter sports. Of course, the well roundedness also is attractive for admission to these typically New England colleges and universities.

If you have a girl and she is capable of getting at least 1950 on the SATs (3 section test)... then she can get into nearly any Ivy save for Harvard -- if she gets good enough to be recruited at crew. I can't figure out why people gripe about how hard it is to get into an Ivy. It is really quite simple if your kid loves rowing and is willing to do it 6 days a week and can get fast enough on the ERG.

[Anonymous]

The problem is, don't you have to be fairly tall to succeed at crew? When I was in college I was considered too short at 5'4" for womens' crew, but too tall to cox. My dad went out for crew at Cornell and he said the coach laughed at him because he was only 5'11". And this was obviously ages ago, so it's probably even worse now.

[Anonymous]

If a girl is under 130 pounds...she can be recruited for lightweight crew at schools that have l.w....and no they don't have to be tall for that...2 Ivies have girl's lw crew and several other top schools do as well including Standford & MIT

[Anonymous]

So is being "fast enough" on the ERG really difficult? It sounds like it takes dedication in the form of six days a week, which is understandable. But is it attainable for your kid with average or even fairly high athletic abilities?

[Anonymous]

Re-reading my question, what I really mean to ask is: is developing enough skill/speed to be recruited for rowing about as rare as being recruited for, say, soccer?

[Anonymous]

PP -- Almost everyone who can afford it gets a SAt prep tutor. If people spent the same money to get a traniner - it is possible to get your kid fast enough on the Erg to be recruited. I know of a ridiculous & very recent case of a girl recruited to a top Ivy who had little rowing experience and was quite fast on the erg. She got to the Ivy -- decided she didn't want to row...she's still there.

[Anonymous]

I was a coxswain on the men's crew team (I am a female) in college at 5'4". Probably weighed about 105-110 lbs at that time. All the guys were over 6', though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are not in HS yet, but all of our babysitters go to TC Williams. A number of them are on Crew, and my impression is that crew is a popular sport and great school tradition that lots of kids try out for because it is cool and fun - not because parents are micromanaging them to do so.

At my kids schools the coxswains seem to be chosen pre any sort of competitive process. I was told by a girl parent that her child was in - usually are little kids of big donors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents' backgrounds?

Club sport not funded by the school so take it from there. Lacrosse also has little of the lower income or non good ole boy party group.

[Anonymous]

Check out the club crew teams -- Thompson Boat Center in G'town has excellent recruiting history. It costs $400 a season which covers about 10 weeks of rowing...it's the best deal in town. I believe if someone can truly show need -- they may help you out. Va has ODBC -- also rather affordable for many. There's no reason for anyone not to try it. DC Publics have great crew at Wilson High. Please don't be afraid for help if you really can't afford it. Crew people are the nicest people around. People always incorrecetly assume you have to be well off to do crew -- you don't...someone will help you. Take it from me -- my child was recruited to row for an Ivy and we're not rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We had a harder time getting our kid into a private school in the DC area than we had getting her into a top Ivy!

That's not surprising. The year we applied to Sidwell, there were 126 kids for about 22 slots. And half those slots were taken up by siblings, and probably more by other preferences like legacies or the wealthy. Versus maybe 1 in 10 for your average Ivy, and a debatable but probably smaller number of those slots going to athletic, donor and other preferences.

So I guess I'm headed down to the Potomac rowing club with my kid. And, oh no, I will probably find the rest of you there and there will have been no point!

[Anonymous]

PP -- we thought we were the only ones with that problem. Yes, I am serious about the advantages of crew. You may see people down at the boathouse -- but only the tough and committed survive. It's tough, fantastic & totally worth the time -- there are no nicer people around than crew people...."they're all in the same boat."