I don’t have any stats – just practical experience.  I do know that at the University of Washington, crew has the highest GPA of all athletes (at least that’s what my son tells me).  I’m heavily involved in our junior crew program, and our experience has been that the kids who are rowing 5 or 6 days a week, don’t have time or energy for getting into mischief.  Finally, I know that women’s scholarships seem to be much more available to girls, than men’s to the boys.  However, many girls drop out before they enter college (we lose a lot in their junior year of  high school).  In the last 5 years or so, I think we’ve only had one girl rower go on to row competitively in college, and she got a full scholarship.  While she was a very talented rower, she wasn’t unusually tall, so there is room for all sized girl rowers in college.  Finally, we’ve only had one male rower enter a Division 1 school with the intent of rowing, and he did get a scholarship.  But, these are much more rare in the men’s side of rowing and you have to be an exceptional rower to garner a scholarship.

Good luck with your search – if you find anything, I would love to get your information.  I love to talk to parents about college rowing opportunities at our Junior Crew Parent Meeting.

Joanne Kicinski

Vashon Island Junior Crew